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Alcohol abuse can lead to many complications with the law and can even ruin a person's entire life. Depending on the state, there are often different consequences in terms of severity when addressing drunk drivers. In the case of DUIs, a driver may receive jail time, loss of employment, loss of custody over children, and court-ordered alcoholism treatment. In extreme cases during which a drunk driver commits manslaughter, or accidentally kills another person, the drunk driver can lose collegiate financial aid, public housing benefits, his or her second amendment right to bear a firearm,  voting rights, professional licensing, employment in certain fields, lose the right to have a passport, undergo court-ordered community service, pay fines, and parental rights. If a drunk driver merely injures another person, the consequences are similar but less severe. In even worse cases for repeat offenders, a DUI, which is considered a misdemeanor, can turn into a felony. This can lead to the driver spending a life sentence. Even if one avoids a felony conviction, the driver would experience the types of charges that was listed beforehand. However, it is to be noted that this is very uncommon.
Article Source: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/legal-consequences/

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As a depressant, alcohol can unfortunately combine with other drugs to produce some disastrous effects. Some effects that occur in combination with alcohol are nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, headaches, fainting, dizziness, accidents, loss of coordination, changes in blood pressure, and abnormal behaviour. Worse yet, a person may also experience liver damage, heart problems, depression, impaired breathing, and internal bleeding. Depending on the drug, alcohol can decrease the effectiveness of medication or render it completely useless. Also, alcohol may increase the effects of certain medications to an extreme level such as working with another depressant to fatally reduce breathing rates. However, alcohol can also make drugs harmful or toxic to the body. It can also intensify side effects such as sleepiness, drowsiness, and lightheadedness. Due to the harmful effects of alcohol combined with a more powerful drug, it is always important to check with a doctor about what types of medications to not take in conjunction with alcohol.
Article Source: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/alcohol-interactions-with-medications#2
Image Source: http://www.medindia.net/images/common/health-tips/1920_500/drug-and-alcohol-interaction.jpg

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As discussed in BAC, a high blood alcohol concentration may lead to disastrous results as drinkers may die. Alcohol poisoning, or overdose, refers to  when there is so much alcohol in the bloodstream that various parts of the brain that control basic life-support functions are shut down. For instance, alcohol poisoning can stop breathing, heart rate, body temperature control, etc.  In addition, symptoms of alcohol poisoning include confusion, difficulty remaining conscious, seizures, vomiting, trouble with breathing, clammy skin, slow heart rate, dulled responses, and low body temperatures. While some may assume that merely sleeping would help to dull the effects of alcohol poisoning, this is wrong as alcohol present in the stomach and intestines continue to leak into the bloodstream while a person is unconscious. In addition, the previously mentioned shutting down of basic life-support functions can still occur, and alcohol can irritate the stomach, causing vomiting. Vomiting is dangerous at this time as drinkers are especially prone to choking at this point. Lastly, a person can still experience severe brain damage from the overdose. If someone experiences alcohol poisoning or is suspected to, it is recommended to call for immediate professional medical attention; cold showers, coffee, and walking do not resolve alcohol poisioning and may even worsen it.
Article Source: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/alcoholoverdosefactsheet/overdosefact.htm
Image Source: https://www.skidmore.edu/aod/images/alcohol-poisoning.jpg

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Depending on the BAC, different effect occur with more severe effects as concentration increases. At 0.02-0.03, drinkers experience some euphoria, partial lightheadedness, relaxed mood, and loss of shyness. At 0.04-0.06, there is a feeling of warmth, well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, euphoria, minor impairment of memory and reasoning, exaggerated behaviour, intensified emotion, and lowered caution.  Closer to the legal limit of 0.08, a person with a BAC of 0.07-0.09 has slight balance impairment, speech, vision, hearing, reaction time, euphoria, reduced self-control, reduced judgement, lessened caution, impaired memory, declined reasoning, and usually a sense of feeling better than he or she really is. Reaching 0.1-0.125, a person experiences significant impairment of coordination, slurred speech, loss of judgement, reduced balance, vision, hearing, reaction time, and again a feeling of euphoria. Even further, a BAC of 0.13-0.15 is marked by even worse impairment of muscle coordination, lack of physical control, severe loss of balance, blurred vision, major impairment of judgement and perception, and the onset of dysphoria (anxiety and restlessness) as euphoria begins to disappear. By 0.16-0.19, a person is suffering severe dysphoria and nausea while appearing to be "sloppy drunk". In 0.2 BAC, drinkers are expected to feel dazed, confused, or disoriented in general. The drinker may need assistance walking or even standing, experience a lack of pain from injuries, vomiting, nausea, blackouts, and an increased chance of choking due to an impaired gag reflex. At 0.25, all mental, physical, and sensory functions are severely impaired, serious risk of injury, and high risk of asphyxiation due to choking on vomit. By 0.3 BAC, drinkers are left in a stupor, have little understanding of where they are, be difficult to awaken, and at risk to pass out suddenly. At 0.35 BAC, there is a high risk of a coma, and the lack of pain felt by drinkers is comparable to anesthesia. For 0.4 BAC and higher, coma is common, and death is possible due to respiratory arrest.
Article Source: http://www.brad21.org/effects_at_specific_bac.html
Image Source: https://www.dunhamlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TABC-BAC-Chart-Men.png

