inebriation drunkness, the state of being drunk (Latin inebriatus, pp of inebriare, to intoxicate, in- + ebriare, to make drunk, from ebrius, drunk) [1]

Now, prefix in in English often server to construct antonym (e.g. inappropriate vs. appropriate) (while in Latin, at least in our example, it served to 'intensify' the meaning of the original word). So, by mixing up the meaning of in on purpose, the word ebriation was invented, with the meaning of sobriety. (The later word, BTW, has completely different etymology.)

Why are newts often accused of habitual drunkness I would not know.

[1] After Webster's New World Dictionary