Britain shakes off a collective hangover after Black Friday, the most popular night for office Christmas parties and the busiest of the year for drink-related casualties.

Minimum pricing on alcohol will not beat Britain's burgeoning drink problem, the Health Secretary insists, defying medical experts. Andrew Lansley, who is preparing to launch a new year drive aimed at ending the country's binge drinking culture, today warns that deep-rooted drinking habits in some areas mean that boosting the price of booze will do little to curb excess.

This comes as Britain shakes off a collective hangover after Black Friday, the most popular night for office Christmas parties and the busiest of the year for drink-related casualties. Some ambulance services received 999 calls as frequently as every 30 seconds to deal with injured and drunk revellers.

New research from the Department of Health underlines how excess alcohol affects almost every aspect of British life. More than 2.6m children in the UK now live with a parent who drinks at hazardous levels. Mortality rates from liver disease among under-75s rose by 16 per cent between 2001 and 2009, new statistics show. And lost productivity because of hung over staff cost businesses £1.7bn a year.

Britain is the drunk man of Europe. Alcohol consumption in France, Germany and Italy is down by between 37 and 52 per cent since 1980. But in the UK it is up nine per cent, with binge drinkers sinking more booze than ever, putting unprecedented pressure on the NHS, police and social services.

The Scottish government backs the idea of a minimum charge per unit of alcohol, which could see a bottle of wine cost at least £4.50 and a pint of beer around 90p. Experts believe thousands of lives would be saved if "pocket-money prices" were outlawed.

But the Health Secretary says there are "big problems" with the idea, which would penalise the poor, fall foul of EU competition laws, and do little to tackle the kind of dangerous drinking seen in town and city centres on Friday and Saturday nights.

Mr Lansley told The Independent on Sunday: "Are we really saying that because a bottle of vodka isn't £8 but £12.50 they are not going to preload with a bottle of vodka for a night out when they are in clubs where they pay £5 for a drink? That is absurd. They are still going to do this binge drinking because that is a behaviour issue. We have got to do much more to focus on what this means."

Doctors and academics from the Royal College of Physicians, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, among others, backed a minimum alcohol price, highlighting that in 2010 it was 44 per cent more affordable than in 1980. "We need to narrow the price gap between alcohol in bars and restaurants and alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences, to make bulk discounts and pocket-money prices a thing of the past," they said in a letter to the coalition in Westminster.

The Health Secretary conceded that higher prices for drink can reduce consumption but added: "It is more likely to have a bigger proportionate impact on responsible drinkers who happen to be low-income households."

His rejection of the idea will lay the Government open to claims that it has sided with big business, but Mr Lansley argues that a minimum price of 50p per unit would hand £600m in extra revenue to drinks firms. He maintains that the causes of binge drinking are too complex to be solved simply by raising prices.

"The cost of alcohol in Britain is the same in different parts," he said. "But we have got lots of women in the North East who are fetching up in critical units with chronic alcohol abuse and liver disease on a regular basis – far more than in Hampshire. There are disparities that are nothing to do with price. We need to be realistic about what it is we are trying to address, which isn't simply if you raise the price all our problems will go away.

"The question is, what is the relationship between price changes and alcohol misuse? Because alcohol consumption and alcohol misuse are not on a straight line to each other."

New figures for 2010-11 reveal marked differences in the number of people hospitalised by alcohol. In Manchester, Middlesbrough, and Liverpool, Sunderland and Tyneside people are treated as inpatients for alcohol-related conditions at a rate of more than 2,800 per 100,000. By contrast, in areas such as Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire the rate is less than half that, at 1,400 per 100,000.

Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians, has warned that it is now "commonplace" to find young women being treated for liver disease. Mortality rates for liver disease, including cirrhosis, is two-thirds higher among women aged 35 to 64 in the North-east and North-west than the national average.

Admissions to A&E linked to alcohol have doubled in the past eight years, reaching 1.2m in 2010.

The alcohol strategy is expected to bolster Mr Lansley's concept of community alcohol partnerships, where police, retailers and trading standards unite to crackdown on underage drinking and booze-fuelled antisocial behaviour. Mr Lansley added: "I think we can do immensely better in terms of preventing sales to youngsters."

In October, the Government banned the sale of alcohol below the rate of duty plus VAT to prevent below-cost sales. Extra duty has been added to super-strength lagers, while a reduced rate is charged on beers below 2.8 per cent. Services to help chronic abusers to "detox" and change their behaviour are also being improved.

However, the rejection of minimum pricing will dismay campaigners who hoped ministers would take a tougher stance. A new study by the University of Illinois at Chicago, published in the Alcohol Research & Health journal, found "price increases can help reduce the risk for adverse consequences of alcohol consumption and abuse, including drinking and driving, alcohol involved crimes, cirrhosis and other alcohol-related mortality, risky sexual behaviour and its consequences, and poor school performance among youth".

Katherine Brown, head of research and communications at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: "Raising the price of super-cheap drink sold in supermarkets will not penalise moderate drinkers, it will target those who misuse alcohol, and tackle one of the root causes of what is possibly the nation's biggest health and social problem."

She added that the total cost of alcohol harm to society exceeds £25bn each year. Separate estimates suggest the alcohol industry contributes £15bn in taxes.

In January the Commons science and technology select committee on will publish a major report on guidelines on drinking.

The Government's Responsibility Deal, under which drinks companies and supermarkets are urged to change the way they operate, has sparked accusations of ministers getting too close to the booze industry. Under the deal, Asda became the first supermarket to agree to remove cut price drinks deals from the front of stores.

But the Conservative MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollaston, a former GP, launched a strong attack on the supermarket after finding the chain selling two litres of cider for £1.48 and a four-pack of bitter for 68p. In a Commons debate, Dr Wollaston accused the supermarket of "killing its customers" and causing "carnage".

A spokesperson for Asda said: "The vast majority of our customers drink responsibly and we shouldn't penalise the majority for the actions of the few."

Health

Each year, drink leads to the admission of more than a million people to hospital for treatment of alcohol-related cancers, liver disease, and poisoning. Nearly 1.2 million people in England needed inpatient hospital treatment in 2010-11 – a 9 per cent rise on the previous year. Liver disease is the only major condition that is on the increase in Britain. In some age groups, the rates of cirrhosis have risen tenfold in 30 years. Lawyers and company bosses are at more risk of dying from alcohol as they get older, because they do not realise they are drinking to excess.

