AFC Newsletter Summer 2026

Dear AFC Friend,

In our last newsletter we included copies of two 8½ inch x 5½ inch cards which we have been sending to the Arkansas Legislature. We sent these cards to all 35 state senators and all 100 state representatives.

The legislature was in their fiscal session for a month so we sent these directly to the Capitol Building in Little Rock, which is the address for the legislators when they are in session. We sent one card a week during the time they were in Little Rock. The number of individual cards which we have sent to the legislators adds up to 675.

We are also sending these cards to other government officials when an alcohol issue arises in their area. For instance, White county is facing the possibility of the first “private club” alcohol permit out in the county, not located in a town or city. We have mailed thirteen cards to the County Judge and Justices of the Peace in White County. This is to give information to local officials, just as to the legislators, that will give them very good reason to deny the alcohol permits in their jurisdiction, if they will evaluate the information rationally.

Will this information make any difference? We can’t be sure. But, we must make an effort where ever and whenever we can to make a difference in the alcohol war raging against the people. Yes, it is a war. And, the destruction is tremendous.

The two cards which we sent in the last newsletter were titled: Do We Have a “national crisis”? and Possible Laws That Could Be Passed in Arkansas State Legislature.

We have sent three additional cards since that time. These were titled: Alcohol & Youth, Alcohol & Suicide, and Alcohol the Gateway Drug.

The reasoning behind sending these cards is to hopefully get the lawmakers to understand that they should not pass any legislation that encourages the use of alcohol, and to think about passing laws that would help decrease the abundant problems caused by the use of alcohol.

Those laws could take several directions such as increasing taxes on alcohol to offset the societal costs of abuse, capping alcohol content in retail drinks, banning or censoring predatory alcohol ads, and mandating warning labels on all promotional materials, and several other things that were mentioned on one of the cards in the last newsletter.

For as long as I can remember, almost all alcohol bills introduced into the legislature favored the alcohol industry. That definitely needs not only to stop, but be reversed.

Again, the question is, “will the information on these cards have any influence on these legislators?” Are we wasting our time? I honestly do not know, but if it doesn’t affect them, it should. Nevertheless, we must do something to turn the tide on the alcohol tsunami that is having such an extremely negative effect on our lives, even those of us who not drink. For instance, just to reiterate, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates there are one in eight adults in America who are alcoholics. That is an incredible number. That is a drug crisis. And, these alcoholics, as I have shared with you before, are costing you and me, along with every man, woman, and child in America, $807 each and every year.

Cost of the Drug of Alcohol Compared to Illegal Drugs
I attended a meeting in Little Rock a few days ago. At that meeting was an Arkansas State Senator. I was able to speak with him briefly about the alcohol issue. Immediately he said, “you may be speaking to the wrong person,” as he pointed to a glass of wine he held in his hand. He did not say this in a hostile manner, just making a point since he was consuming alcohol at the time.

I proceeded to converse with him about the issue and how bad the problem was. He then asked me how bad it  was compared to the drug problem. I told him that alcohol was a drug and that it was the number one drug problem in America. He didn’t seem to want to acknowledge that alcohol was a drug. He continued to question me about how the problem compared to the “drug” problem. I continued to hold to my argument that alcohol was the number one drug problem. I didn’t have any stats with me so I couldn’t prove to him my statements, which truly are factual, as you will see from the information below. We concluded our conversation and parted.

The next day I approached the Senator again and he asked me about stats. I agreed to send him information validating what I was telling him, which I did when I arrived home. I am including that information below.

THE COMPARISON OF COST
National assessments of the economic costs of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, abuse and problems in the US have generally shown that costs related to alcohol use far exceed those related to the use of illegal drugs (Miller and Hendrie, 2009; Miller, et al., 2006; National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011).

Total Economic Impact: While older studies placed alcohol abuse at $166.5 billion compared to $109.9 billion for other drugs, recent data highlights the gap remains significant, with alcohol causing roughly 2.9 times the financial damage of other drug abuse in some analyses. (Note: This is just financial, not counting human pain and suffering.)

Alcohol misuse costs the U.S. economy more than other drugs, with excessive consumption estimated at $249 billion annually as of 2010. These costs, driven by lost productivity and healthcare expenses, generally exceed those of illicit drugs (approx. $193 billion).

The essential reasons for this disparity are likely found in the numerous ways legally available drugs become integrated into the social fabric of communities, leading to a dispersion of problems across many social and behavioral domains. Aside from the negative social costs that arise from limiting the use of illegal drugs, such as those related to illegal sales, these restrictions on use limit the environmental contexts in which use might become problematic.

In contrast, 80 years of legal alcohol sales, and the progressive liberalization of sales in many states, enables the integration of use into many different social and behavioral domains, extending from purchases in flower shops and pharmacies, through vending machines at sporting arenas, and use in other high risk contexts associated with drinking and drunken driving (Gruenewald, 2011). Legal limitations on sales of illegal drugs have retarded expansion of use into many contexts, limiting the set of problems related to use (LaScala, et al, 2005).

Healthcare Burden: Alcohol-related problems generate $22.5 billion in annual healthcare costs, with alcohol accounting for 36% of Medicaid substance use claims in 2020. (But, we add more burden to the taxpayer by encouraging and expanding alcohol sales by every means possible.)

I think you will find this information as disturbing as I did when I discovered it. Just another reminder that we have a “national crisis” on our hands, regardless of whether we accept that fact or not. This is reality!