Because They Took Fake IDs: An Alcohol Drug Scare in New Orleans

• In Event: 406 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Paper Session. Examining Addiction: Critical Perspectives (co-sponsored with the Section on Sexualities)

Abstract

The study presented is a look at specific zoning ordinance in New Orleans that relate to alcohol. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to explore the Freret Street neighborhood’s laws targeted at bars and establishments that sell alcohol. Interviews with bar employees, city officials, resident association members, and business association members revealed that these ordinances were in direct response to negative experiences with one local bar that led to a localized alcohol drug scare in the neighborhood. The community response was restrictive laws that actually go against the commonly understood alcohol culture of New Orleans. This demonstrates that negative experiences with substances, and drug scares on a local level, can result in policies that go against the culture within which a community exists.

Author

• Robert Kappel, SUNY Buffalo/Tulane University