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As discussed before, alcohol, being a drug (depressant), has a wide range of effects on the body. For instance, studies have found that alcoholics are more likely to commit suicide, have poor interpersonal relationships, live alone, have a more negative outlook on life, and have high levels of aggression and impulsivity. While scientists do not necessarily know for sure as to why alcohol makes individuals act this way, it is theorized that alcohol consumption makes drinkers have a reduced ability to judge behaviour and consider potential consequences. This leads to less inhibition and the previously mentioned impulsivity/aggression as they cannot restrain themselves. Specifically, alcohol affects brain neurotransmitters that are responsible for feelings of reward and stress, contributing to the more negative perspective that alcoholics commonly have. Overtime, lipids and fats within the brain are affected, and thus communication throughout the central nervous system is impaired.
Article Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/145538-alcohol-and-conception-in-pregnancy/
Image Source: http://www.counselormagazine.com/uploadedImages/Images/Articles/efi_6442451367.jpg

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Due to alcohol technically being a drug or more specifically, a depressant, alcohol consumption may cause profound effects on the body, specifically the liver and brain.  Generally, a person experiences a lack of focus, lowered response times, and poor coordination. At minor levels, a drinker may also experience a slurring of speech, emotional changes, drowsiness, sleep disruption, and lowering of the body's temperature. However, a drinker that consumes excessively may experience amplified forms of previous symptoms and other conditions as well. For instance, a person may feel the urge to vomit, nausea, loss of bladder and bowel control, temporary loss of consciousness, blackouts (periods of time that the drinker has no memory of), coma, and death.
Article Source: https://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-alcohol-use/
Image Source: http://www.you-can-be-funny.com/images/drunk3.jpg

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For some alcoholics, they hurt their loved ones more than they hurt themselves. This is due to the strong influence that alcohol takes on alcoholics as they become dependent on it. Some things that the drinker may do to their family members are commitment of domestic abuse, which can include child abuse and incest (sexual relations with family members [genetically related]); marital conflict; fetal alcohol syndrome (negative effects on fetuses due to alcohol consumption during pregnancy); contribution to low self-esteem, depression, fear of abandonment, feelings of guilt and helplessness, problems in school, etc. in any children or minors under parental custody; and  contribution to depression, aggression, impulsive behaviour, intimacy, substance abuse, eating disorders, and inability to have healthy relationships in adult children.
Article Source: https://www.promises.com/eoa/index.html
Image Source: https://www.thefix.com/sites/default/files/coa.jpg

