Illicit Behavior and Super Bowl Sunday

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Today is Super Bowl Sunday when many parties abound that lead to overindulgence in eating, drinking and other self-defeating behaviors.

Many who are newly sober find this day difficult because beer and watching football are portrayed by the media to go perfectly hand in hand. In fact, beer manufacturers like Budweiser spend millions on their commercials leading up to and on Super Bowl Sunday.

Given that the game is in New York City this weekend, scandals and stories related to Super Bowl weekend partying were inevitable. On Thursday New York City police arrested 18 people for selling “party packs” and high end prostitutes to wealthy clients in town for the festivities.

The arrests came after a nearly year long investigation organized by DHS, NYPD and a state-wide Organized Crime Task Force coordinated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office. The raids began on Wednesday night at the Brooklyn Marriott hotel where participants in an Internet prostitution ring were arrested. Some of the prostitutes who were solicited for $1000 an hour were brought all the way from Florida and Virginia.

On Thursday another ring was arrested who targeted wealthy clients in town for the Super Bowl. The arrested prostitutes had planned on delivering cocaine to clients who ordered “party packs.” To promote their services, the drug and prostitution ring send a text to customers 10 days ago saying “new sexy & beautiful girls R in town waiting for u.” And in the past, after getting clients high on drugs the ring would flood the room with additional prostitutes and repeatedly charge their credit cards, up to more than $10,000 for a night.

While the arrests were a success and may have cut down on some partying ahead of today’s events, Attorney Schneiderman said, “drug trafficking and prostitution are a scourge on communities across our state,” so the arrests may have just made a small dent.

While some people can use drugs or indulge in illicit behavior during what are ordained as “party weekends” like this weekend, many cannot. Many find themselves engaging in the behavior more often than they had planned and eventually need substance abuse treatment. That is because the deeper issues that lead them to be ok with indulging in the first place need some attention.