Are you all-knowing about alchohol? A booze boffin? Professor of piss-ups? Do you really know your stuff when it comes to alcohol?
1. True or false: alcohol is a drug
A. True
B. False
C. Both
D. Neither
2. How much pure alcohol is in one standard drink?
A. 1.5g
B. 5g
C. 10g
D. 15g
3. Which alcohol was banned in France in the 19th century?
A. Champagne
B. Absinthe
C. Meths
D. Tequila
4. What’s the best way to reduce your risks while drinking?
A. Ensure you don’t mix it with other drugs
B. Have a non-alcoholic drink between each alcoholic beverage
C. Eat food before drinking
D. All of the above
E. Alcohol is legal so it doesn’t have any risks
5. What type of drug is alcohol?
A. An awesome one
B. Dissociative
C. Psychedelic
D. Depressant
6. Where in Aotearoa is alcohol not sold at supermarkets?
A. Gore
B. Timaru
C. Invercargill
D. Blenheim
7. What are some of the effects of alcohol?
A. Increased sociability, becoming less co-ordinated, loss of inhibitions
B. Increased heartrate, feeling more alert, anxiety
C. Auditory hallucinations
D. Becoming really REALLY good at karaoke
8. On which public holidays is the sale of alcohol restricted in New Zealand?
A. Good Friday, Anzac Day before midday, Christmas and Easter Sunday
B. Good Friday, Anzac Day and Easter Sunday
C. Good Friday, Matariki, Christmas, and Easter Sunday
D. Good Friday, Anzac Day before midday, Waitangi Day, and Easter Sunday
9. From 1919-1960, pubs had to close much earlier in New Zealand than they did today. What time did pubs have to close by?
A. Lunchtime
B. 8pm
C. 3pm in time for school pickup
D. 6pm
10. True or false: Alcohol is more harmful than cannabis, tobacco and cocaine
A. True
B. False
C. Both
D. Neither
11. How long does it take for your body to process one standard drink?
A. Time is a flat circle that has no meaning
B. 3 hours
C. 1 hour
D. 15 minutes
12. When should you call an ambulance or go to the medics for someone if they’ve been drinking a lot?
A. If they have lost co-ordination
B. If they have thrown up
C. If they have hypothermia (too cold), lost consciousness or seizures
D. If they decide to drive
Answers
1 A. True.
Alcohol has psychoactive properties, so it’s a legal drug like caffeine and nicotine
2 C. 10g.
This is equivalent to 375mL of 3.5% beer, 100mL of 13.5% wine, or 30mL (a shot) of 40% spirits.
3 B. Absinthe
This was banned due to ‘absinthism’, which 19th Century people believed was caused by thujone, a chemical in absinthe. However, most of absinthism’s effects were probably due to excessive alcohol consumption, rather than thujone specifically.
4 D. All of the above
Not mixing alcohol with other drugs is super important, as alcohol doesn’t mix well with most common drugs, including cannabis, MDMA, ketamine, or cocaine. You increase your risk of an unexpected time when mixing drugs (as you’re combining the risk profiles of each drug), which can be much less fun than it sounds.
Read more about drug interactions (including what happens when you mix alcohol with other drugs) in our Drug Info section
5 D. Depressant
While alcohol can have stimulant effects in some contexts, it’s classified as a depressant.
Read more about alcohol on Psychonaut Wiki
6 C. Invercargill
The community-owned Invercargill Licensing Trust (ILT) has exclusive trading rights for taverns, hotels and off-licences in the city. Source: RNZ News
7 A. Increased sociability, becoming less co-ordinated, and loss of inhibition.
Other effects can include feeling euphoric, relaxed, headaches and having difficulty concentrating.
8 B: Good Friday, Anzac Day before midday, Christmas and Easter Sunday.
Alcohol may still be served on these days at on-licences if accompanies a “substantial meal” and venues have to apply for a specific licence. Source: Sale and Supply of Liquor Act 2012
9 D. 6pm
This definitely had nothing whatsoever to do with starting New Zealand’s current binge-drinking culture by restricting the drinking time to the ‘Six o’clock swill’ between end-of-work at 5 and last call at 5:45pm. Absolutely nothing.
10 A. True
A study in progress by Wilkins et al. based off of the 2025 New Zealand drug trends survey found that alcohol is more harmful than many recreational drugs. Some studies have also found alcohol to be more harmful than methamphetamine and opioids, however these are less recent and ‘harm’ can be a pretty nebulous term.
11 C. 1 hour
Source: Cheers
12 C: Hypothermia, loss of consciousness and seizures are all signs of severe alcohol poisoning.
If someone you’re with is showing any of these symptoms you should seek immediate medical attention. If someone is choking on their own vomit, placing them in the recovery position and seek further help. If they’re trying to drive, try to get their keys off them (seek help if this puts you at any risk of danger)
Read more about alcohol poisoning