How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics by Doug Thorburn

Author:Doug Thorburn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

4. Has committed a felony

A sense of invincibility rooted in alcoholism, often combined with a “supreme being” complex, may result in most felonious behavior. (Or it would, if addicts didn’t have to steal in order to be able to afford illegal drugs. Such behavior is commonplace only because of legal proscriptions, just as it was during Prohibition. The commission of felonies is therefore far more common among latter-stage or polydrug addicts than would be the case if such drugs were decriminalized.) The kind of violations differ depending upon underlying personality type, virulence of the disease, the degree of buildup of acetaldehyde on the brain, and circumstances/environment. Alcoholics attending Beverly Hills High probably commit different kinds of violations than do those growing up in a ghetto.

Journalists reporting on criminal behavior rarely comment on alcohol or other drug “problems” in alleged or convicted felons. If they note anything, it’s usually in the 28th paragraph of a story. Since few are aware of the role that alcohol plays in the behavior, they generally don’t look for it and, therefore, have nothing to report. If they mention it at all, the placement in the story is suggestive of the idea that the suspect is innately bad. Bad people, of course, use drugs.

Reports of possible alcohol or other drug use, not to mention addiction, is even more infrequent in stories of upper-class criminals. Barry Minkow’s use probably would likely have been ignored were it not for his notoriety. Minkow, an over-achiever showing behavioral signs of addiction (megalomania) defrauded those who invested in his carpet cleaning company, ZZZZ Best, out of a hundred million dollars. According to reports, he sold cocaine to continue funding what was essentially a Ponzi scheme. 61 At barely 20 years of age, he exhibited none of the commonly recognized signs of alcoholism, although several of his associates appear to have been well beyond the early stage. However, Minkow did use illegal drugs other than marijuana, which is strongly suggestive of addiction. Non-addicts, once out of school (where drug use is so rampant that we cannot distinguish between addict and non-addict), rarely use such drugs. Those not having alcoholism usually lack the sense of invincibility required to take such risks with the law.

The white-collar alcoholic is also better protected. Recall that the higher the person’s social, business, professional or political status, the greater the enabling (protection from consequences) on the part of close persons, because the enablers have so much to lose. While enablers make an unequivocal diagnosis of addiction difficult, the commission of a felony in itself greatly increases the odds of alcoholism.

Every recovering addict ex-con interviewed for this and prior books has felt that 90% or more of their fellow prisoners were alcoholics. Another wrote, in the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous, “If everyone [could be in AA], there would be no need for jails.” 62 Where we dig deep enough, we find signs of alcohol or other drug addiction in practically every burglary, theft, homicide and even white-collar crime such as embezzlement, or accounting and securities fraud.

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