Stop using heroin but still occasionally drink? Is it possible?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Prison, Texas
Posts: 50
Stop using heroin but still occasionally drink? Is it possible?
Texas Magnum, who I started posting here FOR while he sits in prison for personal possession, sent me his newest post for his blog, which is about his resolutions. Some of what he said in it really got me thinking about some things.
Many times in the past he has said he wishes (and seems to sometimes still believe) that he can leave behind things like IV heroin and meth but still be able to have a drink once in a while etc.
He doesn't want to believe that he can't just drink and I totally understand that feeling, but at least in my case, I had to give up everything for a good long while when i quit using coke, because if i drank it weakened my will power too much and put me back into the wrong mindset too easy. Now, to be fair, I do now sometimes drink but I think I can honestly say I wouldn't do coke if it were laying right there. But who knows? I do know people who quit one drug and still use another. I know people who quit something like heroin or meth and still drink, I know people who quit drinking because they didn't like how they acted on it, but they still smoke weed, etc.
And, to be fair, for the most part their lives seem manageable. Are the sober in the strictest sense, no. Do they work, pay bills, have relationships, etc. Apparently yes. Would they be better of completely sober, no doubt. But so would everyone on the planet and plenty of people don't qualify as addicts. It's all so confusing to me. Talk to an AA person and there is no black and white. Talk to another person, esp one who just quit a bad habit on their own, and there ARE grey areas.
Anyone successfully quit one thing and not another on here? I worry about this and I know it's really not my thing to worry about, at this point Texas Magnum has to figure it out, not me. But I just was curious what a forum on addiction would have to say about this, and if anyone on here feels their addiction was ONE thing but that they can and do safely use another substance that has potential for abuse, without abusing it....
Many times in the past he has said he wishes (and seems to sometimes still believe) that he can leave behind things like IV heroin and meth but still be able to have a drink once in a while etc.
He doesn't want to believe that he can't just drink and I totally understand that feeling, but at least in my case, I had to give up everything for a good long while when i quit using coke, because if i drank it weakened my will power too much and put me back into the wrong mindset too easy. Now, to be fair, I do now sometimes drink but I think I can honestly say I wouldn't do coke if it were laying right there. But who knows? I do know people who quit one drug and still use another. I know people who quit something like heroin or meth and still drink, I know people who quit drinking because they didn't like how they acted on it, but they still smoke weed, etc.
And, to be fair, for the most part their lives seem manageable. Are the sober in the strictest sense, no. Do they work, pay bills, have relationships, etc. Apparently yes. Would they be better of completely sober, no doubt. But so would everyone on the planet and plenty of people don't qualify as addicts. It's all so confusing to me. Talk to an AA person and there is no black and white. Talk to another person, esp one who just quit a bad habit on their own, and there ARE grey areas.
Anyone successfully quit one thing and not another on here? I worry about this and I know it's really not my thing to worry about, at this point Texas Magnum has to figure it out, not me. But I just was curious what a forum on addiction would have to say about this, and if anyone on here feels their addiction was ONE thing but that they can and do safely use another substance that has potential for abuse, without abusing it....
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 594
Thinking he can drink and leave the rest behind, is a guaranteed trip back to prison.
Sounds to me like your friend is going to drag you right into the gutter .... don't fall for his bullsh!t.
I would get the hell away from him while you still can.
Sounds to me like your friend is going to drag you right into the gutter .... don't fall for his bullsh!t.
I would get the hell away from him while you still can.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LA - Lower Alabama
Posts: 5,068
It's a big world, and I am sure there are people out there that have pulled this off, but think of the risk! It would be like going to the roulette wheel at a casino and putting your whole life on red.
There is a reason why NA doesn't consider you sober if you drink. It is not because NA is run by a bunch of holy rollers either. It is from the practical, predicible results of its members that drank.
There is a reason why NA doesn't consider you sober if you drink. It is not because NA is run by a bunch of holy rollers either. It is from the practical, predicible results of its members that drank.
Canine Welfare Advocate
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
I can only speak of my own experience...I did drugs heavily from '76 to '86, including meth. By '86 I had quit everything but alcohol. After all the damage I had done to myself and to others by my drug addiction, I just viewed drinking differently, after all, its legal.
