Merging the fields of alcohol and suicide epidemiology in a topical manner and with funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, our research team conducted two studies on acute alcohol use and suicide with data from the 2003-2011 National Violent Death Reporting System Restricted Access Database (NVDRS RAD). We demonstrated that acute alcohol use is a common concomitant in suicidal behavior and is a potent proximal risk factor for suicide after accounting for other variables related to drinking, including alcohol use disorder, population-wide drinking patterns, and alcohol availability. Consistent with previous findings, we observed that in excess of a third (35%) of all suicide decedents had a positive blood alcohol concentration at the time of death. Equally important, our results also showed that acute alcohol use is an important correlate of suicidal behavior across the spectrum of lethality. In a follow-up study, we examined the effect of the 2008-09 economic downturn on rates of suicide involving acute alcohol intoxication with restricted data obtained from the NVDRS. Although considerable evidence exists regarding the impact of contracting economies—especially levels of unemployment—on suicide mortality risk, less is known about the role of heavy alcohol consumption on the link between economic conditions and suicide. The project compared associations across time periods using multilevel approaches to model effects of state and county-level variables on differences in the associations. Over the course of two projects we pursued a pragmatic line of inquiry that provides new and meaningful directions for research and community intervention strategies. In our presentation we will highlight the implications of our key findings and discuss the limitations and strengths of the NVDRS RAD for researchers and policymakers.