Free Booze Helps the Homeless

Written by Nickel - 10 Comments

Here’s a weird one for you… A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has concluded that providing homeless alcoholics with access to free alcohol can reduce run-ins with the law as well as hospital trips. Participants in this study were supplied with fifteen glasses of wine or sherry per day (one an hour from 7AM to 10PM) and, after an average of 16 months, the number of times participants got in trouble with the law had fallen 51 percent from the three years before they joined the program, and hospital emergency room visits were down 36 percent. Hmmm… Open bar as a social program. Now why didn’t I think of that?

[Source: CNN.com]

Published on January 11th, 2006 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

I’m never amazed at some of the crazy things people come up with!!!

And no, I didn’t find this post as a result of googling “Free Booze”.
Comment by FMF — Jan 11th 2006 @ 7:02 am
Free booze for alcoholics…
Free money for gamblers…
Free Macs for…
Comment by Daytonscott — Jan 11th 2006 @ 7:47 am
Free Macs for… addicts?

Comment by nickel — Jan 11th 2006 @ 7:54 am
Wait until they get liver cirrhosis from drinking 15 drinks a day for X years, then see how the hospital emergency room visits increase…
Comment by jim — Jan 11th 2006 @ 8:54 am
Did they offer free donuts for cops?
Comment by Loi Tran — Jan 11th 2006 @ 2:36 pm
Actually, this program was running in my neck of the woods in Ottawa. Too bad I did not know about it, otherwise, I would have found a way to sign up!
Comment by Canadian Capitalist — Jan 11th 2006 @ 4:34 pm
Jim — You can have liver problems from drinking that little?
Comment by FMF — Jan 12th 2006 @ 2:13 pm
I have no idea, I’ve avoid drinking in moderation since it’s a waste of time.
Comment by jim — Jan 12th 2006 @ 9:22 pm
If only we had this while I was in college, I would probably have more money socked away. Then again, we weren’t really sherry drinkers.
Comment by Jeremy — Jan 21st 2006 @ 2:43 pm
Well, just wait until the homeless people sue for liver damage or other health concerns. They’ll win so much money in court, they won’t be homeless anymore!
Comment by Mike — Jan 14th 2008 @ 7:30 pm