Crime

The Home Office estimates that alcohol-fuelled crime cost between £8bn and £13bn in 2007-08. Alcohol played a part in more than a million crimes in 2007-08, and is a factor in almost half of all violent crimes. In England, alcohol was linked to 400,000 crimes in 2010-11, including 6,700 sexual offences. Almost one in four Britons experiences drunk or rowdy behaviour in their neighbourhood, according to the British Crime Survey. Last year, alcohol was blamed for 928,000 violent incidents – almost half of the total – by victims of crime. The charity Alcohol Concern estimates drink plays a part in one in three child abuse cases, as well as in the majority of domestic violence incidents.

Road accidents

Last year, 9,700 people were killed or injured in accidents involving drivers who were over the drink-drive limit. This accounts for five per cent of all road accident victims. Drink-drive accidents resulted in 250 deaths in 2010 – 14 per cent of all road fatalities, according to the latest Department of Transport statistics. Alcohol was blamed for one in 10 fatal motorway crashes in 2009, the latest year for which figures are available.

Work

Up to 17 million working days are lost each year because of alcohol-related sickness. More than one in four adults are regular drinkers. Many will take time off rather than go to work with a hangover. Those who struggle in are more likely to be late, find it difficult to concentrate, and are more likely to make mistakes. The cost to employers of sick days due to drink is estimated at £1.7bn. Loss of productivity is a factor in the damaging cost of alcohol to England, estimated at somewhere between £20bn and £55bn

Drinks industry

The alcohol industry is worth £36bn, and pays £15bn in tax, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. Britain's nightlife industry employs 1.3 million people. Each week, 15 million people socialise in pubs, which alone employ more than 600,000 people. In the past decade, sales of beer in pubs have fallen by more than a third, but have risen by a quarter in off-licences. Vodka accounts for almost a third of all spirits bought in Britain.

Spiritual care is important, too; Doctors recognizing importance of spiritual as well as physical care

Spiritual care is important, too; Doctors recognizing importance of spiritual as well as physical care | Local | The Bulletin

“Doctor, will you pray with me?” Dr. Michel Boileau, a longtime Central Oregon urologist, said patients have asked him that question or something like it many times. Often, it is before surgery. They perhaps felt anxious or scared and wanted comfort from the person giving them care. Boileau had years of medical education and hundreds of hours of practice before becoming a full-fledged doctor. But, he said, he had absolutely no training in how to respond to that question. Medicine and medical training, not just for physicians but for many who work in health care, are typically focused on science. Certainly the complex biology of the human body and disease is crucially important. Yet for many people who have a health problem serious enough to land them in the hospital, the physical ailments may only be a small part of what's troubling them. They are also likely grappling with the emotional toll of their illness and how it may affect them. They may be scared of death, pain, hospitals or any number of things. And many, even those who aren't typically religious, may be looking for spiritual comfort. “Medicine and religion are really the two areas where we grapple with the significant events in our lives,” said Boileau. “It's often the religious world where we go for solace.” The two were long intertwined. St. Charles Bend was founded by nuns, who served as caregivers for many years. Years ago, religious leaders were often physical as well as spiritual healers, and still are in some places. But as Western medicine focused more on the physical causes of disease, the spiritual aspect was often left out. Now, there's a movement to bring it back. “In the last 15 years, we've noticed a big change,” said Richard Groves, founder of the Sacred Art of Living, a local nonprofit that offers courses in using spirituality in secular settings. “Some of the leading medical institutions in this country ~ are now really explicitly talking about the importance of having conversations about spirituality.” As an example, the number of chaplains certified by one of the country's largest certifying agencies has increased 20 percent in the past 10 years, according to Carol Pape, a manager at the Association of Professional Chaplains. Today, there are about 3,100 chaplains certified by the agency. Elk hunting at the hospital Spiritual care is a somewhat nebulous concept, though experts seem to agree that it has, at its core, an aspect of making sure a person feels connected to something outside him- or herself. It's related to an idea gaining traction in health care that hospitals need to treat the whole person, not just the disease. “We're seeing a wonderful resurgence in person-centered care,” said Boileau. “We have begun paying attention to those things that we didn't before, which was to the patient's detriment.” Chaplains have long been used in hospice care and in some hospitals, particularly those founded by religious groups, including St. Charles Bend. The current shift has to do with a growing recognition that this kind of care may also be useful for patients not near the end of life. Bill Danaher, a chaplain at St. Charles Bend, said any patient in emotional pain could benefit. He recalled a patient he went to see one day at a nurse's request. The patient had been a logger but now was sick with cancer. He hadn't spoken much all week and Danaher recalled that he was sent in to check on him. “You're not really churchy, are you?” Danaher said he asked the man. “Nope,” the man replied. Danaher sat down and assured the man he wasn't there to sell him religion. He just wanted to talk. Pretty soon, he asked the man, still short of words, a question: “Given no restrictions, where would you be right now and what would you be doing?” At that, Danaher recalled, the man “took me elk hunting for two solid hours. I didn't say a word and he was sitting on stumps and jumping over fences. When it was done, he apologized profusely for talking my leg off. He asked me to please come back.” This man was in “emotional pain,” Danaher said. By telling his story, “he touched some place within him that ‘This is where I find my peace in life.'” Patients, Danaher said, “need all this biological stuff we are doing here (at the hospital). But it does no good without the spiritual wellness.” Treating the whole person Danaher, who is Catholic, said he's seen more medical professionals, even those who are not religious, accept the idea of spiritual wellness. “I've had atheist surgeons come up to me and say, ‘I want you to go visit a patient.' “And I say, ‘Why? You have no belief in what I do.' And they say, ‘If I have two patients who are otherwise equal and one whose spirits are up and one who are down, the one whose spirits are up is going to do better every single time.'” Research studies support Danaher's anecdotal contention. Most find that people who report a greater sense of spiritual well-being have less pain, less stress and feel better about their lives. In one study, women with metastatic breast cancer who received intensive social support did not live longer, but did say they lived better in their final months than those without it. They reported less pain than the group of women who did not make such strong connections. Another study found that this type of support, particularly through “spiritual activities” correlated with better medication adherence in AIDS patients. This month a study from researchers at Brigham Young University found lower blood pressure and other markers of heart health were better in people who scored higher on tests of spiritual well-being. Beyond the physical symptoms, a chaplain or other spiritual care provider can provide a shoulder or be an advocate. Chaplains will often sit in on family meetings, said Kit Hall, another chaplain at St. Charles Bend. These meetings, which typically take place when a patient is in very serious condition, often leave the family in shock, Hall said. He will sometimes stay with a family after the medical team leaves, to listen, help guide discussion or pray with a family, if that's what they want. “They are trying to make sense of what's going on,” Hall said. “Ours is not to help them answer that question, but to support them.” Praying with patients Chaplains have explicit training in how to care for the emotional and spiritual needs of patients, but they are by no means the only people in the health care system called on to do so. Groves, through the Sacred Art of Living, has trained health care workers all over the country in aspects of spiritual care. At first, he said, most of his trainings were done with people working in hospice. Now they come from all areas of health care. The idea behind his program, he said, is to make caregivers aware of spiritual issues and how they can affect a patient's overall well-being. “If someone can show up and start talking about that ~ everything else that's going on in the health care system is going to benefit. The medications are going to work better, the therapies are going to work better. The person is going to be able to take care of themselves better.” Of course, some people are going to be naturally more comfortable with this aspect of care than others, due to their own belief systems. Dr. Heather West, an oncologist at Bend Memorial Clinic, said that when physicians are not spiritual or religious, it can be hard to talk about that subject with patients. “You want your input to be meaningful,” she said. “If you are not very religious, then your input is not going to be helpful.” West, who said she is spiritual but not religious, said she doesn't see spiritual issues brought up often until the end of life. Sometimes that's by patient choice. “I've had people say, ‘Oh, I'm not ready for that yet,' because they think that you're calling a priest to give them last rites.” Like Boileau, she has had people ask her to pray with them. She doesn't feel comfortable saying a prayer, she said, but will be there with them to pray. Boileau, too, said he always prays with people who ask. He described himself as spiritual though not religious, and said he sees it as part of his role as a caregiver. “I realized how important it is to people, and exercising their belief is comforting to them. I would fully support that.”

