Alcohol,Alcoholism,and the Law: A Psychoanalytically Oriented Analysis

Abstract

With the aid of psychoanalytic tools and insights, this article seeks to reveal that alcoholic beverages can have both good and bad consequences, and that law can be helpful in maximizing the “good” and minimizing the “bad.” Considered herein are the physical and psychological effects of drinking, the history of legal efforts to regulate drinking in the United States, and the causes and possible cures of alcoholism. Then, there is a discussion of the psychoanalytically oriented view that on an unconscious level, drinking is frequently an attempt by the emotionally troubled to cure themselves, albeit temporarily. The final section of the article discusses the relationship between drinking and the law, and offers a number of recommendations.