Tag: alcohol

Holiday blues: Exit strategy

Posted on by kathleenmc1953@sbcglobal.net

Holiday blues: exit stategy

A lot of people don’t feel OK to talk about it but many dread the holidays. This is particularly the case if you may have a problem with depression or substance use. However, the many expectations associated with the holidays can affect anyone.

I have found that the underlying cause of holiday blues is expectations based upon past experiences and present disappointments. These can include:

  • Reminders of difficult experiences during the holidays with family and/or friends
  • Expectations of others’ generosity
  • Expectations of closer relationships with others (how lonely or isolated one may be during the year is much more apparent at this time)
  • Financial strain which results from spending resources which one doesn’t have or disappointment about not being able to buy presents for others

Getting through the season, or better yet, actually enjoying this time is dependent upon you being proactive not reactive. Taking responsibility for your mood during the holidays is as simple as implementing some strategies. This involves taking some time to think things through; each person has unique triggers which affect their mood. The following are some strategies that have worked for others:

  • Focus on those times that you had a positive experience of the holidays. Examine what factors made that time enjoyable and try to implement some of those things this year.
  • Plan a vacation with friends and/or family over the Christmas holiday.
  • Create your own tradition whether it be religious or spiritual. It could also be a ritual of some kind. Make the holiday come alive to YOU.
  • Volunteer at a homeless shelter, food bank, senior center, etc.
  • Begin a gratitude practice in November and stay with it over the holidays. Use this time as a period of preparation for changes that you want to make for the new year.
  • Reach out to others as you would like them to reach out to you, i.e., send cards, make contact with 1 or 2 people that you have lost touch with, or do something nice for a friend.
  • Offer your services to friends or family as a gift. This could include watering their plants when they are on vacation, running errands, cooking them a meal, cleaning their house or manicuring their garden.
  • Keep track of your alcohol and/or drug use. During the holidays you may be tempted to drink or use drugs more but this can have a negative effect on your mood.  This is a simple way to realistically see how and when you use and very often can help you to cut down.

I hope these suggestions are helpful in adding to your enjoyment of this time of year. Feel free to add other suggestions that we all may benefit from. Dare I say, happy holidays!

 
DISCLAIMER
This information is for educational purposes only and should not in any way be considered a substitute for professional help. If you feel that you need immediate assistance please call your local psychiatric emergency services.

High on the Playa: Burning Man and Drug Use, Part I

Posted on by kathleenmc1953@sbcglobal.net

Burning Man 2014 main burn

Burning Man is over for another year but many of us will remain enthralled with the continued media coverage of the event. As the photos and videos roll out and the stories are told we get a small taste of what goes on there and the fun we may have missed. While there are aspects that hold our interest such as the art, attire and camaraderie, we may also be curious about the drug culture at Burning Man.

Now that another man has been burned and everyone is heading back to their regular lives I thought it might be interesting to try to get an idea about the substances people may have used to heighten their experiences during their stay in Black Rock City. Information, might I say, is not easy to come by and is by no means definitive. While large cities put together reports gleaned from several sources to try to get a handle on what kind of drugs people are using and getting in trouble with, small towns usually don’t have the resources and personnel to do the same. Black Rock City is an even more special case because it exists for a brief period each year and then disappears until the following year. However, despite the obstacles there are a number of sources, both governmental and anecdotal, that can help to elucidate the specifics of drug use at the event. Here goes.

Black Rock City Drug and Alcohol Policy

The Black Rock City Survival Guide has a drug and alcohol policy. It can be found here. It goes into detail regarding the laws related to what is defined as trafficking and possession. Specific to trafficking, it alerts participants to the presence of undercover officers and advises that the practice of “gifting” can also be viewed as trafficking by law enforcement. It explicitly states that the use of medical marijuana is not legal in the state of Nevada.

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Report

Burning Man Event Law Enforcement Activity Summary (2010 - 2013)

YearBlack Rock City Pop.BLM Operation
(# of Officers)		 BLM LE Actions
Citations/Arrests 		BLM Officer/Participant Ratio
201051,51551293 (158 drug) / 9 1 per 1,010
201153,73551376 (218 drug) / 8 1 per 1,053
201252,385 70365 (253 drug) / 14 1 per 748
201369,613 70433 (309 drug) / 6 1 per 994

Table 1.1

As can be seen from the table, although the population of Black Rock City increased 35% from 2010 to 2014, the number of drug citations increased by almost 96%. This cannot be accounted for by the small increase in the ratio of law enforcement officers to participants. Either one or both of the following assumptions could be made: law enforcement is more aggressively citing participants or more participants are bringing themselves to the attention of law enforcement by their behavior.

Lawyers for Burners

According to, Lawyers for Burners, the BLM has shifted its drug enforcement efforts from inside the event to the entrance road into the event and Gate road just inside the event. They report that in 2013 about 85% of people contacting Lawyers for Burners received citations while on the way into Black Rock City.

Lawyers for Burners also report that, from the information they received from the BLM for 2012, 253 of 365 citations were drug-related (as can also be seen in Table 1), close to 70% of the total. Most of these citations were for small amounts of marijuana. There were 11 citations/arrests for distribution/trafficking of drugs.

In Part II

In the elusive quest to get an idea of what substances people are using in Black Rock City there remain some other aspects to explore. Some people are still recovering from Burning Man 2014 for better or worse so the picture is far from complete. The powers that be are beginning to pull together their 2014 statistics for public consumption. In addition, other avenues of inquiry will be examined in the next post. These include anecdotal reports, Pershing county/BLM citation/arrest records for 2014, alcohol use at the event and reports of arrests for drug trafficking on the way to the event.

A Note

By no means should this informational pursuit be construed as an indictment of the drug culture. People have always used substances including one of the most dangerous intoxicants, alcohol. If one chooses to use a drug, knowing what one is using and how to use it safely is very important; it can make a big difference in how one survives on the playa.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

References
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1. United States. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). (2014, March 31) Law enforcement activity statistics for the Burning Man event, 2010-2013. Retrieved September 8, 2014 from GovernmentAttic.org,
file:///home/chronos/user/Downloads/burningmanstats.pdf