Doctor, will you pray with me?

“Doctor, will you pray with me?”

Dr. Michel Boileau, a longtime Central Oregon urologist, said patients have asked him that question or something like it many times. Often, it is before surgery.

They perhaps felt anxious or scared and wanted comfort from the person giving them care.

Boileau had years of medical education and hundreds of hours of practice before becoming a full-fledged doctor. But, he said, he had absolutely no training in how to respond to that question.

Medicine and medical training, not just for physicians but for many who work in health care, are typically focused on science. Certainly the complex biology of the human body and disease is crucially important.

Yet for many people who have a health problem serious enough to land them in the hospital, the physical ailments may only be a small part of what's troubling them. They are also likely grappling with the emotional toll of their illness and how it may affect them. They may be scared of death, pain, hospitals or any number of things. And many, even those who aren't typically religious, may be looking for spiritual comfort.

“Medicine and religion are really the two areas where we grapple with the significant events in our lives,” said Boileau. “It's often the religious world where we go for solace.”

The two were long intertwined. St. Charles Bend was founded by nuns, who served as caregivers for many years. Years ago, religious leaders were often physical as well as spiritual healers, and still are in some places.

But as Western medicine focused more on the physical causes of disease, the spiritual aspect was often left out. Now, there's a movement to bring it back.

“In the last 15 years, we've noticed a big change,” said Richard Groves, founder of the Sacred Art of Living, a local nonprofit that offers courses in using spirituality in secular settings. “Some of the leading medical institutions in this country ~ are now really explicitly talking about the importance of having conversations about spirituality.”

As an example, the number of chaplains certified by one of the country's largest certifying agencies has increased 20 percent in the past 10 years, according to Carol Pape, a manager at the Association of Professional Chaplains. Today, there are about 3,100 chaplains certified by the agency.

Elk hunting at the hospital

 

 

 

Spiritual care is a somewhat nebulous concept, though experts seem to agree that it has, at its core, an aspect of making sure a person feels connected to something outside him- or herself.

It's related to an idea gaining traction in health care that hospitals need to treat the whole person, not just the disease.

“We're seeing a wonderful resurgence in person-centered care,” said Boileau. “We have begun paying attention to those things that we didn't before, which was to the patient's detriment.”

Chaplains have long been used in hospice care and in some hospitals, particularly those founded by religious groups, including St. Charles Bend. The current shift has to do with a growing recognition that this kind of care may also be useful for patients not near the end of life.

Bill Danaher, a chaplain at St. Charles Bend, said any patient in emotional pain could benefit.

He recalled a patient he went to see one day at a nurse's request. The patient had been a logger but now was sick with cancer. He hadn't spoken much all week and Danaher recalled that he was sent in to check on him.

“You're not really churchy, are you?” Danaher said he asked the man.

“Nope,” the man replied.

Danaher sat down and assured the man he wasn't there to sell him religion. He just wanted to talk. Pretty soon, he asked the man, still short of words, a question: “Given no restrictions, where would you be right now and what would you be doing?”

At that, Danaher recalled, the man “took me elk hunting for two solid hours. I didn't say a word and he was sitting on stumps and jumping over fences. When it was done, he apologized profusely for talking my leg off. He asked me to please come back.”

This man was in “emotional pain,” Danaher said. By telling his story, “he touched some place within him that ‘This is where I find my peace in life.'”

Patients, Danaher said, “need all this biological stuff we are doing here (at the hospital). But it does no good without the spiritual wellness.”

Treating the whole person

 

 

 

Danaher, who is Catholic, said he's seen more medical professionals, even those who are not religious, accept the idea of spiritual wellness. “I've had atheist surgeons come up to me and say, ‘I want you to go visit a patient.'

“And I say, ‘Why? You have no belief in what I do.' And they say, ‘If I have two patients who are otherwise equal and one whose spirits are up and one who are down, the one whose spirits are up is going to do better every single time.'”

Research studies support Danaher's anecdotal contention. Most find that people who report a greater sense of spiritual well-being have less pain, less stress and feel better about their lives.

In one study, women with metastatic breast cancer who received intensive social support did not live longer, but did say they lived better in their final months than those without it. They reported less pain than the group of women who did not make such strong connections.

Another study found that this type of support, particularly through “spiritual activities” correlated with better medication adherence in AIDS patients.

This month a study from researchers at Brigham Young University found lower blood pressure and other markers of heart health were better in people who scored higher on tests of spiritual well-being.

Beyond the physical symptoms, a chaplain or other spiritual care provider can provide a shoulder or be an advocate.