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Unfortunately, alcohol abuse often leads to a multitude of health problems that may often times be fatal. An alcoholic's brain is affected overtime by his or her excessive drinking. The person may be more prone to experience blackouts; increased memory loss; problems with muscle movement and coordination; altered heart rate, temperature, and, breathing; brain shrinkage; learning difficulties; Wenicke-Korsakoff syndrome (mental confusion, paralysis of the nerves in charge of eye movement, and difficulty with muscle coordination); Korsarkoff's psychosis (learning and memory problems); depressed nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance; slow neurogenesis or brain cell growth; delirium tremens (a state of confusion followed by trembling and vivid hallucinations) due to alcohol withdraw; sleep impairment; and peripheral neuropathy or a loss of sensation. A person's lungs are also minorly affected as there is an accumulation of fluid in the lungs and increased risk of pulmonary infections such as pneumonia and lung collapse. Alcohol abuse may also affect the heart as it causes an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy (large heart), coronary artery disease, and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). In terms of blood flow, a person is at higher risk of blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, is more susceptible to bleeding and bruising, impaired white blood cell function, and a lowered immune system.
For the blood and joints, long time drinkers have leaked calcium from their bones (can cause osteoporosis), increased joint inflammation (arthritis), and muscle atrophy, which causes sharp muscle pain and weakness. Due to the fact that the blood is processed by the liver, the liver is heavily affected and may suffer extreme damage. This can cause liver failure, fat accumulation in liver cells, hepatitis (inflammation and destruction of liver cells), cirrhosis (scarring and shrinkage of the liver), and hepatitic encephalopathy (a brain disorder that causes changes in sleep patterns, personality, mood, anxiety, shortened attention span, depression, and coordination problems. Patients may also fall into a coma). For the stomach, ulcers may develop, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), intestinal bleeding, acid reflux, diarrhea, vomiting, increased chances of stomach cancer, decreased hunger that leads to malnutrition, and hypoglycemia (chronic low blood sugar). The kidneys are also affected as kidney failure may occur. Additionally, there is a reduced amount of digestive enzymes that are produced by the pancreas, which causes inflammation, leaks aforementioned digestive enzymes, and attacks the pancreas. Repeated alcohol consumption may also cause decreased sperm and testosterone production for men because of reduced sex hormone secretion. For women, there is a decreased amount of estrogen metabolism by the liver, which increases estrogen levels and contributes to menstrual complications and infertility. Furthermore, drinkers experience dehydrated skin, which can lead to broken capillaries; depletion of the vitamins and minerals that are necessary for a healthy skin complexion. There may also be a widening of blood vessels near the surface of the skin. This causes a loss of heat from the body. Lastly, a drinker experiences some of the worst symptoms of long term alcohol use in the form of addiction or more specifically, withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, shaky hands, nausea, headache, sweating, insomnia, and vomiting. More severe symptoms are hallucinations, seizures, and the aforementioned delirium tremens. In rare cases, people undergoing withdrawal also experience confusion, a racing heart, fever, high blood pressure, and heavy sweating.
Article Source: https://www.promises.com/eoa/index.html and https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments#1 (Withdrawal symptoms)
Image Source: https://alcorehab.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Alcohol-Withdrawal-Symptoms.png

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Depending on the age of the drinker, a drinker may experience difficulties at work for their excessive drinking. For instance, the person may be more prone to accidents that occur on the job due to the debilitating effects of alcohol on the body. The drinker may also frequently call in to his or her boss to call sick in order to cover up the fact that he or she has constant hangovers and subsequently, cannot work. This may also cause the alcoholic to constantly be late to events, be less effective of a worker, be unable to focus on tasks, and worse of all lose his or her job. In addition, drinkers waste large sums of money in order to afford the alcohol, causing the drinker to be in debt or be broke. There is also the fact that being an alcoholic causes many individuals to be discredited professionally and by his or her close loved ones. This can lead to few people accepting the alcoholic for any jobs, being deemed unfit to raise a child and thus lose legal custody over the child, etc. Lastly, nialcoholism may be a sign of underlying mental issues, which the drinker attempts to drown out using alcohol. This may mean that the drinker may not receive proper treatment or aid for their mental problems.
Article Source: https://www.promises.com/eoa/index.html

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For those who drink alcohol over long periods of time, alcohol can cause many problems for  drinkers. There can be even worse effects on the body itself than what was mentioned beforehand. However, long term alcohol use is also harmful to those close to the drinker as it can fracture a drinker's relationships with his loved ones. This is especially harmful as the drinker only pushes away the people that he or she needs, the people who are supposed to prevent or help the abuse from continuing. Lastly, long term alcohol abuse is harmful to the drinker in other ways as well. While DUIs were brought up in short term effects of alcohol abuse, many people who commit DUIs are repeat offenders and suffer some of the worse consequences of DUIs to the highest severity. Due to these reasons, it is important for potential readers to fully understand the effects of alcohol on a short term basis and a long term scale as well.

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Generally, most adults wouldn't experience too many harmful effects from taking a few servings of alcohol per day (12 fl oz of beer [a can], 4 fl oz of wine [one glass], 1.5 fl oz of vodka [a shot]). In addition, moderate drinking has been shown to benefit drinkers by reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia. However, increased consumption of alcohol can lead to disastrous results.
Article Source: https://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-alcohol-use/
Image Source: https://drugabuse.com/wp-content/uploads/alcohol_stethoscope.jpg

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Approximately every 15 minutes, someone, somewhere is killed by an alcohol related car accident. This is excluding the effects of alcohol on its contribution to yearly overdoses, reports of domestic violence, and date rape. In addition, there are long-term effects of alcohol including alcoholism and damage that occurs overtime to a person's body. This presentation is meant to inform viewers of exactly how harmful and far-reaching the effects of alcohol are, whether it be short or long term.