Insatiable alcoholics downtown have turned to non-beverage sources to get their cravings met.
Police have noticed that since the closure of some downtown booze operations there is much less deviant behaviour, however there has been one buzz-kill side effect. Cpl. Kent MacNeill of the RCMP's Downtown Enforcement Unit explained.
"We've seen an increase in the use of mouthwash, rubbing alcohol and hairsprays. It is definitely on the rise among our core group of chronic alcoholics. We are catching them with bottles of the stuff in their pockets, or a can of hairspray beside them."
These items indeed contain alcohol, they are cheaper than conventional liquor beverages, but they contain additional chemicals for their intended consumer purpose and are not meant for drinking.
A number of establishments downtown sell such common items. MacNeill is approaching each of them individually to see if there is some way of keeping these items out of the reach of the addicted, but not impinging on the store's businesses.
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