Chaplains will often sit in on family meetings, said Kit Hall, another chaplain at St. Charles Bend. These meetings, which typically take place when a patient is in very serious condition, often leave the family in shock, Hall said. He will sometimes stay with a family after the medical team leaves, to listen, help guide discussion or pray with a family, if that's what they want.

“They are trying to make sense of what's going on,” Hall said. “Ours is not to help them answer that question, but to support them.”

Praying with patients

 

Chaplains have explicit training in how to care for the emotional and spiritual needs of patients, but they are by no means the only people in the health care system called on to do so.

Groves, through the Sacred Art of Living, has trained health care workers all over the country in aspects of spiritual care. At first, he said, most of his trainings were done with people working in hospice. Now they come from all areas of health care.

The idea behind his program, he said, is to make caregivers aware of spiritual issues and how they can affect a patient's overall well-being. “If someone can show up and start talking about that ~ everything else that's going on in the health care system is going to benefit. The medications are going to work better, the therapies are going to work better. The person is going to be able to take care of themselves better.”

Of course, some people are going to be naturally more comfortable with this aspect of care than others, due to their own belief systems.

Dr. Heather West, an oncologist at Bend Memorial Clinic, said that when physicians are not spiritual or religious, it can be hard to talk about that subject with patients. “You want your input to be meaningful,” she said. “If you are not very religious, then your input is not going to be helpful.”

West, who said she is spiritual but not religious, said she doesn't see spiritual issues brought up often until the end of life. Sometimes that's by patient choice. “I've had people say, ‘Oh, I'm not ready for that yet,' because they think that you're calling a priest to give them last rites.”

Like Boileau, she has had people ask her to pray with them. She doesn't feel comfortable saying a prayer, she said, but will be there with them to pray.

Boileau, too, said he always prays with people who ask. He described himself as spiritual though not religious, and said he sees it as part of his role as a caregiver. “I realized how important it is to people, and exercising their belief is comforting to them. I would fully support that.”

Here are seven steps that caused you or those you love to develop self-destructive behavior

 

There is a subpersonality within each person that has a self-destruct theme. This is not unnatural because it can be found all over the animal kingdom. A scorpion surrounded by flames will sting itself in the back and kill itself rather than be burned to death. Human beings will do likewise in their own way if they sense that the alternative to dying at their own hands is much more painful. Humans readily choose death for political reasons, for principles, for values, or to save the lives of others. In most people, this perfectly natural self-destruct subpersonality sleeps unless extreme conditions call it forth to influence events. In people with control problems, the self-destructive personality has garnered this subpersonality for its own twisted purposes. Your challenge is to set this subpersonality free to act in a normal way and to drive out the self-destruction dragon. Here are seven steps that caused you or those you love to develop self-destructive behavior, and seven steps to conquer the problem once and for all. The Seven Steps of Development for Self-Destructive Behavior Step One: The children are abandoned. Step Two: The abandonment results in loss of structure. Step Three: Emotional and physical abuse occurs. Step Four: The children turn against themselves. Step Five: The children fear loss of control. Step Six: The children learn that gaining control is vital to survival. Step Seven: The children no longer value life. Death seems better. Seven Weapons to Slay Self-Destruction Weapon One: Realize that life is sacred and has ultimate meaning. Weapon Two: Admit you are out of control and ask for help. Weapon Three: Admit that being in control is the big issue. Weapon Four: Set your sights on realistic goals. Weapon Five: Clean up the messes in your life. Weapon Six: Admit and face your abuse of yourself and others. Weapon Seven: Admit and face the issue of abandonment.

BACK TO BASICS FOR ADDICTS

The Muckers say A.A. has lost its course.

"Up there," says James, a slim, muscular Bay Street executive in his early 40s, as he points to a gleaming office tower in Toronto's financial district. "That's where I work. Up on the 50th floor." On a noon-hour stroll through a downtown park, James admits that he is lucky to still hold a job anywhere. For years, he confides quietly, he was addicted to cocaine, a problem he kept concealed from his blue chip employer. At the height of his addiction, he confesses, he routinely blew $1,000 a weekend on the potent white powder. By Monday morning, he was exhausted, often unable to work. But a year ago, after numerous attempts to quit, James turned to a small but growing self-help organization called The Muckers Anonymous Inc. "My cravings went away and never returned," he says. "It was like someone with terminal cancer waking up one day to discover the disease was gone. It was remarkable."

There is, however, nothing remarkable about the Muckers' technique. According to a 52 year old recovered alcoholic named Jim who helped start the Toronto-based group in early 1995, the Muckers rely on intense study of the 57-year -old book Alcoholics Anonymous, known to A.A. adherents as the Big Book, and the Twelve Step approach outlined in the first 103 pages. Nevertheless, the group has become embroiled in a dispute with A.A. and several other self-help groups that resembles a battle between fundamentalists and mainstream Christians. Among other things, those groups say that the Muckers, so named because they frequently muck up the Big Book by underlining key passages and phrases, have a zealous approach to recovery from addiction that excludes anything but the twelve step method. "There's a huge backlash from the established groups," says James.

Last fall, A.A. representatives in Toronto removed the Muckers from their list of approved groups after discovering that their meetings covered various kinds of addictions, rather than just alcoholism. In May, A.A. ousted two members from elected positions as co-ordinators of treatment center meetings because they had been espousing the Muckers' philosophy. Representatives of A.A. are reluctant to comment on the Muckers or to discuss the relative merits of their approaches. "The Big Book hasn't changed," said Ron, a high-ranking official for eastern and central Ontario. "Its worked for almost sixty years."

Some treatment centers have also rejected the Muckers. Alpha House Inc., a rehabilitation facility treating various addictions, has instructed staff and residents to avoid the Muckers. "The bottom line is that Muckers seem to be obsessed with their way being the only way," stated a memo to employees. On the other hand, the Donwood Institute, a well established, Toronto recovery facility, has allowed the Muckers to hold weekly meetings, which Donwood clients can attend. "Some of them found it quite helpful," says Dennis James, vice-president of the Donwood health recovery program.

The Muckers contend that they are maintaining the original traditions of A.A. They charge that A.A. has drifted away from the Big Book and the 12-step approach that its founders, Bill Wilson, a New York City stockbroker, and Bob Smith, a physician from Ohio, developed in the mid-1930s to cope with their own alcoholism. According to the Muckers, many A.A. groups pay lip service to the sanctity of the Big Book but no longer insist that a recovering alcoholic must use it. "A.A.'s message has become broader and diluted," says John, a 35-year- old alcoholic, drug addict and staunch Mucker. "We stick to the original text."

