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***nandm*** · 04-13-2009, 05:21 PM

This is actually a subject I have heard discussed many times within my group of AA friends. There seem to be two distinct points of view on this.

The first: AA is Alcoholics Anonymous therefore if one is not using alcohol then they have not relapsed. Drug use is not encouraged but it is a separate issue. The person who holds this belief states two cases where people who had been "sober" in AA for 5 - 10 years went out on prescription pain killers. These individuals wound up drinking again when they were told they had to restart their sobriety date. The thought is they felt like if they had to give up their sobriety date they might as well make it worth it. They were discouraged because of the loss of the date.

The second: Believes that "a drug is a drug" and any substance put into the body that changes our thoughts or emotions is a drug including alcohol.

Personally I have mixed emotions regarding this in part probably because drug use was never an issue with me. Drugs only got in the way of my drinking so I stayed away from them. I do know though that I was put on oxycodone following a motorcycle accident that nearly killed me. I was on this medication for 4 months, took it only as prescribed, and actually decided that I did not need it and stopped taking it (replaced it with Ibuprofen). I was a week into withdrawls before I realized my body was withdrawing from the medication. I did not have any cravings or mental obsession to take the medication. Some people believe that I should have restarted my sobriety date because of that. I don't. There was no obsession, I took them only per the instructions of the doctor and only for a real medical condition and I stopped taking them at the first opportunity. I could never have done that with alcohol. Personally I believe that it comes down to motives, why was the drug taken, if it was for any reason other than a real medical condition then it is likely one needs to take a closer look at their 12 Step program and possibly consider restarting their sobriety date. Just my opinion though

04-13-2009, 05:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
*nandm* Life the gift of recovery! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Home is where the heart is Posts: 6,580	This is actually a subject I have heard discussed many times within my group of AA friends. There seem to be two distinct points of view on this. The first: AA is Alcoholics Anonymous therefore if one is not using alcohol then they have not relapsed. Drug use is not encouraged but it is a separate issue. The person who holds this belief states two cases where people who had been "sober" in AA for 5 - 10 years went out on prescription pain killers. These individuals wound up drinking again when they were told they had to restart their sobriety date. The thought is they felt like if they had to give up their sobriety date they might as well make it worth it. They were discouraged because of the loss of the date. The second: Believes that "a drug is a drug" and any substance put into the body that changes our thoughts or emotions is a drug including alcohol. Personally I have mixed emotions regarding this in part probably because drug use was never an issue with me. Drugs only got in the way of my drinking so I stayed away from them. I do know though that I was put on oxycodone following a motorcycle accident that nearly killed me. I was on this medication for 4 months, took it only as prescribed, and actually decided that I did not need it and stopped taking it (replaced it with Ibuprofen). I was a week into withdrawls before I realized my body was withdrawing from the medication. I did not have any cravings or mental obsession to take the medication. Some people believe that I should have restarted my sobriety date because of that. I don't. There was no obsession, I took them only per the instructions of the doctor and only for a real medical condition and I stopped taking them at the first opportunity. I could never have done that with alcohol. Personally I believe that it comes down to motives, why was the drug taken, if it was for any reason other than a real medical condition then it is likely one needs to take a closer look at their 12 Step program and possibly consider restarting their sobriety date. Just my opinion though __________________ NOTE: All BB quotes are from the 1st Edition of the Big Book Depression is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of being too strong for too long.