Misadventure

This morning's yahoo music headlines: "Amy Winehouse (singer extraordinaire) died from misadventure, or drinking too much alcohol"

...not a drug overdose, as was assumed.

"The report stated that Amy died of "misadventure," since she voluntarily put the liquor into her system. "The unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels (of alcohol) was her sudden and unexpected death," the coroner wrote."
(original post by Daniel Kreps in Amplifier)

When I think of misadventure, I think of "adventurer's" like Aron Ralston, who fell into a canyon and had to cut his own arm off to escape death. A climber. An outdoorsman challenged by his chase of the world, caught up by the teeth of earth, and able to survive by sawing off his own arm minute by minute, second by second...127 hours of (Mis)Adventure.

Since when is an alcohol or drug overdose classified as misadventure?  Amy Winehouse was an alcoholic. Not an adventurer. She was addicted to alcohol, pills, recreational drugs and challenged only by life itself, and maybe her talent. Her extreme and vivacious talent.

The other irony of the coroner's statement was the separation in definition of misadventure, as opposed to usual reports of drug overdose by celebrities, and those lucky enough to have their name in the paper when they overdose on recreation or prescription drugs.

Here is the reality:
Alcohol is a drug.
(link)

Alcohol is one of the most widely used drug substances in the world. Alcohol use and binge drinking among our nation’s youth is a major public health problem:

• Alcohol is used by more young people in the United States than tobacco or illicit drugs.¹
• Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with approximately 75,000 deaths per year.²
• Alcohol is a factor in approximately 41% of all deaths from motor vehicle crashes.³
• Among youth, the use of alcohol and other drugs has been linked to unintentional injuries, physical fights, academic and occupational problems, and illegal behavior.⁴
• Long-term alcohol misuse is associated with liver disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological damage as well as psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, and antisocial personality disorder.⁵
• Drug use contributes directly and indirectly to the HIV epidemic, and alcohol and drug use contribute markedly to infant morbidity and mortality.⁵

(courtesy CDC)

BAM! Are we calling this adventure?
and why?
Because it's legal...which only means we can tax it.
Now marijauna is legal in some states, why? Because we can tax it.
Maybe tomorrow, heroin, or ecstasy...and then we can all be adventurer's.

Amy Winehouse was best known for her hit Rehab, but the following is actually my favorite Winehouse remix, and here's to you Amy, and here's to Misadventure.

"you cheated yourself, but these are the breaks"~ Ghostface Killah