This past weekend Kingston held its annual Santa Claus
Parade where 25,000 people from our community turned out to welcome in the holiday
season. Unfortunately, rather than
hearing about the great turnout, and a community coming together, we have mostly
heard about the 24 year old intoxicated man who was telling the crowds that
there is no Santa. This is a perfect
example of alcohol’s second hand effects or “the impacts of alcohol to those
other than the person doing the drinking”[1]. While we can’t be sure that this man only did
this because he was intoxicated, alcohol likely at least contributed to the
situation.
Some are dismayed that anyone would do that, while others
are dismayed at the fact that someone could be arrested for simply speaking
freely to a crowd. However, as the
Kingston Police clarified in an interview with The National Post, “he was charged with two criminal counts — causing a
disturbance by being drunk, which is a more minor criminal charge, and then we
charged him with a breach of probation since he was on probation at the time.
He was also charged with public intoxication.”[2]
Incidents such as these involving alcohol, contribute to
a decrease in community well being. What
other second hand effects of alcohol have you noticed in our community? Join the conversation on our Facebook page. Let’s work together to ensure alcohol is only
a part of our good times.
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