If you’re reading this column, then it means that you survived your self-imposed “Dry January” for 2026. Voluntary alcohol abstinence in January has become a national “thing” and is a good way to give your overworked liver a break after the marathon holiday season.
About 1 in 3 U.S. adults participated in Dry January last year. Of those, about 72% completed the full month successfully. Another 15% completed a “Damp January” — meaning they cut back rather than fully abstained. Cheers to you: dry or damp.
The case for going cold turkey is stronger than ever. Booze has a rich history of bringing people together….and also ripping them apart. Alcohol reduces sleep quality, negatively impacts health, and generally leads to decisions that reek of booze and regret.
Wit & Wisdom: Clear thinking for the second half of life.
Took this photo while doing “research” for this article.
But a strange thing is happening. The U.S. consumption of alcohol is dropping faster than Prince Harry’s approval ratings. It’s not just “Dry/Damp January”. This trend has been building for years even though it’s still the “drug of choice” for 28 million American addicts.
As your doctor has probably told you, alcohol has significant costs—liver disease, cancer risks and shortened lifespan.
What’s harder to quantify is the cost of abstinence. I have to admit, good Scotch is often my creative muse. And booze sure makes it easier to have a tough conversation or to sit through a long business dinner. You also can’t underestimate how many “accidents” were born nine months after finishing a good bottle of Merlot. My parents drank Merlot.
That’s not me.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, but our birth rate (blue line) has been falling in lockstep with the reduction in alcohol consumption (red line). Once you see the connection you can’t unsee how deeply alcohol is woven into the architecture of connection. Both alcohol consumption and the birth rate are at all-time lows.
On college campuses, late-night parties and cheap beer are table stakes. Millions of friendships were formed at 1 a.m. over a plate of scattered, smothered, & covered hash browns.
But, surprisingly, alcohol consumption even among college students (ages 19-22) is crashing. Only about half of college kids reported drinking in the past month. Another historic low.
The consumption of alcohol is dropping faster Prince Harry’s approval ratings.
If it wasn’t for Rum, we might still be a British colony. See, the Molasses Act of 1733 imposed a tax on molasses, sugar, and rum imported from non-British foreign colonies. In 1770 colonists imported four million gallons of rum and distilled another five million gallons from imported black market molasses. I suspect the Revolutionary War was really fought over Rum, not tea. If it wasn’t for taxes on molasses and rum we’d be sipping English Breakfast Tea at Starbucks …..we’d also have really bad teeth.
You also can’t underestimate how many “accidents” were born nine months after finishing a good bottle of Merlot.
The Law of Conservation of Evil suggests that “the total amount of evil in any system remains constant.” Meaning that if alcohol consumption goes down, something else will replace it.
Enter “California Sober”. It’s a new term meaning that you replaced alcohol with the devil’s lettuce. You know, grass, weed, chronic, ganja, etc. C’mon you didn’t really think that college kids are totally sober, right?
Last week an op-ed from the New York Times Editorial Board suggested that It’s Time For America To Admit It Has a Marijuana problem. This from the newspaper that ran hundreds of op-ed pieces suggesting Marijuana was harmless and should be legalized. (Manhattan now smells like it was invaded by an armada of angry skunks.)
Alcohol reduces sleep quality, negatively impacts health and generally leads to decisions that reek of booze and regret.
Nearly 18M Americans now use Marijuana almost daily. It’s mainstream, even where it’s not legal for recreational use. Just drive through the streets of Atlanta and you get a snoot full of weed at any time of the day. It’s illegal, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
More Americans now use marijuana daily than use cigarettes or alcohol. Let that sink in. As a vice, alcohol leads to more socialization. Weed leads to more isolation. More time holed up on the couch eating Ranch Doritos and soggy pizza while laughing at cat videos on Tik-Tok.
Regular weed use also reduces motivation, creates memory problems and lowers productivity over time. Daily users also have a 3.7x higher risk of developing THC induced psychosis. A condition which includes Hallucination, Paranoia, Delusions and Paranoid or disorganized thoughts.
The early sales pitch promised fewer hangovers and a reduction in criminal justice burdens. Now we’re waking up to 18 million near‑daily users, rising addiction, and city streets that smell like a Grateful Dead concert.
If it wasn’t for Rum, we might still be a British colony.
Before we go high-fiving each other over the reduction in alcohol use, consider this. Which is more dangerous: alcohol & socialization or weed & isolation? I suspect we will see state’s that legalized Marijuana pull back in the next few years. And that, my friends will tell us everything we need to know about this American sobriety experiment.
I’d love to hear what you think about alcohol and weed. Leave me a message by clicking the link below. I promise that you’ll hear back from me cause, you know, I’m a real person and all and I didn’t eat a weed gummy for breakfast. You can also email me at [email protected]
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