ETHANOL
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol), is one of the earliest and most widely used drugs in existence. It is a clear fluid whose low molecular weight and high solubility in water cause it to diffuse rapidly through body tissue membranes and reach equilibrium in tissues at levels proportional to water content. Blood, for example, will hold proportionately more alcohol than will muscle tissue.
For alcohol to produce its effect, it must reach the brain. To accomplish this, it first passes into the bloodstream after absorption through the walls of the stomach and small intestines. This is a simple biochemical process of diffusion, which will continue as long as the concentration of alcohol in the stomach and intestines is higher than that in the blood.In contrast to ordinary foods and many drugs, alcohol is absorbed rapidly from the stomach and even more rapidly from the small intestine just beyond the stomach. In fact, the presence of alcohol is initially detectable about five minutes after consumption, and its maximum concentration within the body tissues is achieved in somewhere between 1/2 hour and 1 1/2 hours. This rate of absorption in DUI cases can be accelerated if the subject has ingested significant amounts of water or materials containing water, and it can be slowed down if he has eaten food. The type of alcoholic beverage can also be a factor: beer will cause a slower increase in blood-alcohol concentration than distilled spirits, as well as a lower peak level and faster decline. Absorption is complete when the entire gastrointestinal tract reaches equilibrium with the remainder of the body; this can take as long as 21/2 hours but commonly occurs within 30 to 90 minutes. In any event, the rate of absorption of alcohol in a DUI case - and, as a result, the effect on the nervous system - varies according to the individual.
Once absorbed through the stomach/intestine walls, the alcohol passes into the portal vein that carries it to the liver, then to the right side of the heart, and then to the lungs. From the lungs (where the exhaled alveolar air is measured by breath analysis machines), the alcohol is carried in arterial blood to the left side of the heart and from there into the body's general circulatory system, by which means it eventually reaches the brain.
BLOOD-ALCOHOL
Blood-alcohol analysis then, is simply the attempt to measure the amount by weight of alcohol within the DUI suspect's blood at any given time. This amount, expressed as a percentage of the blood in which it is found, is then compared to a scale of percentages established by law for determining the presumptive levels of intoxication. The determination of the amount of alcohol in the blood can be accomplished directly by analyzing a sample of the subject's blood or indirectly by analyzing a sample of the subject's urine or breath.The amount of alcohol found in the blood is the central issue in a DUI per se charge. With the traditional DUI offense, however, it is only of secondary interest: It is the amount of alcohol actually absorbed into the brain that will affect an individual's ability to perceive, make judgments, and coordinate his movements - that is, his ability to operate a motor vehicle safely. But there is no practical means of measuring the alcohol absorbed by the body beyond that found in the bloodstream (or, even further removed, in the urine or the alveolar air). Because the bones, brain, fatty tissue, etc., contain a much lower percentage of water than does blood and because the alcohol level in blood is about 17 percent higher than that in the soft tissues, the concentration of alcohol in the entire body, including the brain, is always less than that in the blood. However, science has offered the "Widmark Factor R" - a designation of the ratio between the concentration of alcohol in the whole body divided by the concentration of alcohol in the blood. For men, this ratio averages about .67, with a range of .46 to .86; women usually have a somewhat lower ratio because of having a larger proportion of fatty tissue. Obviously, the fact that this ratio varies so widely according to the individual makes generalizations in any DUI case very suspect.
In organs having a rich blood supply, such as the kidneys, brain, and liver, the tissues very quickly attain alcohol equilibrium with the arterial blood. Voluntary muscle tissue, however, has a much smaller blood flow per unit of weight and as a result requires longer to reach alcohol equilibrium after ingestion. Since the muscles make up about 40 percent of body weight, this delay in alcohol absorption by the muscles results in high concentrations of alcohol in arterial blood and in the brain during active absorption of alcohol. The result is the common phenomenon that an individual may appear greatly affected only a few minutes after taking two or three drinks, and then rapidly sober up within 15 to 30 minutes in apparent contradiction to normal expectations. This, of course, can raise serious doubts about the relevance of blood-alcohol tests.
WOMEN AND ALCOHOL
It has been known for some time that women are generally more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than men. This has generally been explained by pointing out that women are smaller and have relatively more fat and less water than men. But recent research seems to indicate that a more important reason may be that women have significantly lower amounts of an enzyme which provides a protective barrier in the stomach by breaking alcohol down before it circulates into the body.In an article appearing in the Los Angeles Times, (January 11, 1990 at page A27) scientists at the University School of Medicine in Trieste, Italy, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York, found that the stomach lining contains an enzyme called gastric alcohol dehydrogenase which breaks down alcohol. To determine the effects of the enzyme, they administered alcohol both orally and intravenously (by-passing the stomach) to a group of fourteen nonalcoholic men, six alcoholic men, seventeen nonalcoholic women, and six alcoholic women.
There were two interesting results. First, in both the nonalcoholic and alcoholic groups, women had higher blood-alcohol concentrations than men after ingesting an equivalent dose of ethanol; by contrast, there were no differences when the ethanol was taken intravenously. With weight differences taken into account, the researchers found that women became legally intoxicated after consuming 20% to 30% less alcohol than men; absent allowance for weight, an average-size woman reaches a given blood-alcohol level after consuming about 50% less alcohol than a man.
Second, the alcoholic men and women had significantly higher BAC levels after oral ingestion than the nonalcoholic men and women; the levels reached by alcoholic women indicated a nearly total absence of the protective enzyme in their stomachs.
The scientists concluded that legislatures may need to consider sex differences when defining safe levels of drinking for driving motor vehicles.
[Drunk Driving Defense, 3rd. Ed., Lawrence Taylor; and see other blogs of Attorney Charles Jerome Ware]
Among his numerous other legal awards and honors such as "America's Best Attorneys and Counselors", U.S. Super Lawyer, "Top Lawyers in America", Top Attorneys and Counselors in the U.S., "Top Lawyers in Maryland", and winner of the national "Charles Hamilton Houston Award for Outstanding Litigation", premier criminal defense attorney Charles Ware is recognized and ranked by hi many satisfied clients as well as his legal peers as "One of the 10 BEST DUI and DWI Attorneys in the State of Maryland," as confirmed from research, surveys and other investigation by The American Institute of DUI and DWI Attorneys [AIDUIA] --- a respected national organization of trial lawyers.
Attorney Ware is also the founder and senior partner of the Maryland-based national business, criminal defense and civil trial law firm Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys & Counselors, LLC. For an initial courtesy consultation, call Mr. Ware at (410) 730-5016 or (410) 720-6129.
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