What to Do with the Drunken Sailor? Ban the Beer

One of the perks of serving in the Royal Canadian Navy is over: no more subsidized cold ones while at sea. The ban was ordered on Dec. 12 after an internal review of incidents that took place last July in Southern California. The ban does not apply when vessels are docked or there is a special occasion.

The HMCS Whitehorse was withdrawn from an international maritime training exercise last summer because of three incidents of drunkenness and sexual assault in San Diego.* A summary of the internal review does not include any details of the incidents themselves.

Sex, alcohol and gender norms: Time for a sober look at desire and consent

In every movie I have watched lately, the scene of the not-yet consummated couple binge drinking is quickly followed by the shots of stilettos flying off in darkened apartments, passionate love-making, and sunny mornings in alarmingly clean, white sheets. Voila! Alcohol has once again eased pesky plot line tensions and now romance begins!

Being the enthusiastic party-pooper that I am, I question this.

Granted, these are not red-flag-flapping scenes of a predatory character scraping their barely-conscious victim off a bar floor and dragging them to a questionable cut-to-next-morning. But clearly there is something assumed normal and sexy about inebriated sex with strangers that I've failed to grasp. What about those little details like communication, consent, and making sure safer sex measures are working to your benefit? Why are sex and alcohol so inexorably linked that there comes heavy sexual expectation in the state where people are least able to function, and most likely to upchuck?

Saskatchewan Budget 2013: Alcohol, Tobacco Taxes Raised To Eke Out Balanced Budget

REGINA - Drinkers and smokers will pay more and businesses will have to wait longer for a tax cut so that Saskatchewan's budget can stay in the black.

"I'm sure the two-pack-a-day smokers will not be pleased," Finance Minister Ken Krawetz said Wednesday before he tabled the 2013-14 financial plan.

Higher alcohol prices could curb health-care, crime costs, report says

Higher alcohol prices may help curb heavy drinking and lower associated violence and health-care costs in Canada, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

The report recommends hiking minimum prices for booze in some provinces and implementing minimums where there are none, like in Alberta liquor stores. The author of the report hopes that government uses liquor prices to affect social factors, like health and crime.