Drank for 34 years. Well here I am now, free from alcohol for 4 months and 10 days. Why did I have a problem with alcohol? Not sure, but I think there is something inside of me that craves being high, or craves the escape that mind altering substances provide. I think the things that led me to drugs in the first place, that kept me abusing them for 10 years, were the same things that kept me enslaved to alcohol for 34 years.
After all, alcohol is a drug too.
Maybe someone can quit drugs and drink without problems. I couldn't.
Drank for 34 years. Well here I am now, free from alcohol for 4 months and 10 days. Why did I have a problem with alcohol? Not sure, but I think there is something inside of me that craves being high, or craves the escape that mind altering substances provide. I think the things that led me to drugs in the first place, that kept me abusing them for 10 years, were the same things that kept me enslaved to alcohol for 34 years.
After all, alcohol is a drug too.
Maybe someone can quit drugs and drink without problems. I couldn't.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,125
This is an age old question that comes up time and time again. There was a thread not too long ago about crackheads who could have a few drinks (I am sure Windsy might pop on here and tell you how he has been successful with it and I believe him). It seems to me that only an addict would sit in jail on a possession charge who has an admitted problem with dope (iv no less) and still contemplate having some drinks when he gets out. Why not focus on how he is going to turn his life around. What he is going to do to better himself when he gets out.
I like the roulette example. The only problem with that is your odds on hitting red are much better than your odds are of going back to having a few drinks once in a while (based on my experience and what I have seen with others). He is going to do what he wants to do and probably thinks the only way he can find out for sure is if he tries, but this could be a life or death decision. He might not make it back. Is it really worth it?
I like the roulette example. The only problem with that is your odds on hitting red are much better than your odds are of going back to having a few drinks once in a while (based on my experience and what I have seen with others). He is going to do what he wants to do and probably thinks the only way he can find out for sure is if he tries, but this could be a life or death decision. He might not make it back. Is it really worth it?
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Baghdad
Posts: 2,822
Originally Posted by texasmagnum 
He doesn't want to believe that he can't just drink and I totally understand that feeling, but at least in my case, I had to give up everything for a good long while when i quit using coke, because if i drank it weakened my will power too much and put me back into the wrong mindset too easy.
Denial.
Myself, if I could rely on will power, I could just think myself into being a non-alcoholic drinker. Doesn't work that way.
Originally Posted by texasmagnum
I do now sometimes drink but I think I can honestly say I wouldn't do coke if it were laying right there. But who knows?
Good luck.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Oregon
Posts: 265
My brother and sis-in-law still drink. They were into meth, they have been clean for over a year now and are in leadership for a 12 step program. They seem to be doing well, but who knows for sure? Maybe everyone is different. Like how no matter how drunk I ever got, I never once tried anything else except pot. Lucky me that no one ever laced or slipped me something. Right now it sounds like your friend is grieving over his vices and is in the denial and/or bargaining stage. Hopefully he will be able to come to acceptance and peace before he gets out. Wish him all the best!
The truth shall set you free
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5,267
Want to give Texas Magnum a great gift.
Send him the NA Basic Text. You can buy it online. Or go to any NA meeting you can buy a copy there.
Print out and send him NA daily JFT every seven days.
Here is today JFT.
JFT January 13
Surrender To Win
" Help for addicts begins only when we are able to admit complete defeat."
Basic Text, p. 22
Complete defeat-what a concept! That must mean surrender. Surrender-to give up absolutely. To quit with no reservations. To put up our hands and quit fighting. Maybe to put up our hand at our first meeting and admit we're addicts.
How do we know we've taken a First Step that will allow us to live drug-free? We know because, once we have taken that gigantic step, we never have to use again-just for today. That's it. It's not easy, but it's very simple.
We work the First Step. We accept that, yes, we are addicts. "One is too many, and a thousand never enough." We've proven that to ourselves enough times. We admit that we cannot handle drugs in any form. We admit it; we say it out loud, if necessary.
We take the First Step at the beginning of our day. For one day. This admission frees us, just for today, from the need to live out our addiction all over again. We've surrendered to this disease. We give up. We quit. But in quitting, we win. And that's the paradox of the First Step: We surrender to win, and by surrendering we gain a far greater power than we ever imagined possible.