The cornerstone of the Mucker approach is called "booking," in which a member of the group works one-on-one with a recovering alcoholic or addict. They spend up to three hours a day, usually over a two-to-three-week period, studying the Big Book, line by line and phrase by phrase. Among other things, the recovering addict must admit personal failings and weaknesses and make amends to people he has harmed through his addiction. Some Muckers who belonged to A.A. say they became disenchanted by that organization's move away from its original policy of one-on-one therapy in favour of personal or group study. And some longtime A.A. members confirm the trend. "You just don't see a lot of people going through the book one-on-one anymore," said Gord, who has belonged to A.A. for 35 years.

The Muckers have been booking about 100 people a month, according to Jim, and the fellowship now has about 2,000 members, almost all in the Toronto area. Some recently recovered addicts say they have experienced moments of profound spiritual contentment while being booked. "I had this sense of absolute peace," recalls Tory, a film-maker in his mid-30s who was battling alcoholism and heroin addiction. "I couldn't see anything or hear anything. It was almost like the first few seconds of a drug overdose." Since then, Tory says, he has not been tormented by his old cravings. And for that, he is both relieved and grateful.:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

There are times when we simply do not know what to do,

 

There are times when we simply do not know what to do, or where to go, next. Sometimes these periods are brief, sometimes lingering. We can get through these times. We can rely on our program and the disciplines of recovery. We can cope by using our faith, other people, and our resources. Accept uncertainty. We do not always have to know what to do or where to go next. We do not always have clear direction. Refusing to accept the inaction and limbo makes things worse. It is okay to temporarily be without direction. Say, "I don't know," and be comfortable with that. We do not have to try to force wisdom, knowledge, or clarity when there is none. While waiting for direction, we do not have to put our life on hold. Let go of anxiety and enjoy life. Relax. Do something fun. Enjoy the love and beauty in your life. Accomplish small tasks. They may have nothing to do with solving the problem, or finding direction, but this is what we can do in the interim. Clarity will come. The next step will present itself. Indecision, inactivity, and lack of direction will not last forever. Today, I will accept my circumstances even if I lack direction and insight. I will remember to do things that make myself and others feel good during those times. I will trust that clarity will come of its own accord.

BACK TO BASICS FOR ADDICTS

 

BACK TO BASICS FOR ADDICTS The Muckers say A.A. has lost its course. "Up there," says James, a slim, muscular Bay Street executive in his early 40s, as he points to a gleaming office tower in Toronto's financial district. "That's where I work. Up on the 50th floor." On a noon-hour stroll through a downtown park, James admits that he is lucky to still hold a job anywhere. For years, he confides quietly, he was addicted to cocaine, a problem he kept concealed from his blue chip employer. At the height of his addiction, he confesses, he routinely blew $1,000 a weekend on the potent white powder. By Monday morning, he was exhausted, often unable to work. But a year ago, after numerous attempts to quit, James turned to a small but growing self-help organization called The Muckers Anonymous Inc. "My cravings went away and never returned," he says. "It was like someone with terminal cancer waking up one day to discover the disease was gone. It was remarkable." There is, however, nothing remarkable about the Muckers' technique. According to a 52 year old recovered alcoholic named Jim who helped start the Toronto-based group in early 1995, the Muckers rely on intense study of the 57-year -old book Alcoholics Anonymous, known to A.A. adherents as the Big Book, and the Twelve Step approach outlined in the first 103 pages. Nevertheless, the group has become embroiled in a dispute with A.A. and several other self-help groups that resembles a battle between fundamentalists and mainstream Christians. Among other things, those groups say that the Muckers, so named because they frequently muck up the Big Book by underlining key passages and phrases, have a zealous approach to recovery from addiction that excludes anything but the twelve step method. "There's a huge backlash from the established groups," says James. Last fall, A.A. representatives in Toronto removed the Muckers from their list of approved groups after discovering that their meetings covered various kinds of addictions, rather than just alcoholism. In May, A.A. ousted two members from elected positions as co-ordinators of treatment center meetings because they had been espousing the Muckers' philosophy. Representatives of A.A. are reluctant to comment on the Muckers or to discuss the relative merits of their approaches. "The Big Book hasn't changed," said Ron, a high-ranking official for eastern and central Ontario. "Its worked for almost sixty years." Some treatment centers have also rejected the Muckers. Alpha House Inc., a rehabilitation facility treating various addictions, has instructed staff and residents to avoid the Muckers. "The bottom line is that Muckers seem to be obsessed with their way being the only way," stated a memo to employees. On the other hand, the Donwood Institute, a well established, Toronto recovery facility, has allowed the Muckers to hold weekly meetings, which Donwood clients can attend. "Some of them found it quite helpful," says Dennis James, vice-president of the Donwood health recovery program. The Muckers contend that they are maintaining the original traditions of A.A. They charge that A.A. has drifted away from the Big Book and the 12-step approach that its founders, Bill Wilson, a New York City stockbroker, and Bob Smith, a physician from Ohio, developed in the mid-1930s to cope with their own alcoholism. According to the Muckers, many A.A. groups pay lip service to the sanctity of the Big Book but no longer insist that a recovering alcoholic must use it. "A.A.'s message has become broader and diluted," says John, a 35-year- old alcoholic, drug addict and staunch Mucker. "We stick to the original text." The cornerstone of the Mucker approach is called "booking," in which a member of the group works one-on-one with a recovering alcoholic or addict. They spend up to three hours a day, usually over a two-to-three-week period, studying the Big Book, line by line and phrase by phrase. Among other things, the recovering addict must admit personal failings and weaknesses and make amends to people he has harmed through his addiction. Some Muckers who belonged to A.A. say they became disenchanted by that organization's move away from its original policy of one-on-one therapy in favour of personal or group study. And some longtime A.A. members confirm the trend. "You just don't see a lot of people going through the book one-on-one anymore," said Gord, who has belonged to A.A. for 35 years. The Muckers have been booking about 100 people a month, according to Jim, and the fellowship now has about 2,000 members, almost all in the Toronto area. Some recently recovered addicts say they have experienced moments of profound spiritual contentment while being booked. "I had this sense of absolute peace," recalls Tory, a film-maker in his mid-30s who was battling alcoholism and heroin addiction. "I couldn't see anything or hear anything. It was almost like the first few seconds of a drug overdose." Since then, Tory says, he has not been tormented by his old cravings. And for that, he is both relieved and grateful.

