Alcohol, Our Society & Driving
Alcohol consumption would seem to have been with us for a very long time. Recent archaeological results have shown that stone-age man (and doubtless woman) were storing beer in stone jars some 10,000 years ago.
This is as man turned from being the nomadic hunter gatherer and in the ancient lands of the Near East begin to develop permanent communities and establish grain farming.
It is quite possible that the earliest producers of grain did so with brewing beer as the aim, rather than bread making, as a source of nutrition and calories.
In the cradle of civilisation, the lands between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern day Iraq, evidence of viniculture, the deliberate farming of grape vines and residual material in jars, suggest wine was being made around 5,000 BC, some 7,000 years ago.
A similar story unfolds in the ancient civilisations of China and India, as permanent settlements and farming allowed time for fermentations.
In ancient Egypt, the pictorials on pyramid and tomb walls show us to this day, that wine and beer played a part in integral part in society, with beer and wine used not only for nourishment and enjoyment, but since it was reckoned to have been discovered by a god, (Osiris) it played a part in rituals and religious observances.
The Roman Empire spread the general acceptance and consumption of wine across Europe, although after the decline of empire, northern Europe, perhaps without the access to sweet sugary fruits such as grapes, mead and beer became more popular.
Christianity gave alcohol a moderate blessing, and as it spread, so did social tolerance, indeed, expectance, of beers and wines to part of the general fabric of society.
Some agents have attempted to remove alcohol from their societies (such as prohibition in the US), but the only really effective one has been through stricter religious doctrine.
When states have attempted to supress alcohol through temperance or dictatorial whim, they have not succeeded.
Today’s suppression is best applied by laws relating to drinking, and driving motor vehicles. The government have determined the amount a person may consume, and the police do their best to enforce it… getting caught can lead to significant driving bans and while drining and driving can never be condoned, it is always advisable to seek professional legal advice from experienced & highly successful motoring lawyers such as Patterson Law to help you defend your licence.
To gauge this, alcohol is measured in units, which roughly represent the blood alcohol concentration (as mg alcohol per 100ml blood) which determines whether an offence has been committed by driving a motor vehicle.
For instance, 1.5 to 2 pints of beer represent 3 to 4 units, which will give 50-80mg/100ml. The legal limit is 80, thus just 4 units could put some people over the limit.
In Scotland this limit is lower, representing 1 pint of beer.