Just for today: I admit that I am powerless over my addiction. I will surrender to win.
Copyright © 1991-2011 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Send him the NA Basic Text. You can buy it online. Or go to any NA meeting you can buy a copy there.
Print out and send him NA daily JFT every seven days.
Here is today JFT.
JFT January 13
Surrender To Win
" Help for addicts begins only when we are able to admit complete defeat."
Basic Text, p. 22
Complete defeat-what a concept! That must mean surrender. Surrender-to give up absolutely. To quit with no reservations. To put up our hands and quit fighting. Maybe to put up our hand at our first meeting and admit we're addicts.
How do we know we've taken a First Step that will allow us to live drug-free? We know because, once we have taken that gigantic step, we never have to use again-just for today. That's it. It's not easy, but it's very simple.
We work the First Step. We accept that, yes, we are addicts. "One is too many, and a thousand never enough." We've proven that to ourselves enough times. We admit that we cannot handle drugs in any form. We admit it; we say it out loud, if necessary.
We take the First Step at the beginning of our day. For one day. This admission frees us, just for today, from the need to live out our addiction all over again. We've surrendered to this disease. We give up. We quit. But in quitting, we win. And that's the paradox of the First Step: We surrender to win, and by surrendering we gain a far greater power than we ever imagined possible.
Just for today: I admit that I am powerless over my addiction. I will surrender to win.
Copyright © 1991-2011 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 31,179
((TM)) - I do know of some people that can drink, and it does not draw them back to their DOC. They are rare, but they've not crossed the line to alcoholism, nor returned to old habits. HOWEVER, they built a strong foundation of recovery, at least a year, before they ever touched a drink.
The other thing is, I'm thinking he will probably be on probation after he gets out. Alcohol is a big no-no. They test for it on drug screens. You're not even allowed to be in a place that SERVES it (or at least in GA), though the rules are a bit relaxed since it's sold in convenience stores and grocery stores.
Me, personally...I think he's still holding onto having "something" to deal with life. Many, many people have a great life without any mood-altering substances. I understand the wanting to be "normal"..have a drink or two on occasion. Sadly, most of us are not "normal"...we're addicts.
Hugs and prayers,
Amy
The other thing is, I'm thinking he will probably be on probation after he gets out. Alcohol is a big no-no. They test for it on drug screens. You're not even allowed to be in a place that SERVES it (or at least in GA), though the rules are a bit relaxed since it's sold in convenience stores and grocery stores.
Me, personally...I think he's still holding onto having "something" to deal with life. Many, many people have a great life without any mood-altering substances. I understand the wanting to be "normal"..have a drink or two on occasion. Sadly, most of us are not "normal"...we're addicts.
Hugs and prayers,
Amy
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Prison, Texas
Posts: 50
Hi all, thanks for the input. That is why I like forums like this, you can get a few perspectives. First and foremost, this is my SON, not a friend I am going to ditch. But thanks for that input anyway. Secondly, I do understand you mean well with ALL of your words as help to both TX Magnum as well as to reinforce your own convictions to yourselves.
I will forward your input on to him. I appreciate the idea to do the NA JFT. He is attending AA in prison I believe, and he does believe in much that NA and AA have to say. In fact, when he was 19 he embraced AA to a fanatical level. My belief is that, much like a very strictly raised religious person who loses their faith, he has become a little cynical about some of that experience. Obviously, it didn't work for him at that time. He is really struggling with trying to get his arms back around the whole thing. I think he feels let down or disillusioned by the experience. (and yes, he already knows that in a meeting he would be told his failure was due to not working the steps properly.)
Anyway, thanks for the input and hope you are all having a great evening.
I will forward your input on to him. I appreciate the idea to do the NA JFT. He is attending AA in prison I believe, and he does believe in much that NA and AA have to say. In fact, when he was 19 he embraced AA to a fanatical level. My belief is that, much like a very strictly raised religious person who loses their faith, he has become a little cynical about some of that experience. Obviously, it didn't work for him at that time. He is really struggling with trying to get his arms back around the whole thing. I think he feels let down or disillusioned by the experience. (and yes, he already knows that in a meeting he would be told his failure was due to not working the steps properly.)
Anyway, thanks for the input and hope you are all having a great evening.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