Police probe Gold Coast shooting

Police say a man shot at Robina on Queensland's Gold Coast had links to an outlaw motorcycle gang. A man fired several shots outside a house at Robina about 10:00pm (AEST) on Saturday night, injuring a 25-year-old man. The man was shot in the shoulder and is in the Gold Coast Hospital. Police say his injuries are not life-threatening. Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson says police are still searching for the assailant. He says some of the bullets struck cars and houses. "[The offender] was targeting a particular person, and that person received some injuries from the those gun pellets," he said. "The information we have from witnesses is that there were a number of shots fired. "The victim has an association with an outlaw motorcycle group but he's not a member himself. "At this stage, we're not able to say if it's bikie-related or if it's a personal issue." Police have already interviewed a number of witnesses but no-one has been arrested over the shooting. Detective Superintendent Hutchinson says the injured man, who is an associate of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, is cooperating with police but cannot remember much about the incident.

SCOTLAND'S failure to tackle the scandal of sex trafficking is exposed in a damning report today.

Baroness Helena Kennedy believes sex-trafficking victims are being let down by Scots law

 

The report demands a crackdown on the organised crime gangs behind the vile trade and lifts the lid on how the victims of trafficking and exploitation have been let down.

Leading human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy, who wrote the report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is critical of the Scottish government, the police and other law enforcement agencies.

The report looks into all aspects of human trafficking but focuses explicitly on "commercial sexual exploitation".

A source close to the inquiry said last night: "This is Scotland's dirty little secret."

The report criticises the shortfall in public or professional awareness in Scotland of human trafficking and says police have a "significant" intelligence gap on the problem.

It reveals those who are trafficked are being exploited by organised criminals, often held captive in private flats used as brothels and systematically abused.

Other victims are forced into criminal acts such as benefits fraud or cannabis cultivation, exploited on fruit-picking farms or in the hospitality industry or forced into conditions akin to slavery as domestic servants.

The report's 10 recommendations include the establishment of a task force to take on the gangs behind the misery.

And it also calls for laws to be beefed up to punish the criminals heavily when they are caught.

The source said: "The Scottish government and police have not taken the proper steps to combat human trafficking. The problem exists all over Scotland and is not confined to the sex industry.

"People are being shipped in from all over the world to be used as cheap labour and serious gangsters are behind it.

"We've had prostitutes coming from as far away as Brazil, Nigeria and Bolivia to work in Scottish cities and police don't do anything.

"The recommendations made in the report need to be followed up urgently."

The inquiry's findings and mmendations are based recommendations on written evidence and face-to-face interviews and include statements from victims of trafficking.

Glasgow-born Baroness Kennedy described the nature and extent of human trafficking in Scotland as "a human rights abuse of terrible consequences".

She said: "Human trafficking is one of those pressing contemporary issues which speaks to the societies nature of our societies. It tests the value we attach to the humanity of others.

"That is why it is so important to develop effective strategies to combat trafficking. It speaks to who we are as a people. Confronting it involves collaboration."

She added: "I am hoping Scotland will pioneer a zerotolerance approach, leading the way with new strategies, legislation, and the kinds of multi-agency cooperation that enables the punishment of the traffickers and the identification and recovery of the victims."

Last month, in the first case of its kind in Scotland, Stephen Craig, 34, from Clydebank, was jailed for three years and four months for controlling prostitutes.

His co-accused, Sarah Beukan, 22, from Leith in Edinburgh, was jailed for 18 months.

They were the first people to be convicted in Scotland under new laws covering trafficking within the UK.

The pair admitted moving 14 people to addresses in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and Newcastle to work as prostitutes.

Equality and Human Rights Scotland Commissioner Kaliani Lyle said: "Trafficking is one of the most severe human rights abuses in the modern world.

"It operates below the radar and is kept there through fear and deception. Our challenge is to rid Scotland of this modern slavery."

Ann Fehilly, of the Glasgow Community and Safety Services TARA Project, said: "If we are able to ensure that protections are in place, then more prosecutions will follow, ensuring that Scotland sends a message to those who traffic and exploit vulnerable women that such abuses will not be tolerated."

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The Scottish government welcome this inquiry and the extensive work Baroness Kennedy has undertaken to expose the unacceptable and atrocious practices which allow human trafficking to persist."

He added: "Trafficking is a particularly horrific and brutal violation of human rights. It has no place in modern Scotland and the consequences it brings for victims and communities are incredibly damaging."

Case Study: Evil deeds exposed in Record

THE Daily Record has shone a light on Scotland's seedy underbelly, with senior reporter Annie Brown interviewing victims and those working to beat trafficking.

Last month, Annie met former vice girl Susan, 36, who worked out of flats run by Scotland's only convicted sex traffickers Stephen Craig and Sarah Beukan.

The mum-of-three told how one woman worked for Craig when she was six months pregnant and another was traumatised after having sex with 12 men in a row.

And sadistic Craig threatened to pour boiling water down one woman's throat if she moved on.

Annie also met Ann Hamilton, who established the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) in 2005 to help identify and support women in Glasgow who had been sex trafficked.

Ann said: "We saw there were a lot of foreign women in prostitution in Glasgow and the Met Police in London were warning us about trafficking.

"We had never heard the term but very soon we realised we had an issue and we had to establish a service for the women and I think it has worked very well."

Key Points

1 Scotland needs a comprehensive strategy against trafficking.Recommendation: Scottish government should develop strategic plan.

2 There is little public or professional awareness of human trafficking or its indicators. Recommendation: Holyrood should run an anti-trafficking campaign.

3 Human Scotland and in the UK has developed in a piecemeal fashion.Recommendation: Holyrood should consider introducing comprehensive Human Trafficking Bill.

4 Police service has a significant intelligence gap on human trafficking.Recommendation: Set up multi-agency task force.

5 There have been few prosecutions against suspected traffickers.Recommendation: Review legislation to consider tougher sentences where human trafficking is background to crimes.

6 Law enforcement bodies have disrupted organised crime through asset recovery but there have been few operations against traffickers.Recommendation: Develop strategy for using asset recovery powers against trafficking groups.

7 Recommendation: Scottish and UK governments to help various agencies, such as employers, bring awareness of human trafficking into their operations.

8 Recommendation: Holyrood involve private sector in strategic approach in dealing with awareness and monitoring of trafficking.

9 Recommendation: Home Office should lead review of system for identifying trafficking victims.

10 Scotland does not yet have comprehensive, end-to-end services for victims of human trafficking. Recommendation: Holyrood should develop a trafficking care standard.

Marvel character, Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto, has apparently infringed the copyright of the King of Spain

Marvel character, Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto, has apparently infringed the copyright of the King of Spain in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, with the Zarzuela Palace claiming the X-Men villain's alternate costume is identical to the military uniform worn by King Juan Carlos.

Representitives for the Zazuela Palace have contacted the Spanish distributor of the game in the region, Koch Media, to warn them of possible copyright infringement.

This isn't the first time the Spanish Royal's has stamped their feet over the strong resemblences, as Marvel faced a similar dispute when Magneto first donned the uniform in The Pulse: House of M Special X-Men special.

New ecstasy fears after two dead and one seriously ill following club weekend

 

The clubbers, aged 20 and 21, died within hours of each other at the same hospital after attending separate dance music events at Alexandra Palace in north London over the weekend. Another 20-year-old man, also thought to have attended an event at the venue, is also being treated at the same hospital where he is said to be in a serious but stable condition. Last night Scotland Yard issued a special appeal to any young people who may have taken drugs at or before either of the events to seek immediate medical attention amid fears dealers may have been peddling an ultra-strong batch. It comes just a week after the charity Drugscope, which monitors trends in underground the drug trade, warned of an alarming rise in the popularity of ecstasy which dominated the 1990s rave scene but fell out of fashion. A surge in use follows an influx of a more-potent Chinese variants of the drug which is based on the chemical MDMA, or methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

Ecstasy alert after club deaths

 

wo young clubbers suspected of taking ecstasy died after separate dance music events at London's Alexandra Palace, police said. The men, aged 20 and 21, were admitted to a north London hospital on Sunday and were pronounced dead within seven hours of each other. The 21-year-old is thought to have attended an all-night party called Bass Culture, which started on Friday and continued into Saturday. The 20-year-old is believed to have attended a night called Epic, starting on Saturday night and running into Sunday. A second 20-year-old man who was also believed to have attended the event on Saturday night was admitted to hospital as well and remains in a serious but stable condition. The Metropolitan Police said the cause of the deaths and injury was yet to be established but confirmed that one line of inquiry was that the men may have taken illegal substances, possibly MDMA - the chemical name for ecstasy. They issued an urgent appeal for other clubbers to seek medical attention following the unexplained deaths. Detective Inspector Rita Tierney said: "Although it is too early to say what caused these men's health to deteriorate, we are investigating the possibility that illegal drugs may have been involved. "If you have taken what you believed to be MDMA, or any other substance, during this weekend's events at Alexandra Palace, and are now feeling unwell, I would strongly urge you to attend your nearest hospital as soon as possible."

For reasons still obscure, the program and the fellowship of AA could cause a surrender which in turn would lead to a period of no drinking.

 

 It became ever more apparent that in everyone's psyche there existed an unconquerable ego which bitterly opposed any thought of defeat. Until that ego was somehow reduced or rendered ineffective, no likelihood of surrender could be anticipated. AA, still very much in its infancy, was celebrating a third or fourth anniversary of one of the groups. The speaker immediately preceding me told in detail of the efforts of his local group—which consisted of two men—to get him to dry up and become its third member. After several months of vain efforts on their part and repeated nose dives on his, the speaker went on to say: "Finally, I got cut down to size and have been sober ever since," a matter of some two or three years. When my turn came to speak, I used his phrase "cut down to size" as a text around which to weave my remarks. Before long, out of the corner of my eye, I became conscious of a disconcerting stare. It was coming from the previous speaker. It was perfectly clear: He was utterly amazed that he had said anything which made sense to a psychiatrist. The incident showed that two people, one approaching the matter clinically and the other relying on his own intuitive report of what had happened to him, both came up with exactly the same observation: the need for ego reduction. It is common knowledge that a return of the full-fledged ego can happen at any time. Years of sobriety are no insurance against its resurgence. No AA's, regardless of their veteran status, can ever relax their guard against a reviving ego. The function of surrender in AA is now clear. It produces that stopping by causing the individual to say, "I quit. I give up on my headstrong ways. I've learned my lesson." Very often for the first time in that individual's adult career, he has encountered the necessary discipline that halts him in his headlong pace. Actually, he is lucky to have within him the capacity to surrender. It is that which differentiates him from the wild animals. And this happens because we can surrender and truly feel, "Thy will, not mine, be done." Unfortunately, that ego will return unless the individual learns to accept a disciplined way of life, which means the tendency toward ego comeback is permanently checked. This is not news to AA members. They have learned that a single surrender is not enough. Under the wise leadership of the AA "founding fathers" the need for continued endeavor to maintain that miracle has been steadily stressed. The Twelve Steps urge repeated inventories, not just one, and the Twelfth Step is in itself a routine reminder that one must work at preserving sobriety. Moreover, it is referred to as Twelfth Step work—which is exactly what it is. By that time, the miracle is for the other person.

Murder in the Rooms of AA

One AA sponsor was falsely implicated in the slaying of a prostitute, while another was gunned down after divulging someone's top-secret "fourth step" confession. Just how protected are you when helping people who may be mentally ill—or even dangerous?  

Killing the messenger

 

Confessing less-than-savory acts to a trusted AA sponsor is not an unusual scenario for most people during the early days of their recovery. A “fearless moral inventory,” in fact, is one of the backbones of the 12-step program. But what would you do if someone confessed something to you in an AA meeting that went far beyond the bounds of the usual the usual tales of drug-induced bad behavior?  What if they confessed to cold-blooded murder?  When 20-year-old Bob Ryder came to his sponsor, Floyd Nadeau, with something on his conscience, Nadeau surely had no idea that what he was about to hear would have a lasting impact on both men’s lives.

There have been many high profile cases of murder prosecutions hinging on admissions of guilt coming to light during AA meetings. This one was among the most biizarre.

According to Nadeu, Ryder confessed that he had been getting high with a prostitute at his home in Lewiston, Maine when the prostitute started to “irritate him” by constantly complaining about her tough life. The final straw came when Ryder allegedly caught the woman rifling through his wallet. According to Nadeu, Ryder said that he grabbed the nearest thing to hand—a wooden clock—and viciously beat his victim to death with it before concealing the body in the basement of his home.

Nadeu later told authorities that at first he was highly skeptical that Ryder had murdered anyone. His sponsee, after all,  had a history of mental problems, which had led to his being discharged from the marines. But to prove he was telling the truth, Ryder supposedly took Nadeu down into the basement and showed him the decomposing corpse. Still, it would be over two weeks before Nadeu went to the police; when questioned on this seemingly inexplicable delay, Nadeu claimed that he was worried about violating AA’s teachings on confidentiality.  

But the sponsor had even more revelations to come. After Ryder was arrested, he claimed that he and Nadeu had been cruising for prostitutes when they picked up the victim, Danita Brown, a mother of nine children. Ryder claimed that he and Nadeu had spent two days partying with Brown before the murder, and though he killed the woman while Nadeu was out, he insists that he immediately told Nadeu about his crime as soon as he came back. Ryder added that his sponsor had advised him to use baking soda to cover the corpse’s odor. Nadeu denies all the allegations. "I had nothing to do with it," Nadeau is reported as saying, "and I've been cleared." The truth will no doubt be unraveled now that Ryder has been formally charged with Brown’s murder.

Of course, it’s really not a surprise that a program that deals exclusively with addicts—and thus people who are sometimes, by extension, leading criminal lifestyles—might involve those who have several nasty skeletons in their closets or have issues beyond substance abuse. There have been many high profile cases of murder prosecutions hinging on admissions of guilt coming to light during AA meetings. Last year in Alabama, Jamie Letson was found guilty of the 1980 murder of an 18-year-old student. The case remained unsolved until Letson confessed to her AA sponsor about it in 2002. There was also the case of Southern California resident Scott Gordon Reynolds, who was sentenced to 50 years for the murder of his AA sponsor, Uriel Noriega, in 2008. The killing, which took place in front of multiple witnesses during a meeting at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Long Beach, California, occurred because,when Reynolds snapped after he found out that Noriega had told other members at the AA meeting that Reynolds was gay. He said the secret was known only to his mother and his sponsor.  Reynolds told police he took the gun to the meeting with the intention of committing suicide in front of the group, but once he got there, he had a change of heart and decided to murder Noriega instead. If Reynolds’ version of events is to be believed, this case is an interesting inverse of Ryder’s, where an alleged disregard for AA’s principle of anonymity led to tragedy. (The prosecutor has gone on record to say that Reynolds’ claims were never fully proven in court).

Still, both of these cases bring up some interesting ethical questions, such as: what are the limits of confidentiality in AA? What should you do if you’re sponsoring someone who seems mentally ill or dangerous? And is there any kind of legal protection over what you say in a meeting or to a sponsor?

According to Michael Cohen, the executive director of Florida Lawyers Assistance and a legal expert who is in recovery himself, "Probably the best course of action would be for a sponsor to let the sponsee know in advance that if the sponsee confesses to a crime, there is always a possibility that the sponsor could be forced to disclose the information, or that the sponsor might do it voluntarily if they were really troubled by the disclosure. I would advise anyone I sponsored that if they needed to disclose this type of information, they might want to consider doing it to a therapist or clergy, in which case it would be protected by statute."

“Unlike attorney-client, doctor-patient, substance abuse treatment counselor-client, or priest-penitent relationships, there is no statutory confidentiality protection for sponsors or 12 Step group members, and they have been compelled in some cases to testify about information received,” Cohen explains. “The police could threaten to charge the sponsor with obstruction of justice if they refused to cooperate.” Under US law, while therapists and other professionals are legally obliged to disclose information to the authorities if they believe a client presents a danger to themselves or others, this statute protects them from having to testify in court.

“We’re only as sick as our secrets,” says one AA mantra. But what about a case where the secret is murder?

There are a few legal precedents here. In the case ofCox Vs Miller, a 2002 decision by the 2nd circuit court of New York struck down a previous decision by the Southern District of New York Court’s which said that a confession of murder by Cox (disclosed to several AA members) fell under the auspices of New York’s clergy privilege, the 2nd circuit court’s decision was that since the confession was not made “in order to seek spiritual guidance,” it did not qualify. However, the court did not go as far as to analyze whether or not Alcoholics Anonymous should be treated in the eyes of the law as a traditional religion for future clerical privilege analysis, therefore leaving something of a grey area for future cases.

AA is a program that doesn’t differentiate. Meetings take place everywhere from exclusive Beverly Hills neighborhoods to the bowels of maximum-security prisons. When I was in drug treatment, I felt that I could—and should—talk openly about the petty theft and fraud I’d engaged in to fund my heroin habit, as it was part of the process of “getting better.” “We’re only as sick as our secrets,” says one AA mantra. But what about a case where the secret is murder?

“Spiritual suggestions are not above the law,” said an AA spokesperson I talked to about these issues, adding that there is often confusion between the idea of anonymity and “privileged communication.”

“The tradition of anonymity does not mean that AA members enjoy privileged communication as we are not professionals,” the spokesperson told me. “However, Bill W. tells us in the Big Book that our sobriety allows us to become citizens of the world again. I think that based upon our core principles, most AA members would encourage one another to take responsibility for their actions.”

AA has long strived to protect its identity as a program without leaders, a program built upon the foundation of addict helping other addicts. But I can’t help but wonder—given some of the examples detailed here—whether or not some kind of formal training should be required before someone takes on the massive responsibility of sponsoring another addict. After all, if I were to set up an office tomorrow and advertise myself as a psychotherapist, I imagine I would be closed down in a matter of weeks unless I had the necessary qualifications. Yet AA sponsors, unpaid and untrained, are entrusted with the spiritual and mental wellbeing of fragile—and occasionally dangerous—newly sober people every single day. Surely it’s not too critical to suggest that the program as a whole should consider implementing some basic protections for sponsors and sponsees alike?

Whatever the eventual truths that emerge from the Ryder murder case however, anyone who argues that cases like this prove that the rooms of AA are dangerous is missing the point. There’s nothing more threatening happening in the meetings and fellowship than anywhere else where you may come into regular contact with your fellow human beings. (During the years I attended AA meetings, the most dangerous thing I ever encountered was the second-hand smoke wafting over from the usual huddle of chain-smoking ex-dope fiends.) For every tale of a 12-step tragedy, there are hundreds if not thousands of stories being shared about lives being saved. And sometimes, as it turns out, the rooms themselves can be a safeguard—as they were for an unlucky armed robber who was gunned down while trying to rob a particularly well-armed AA meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. How many other places are there where the guy sitting next to you—who happens to have a concealed weapons permit—is willing to risk his life in order to keep the group safe?