Originally Posted by
gneiss 
It's cool jim. I think maybe you misunderstood what I said in the other thread? My point there was that nearly everyone drinks a bit too much from time to time but it does not make them an alcoholic.
I have to disagree with you that I have no functional understanding of alcoholism. My understanding of it is based on my experiences, as your understanding is based on your experiences. And I don't see how the two addictions are especially different; to me addiction is addiction. My meth addiction is probably a bit stronger than my alcohol addiction but it doesn't seem to make much difference in terms of what I have to do to stay off either of them.
I get you. I agree that drinking alcohol no more makes one an alcoholic than does taking drugs make one a drug addict.
If you are an alcoholic, our experiences with alcohol are probably pretty similiar, aside from the drama that goes with it. I drank for the effect, I lose control of how much I drink, and I couldn't stop no matter what.
Where we differ in experience is with the drugs. I seem to be able to take or leave them. I stopped doing speed six years before I stopped drinking, and have never desired to do it again. Same with cocaine and other drugs. Now I'm saying that I could safely use drugs because I think that would take me back to what my real problem is. But since I've recovered from alcoholism, I haven't had any kind of desire to do drugs of any kind.
From what I've seen, one can be an alcoholic & a drug addict, just an alcoholic, just an addict, or none of the above. I happen to be an alcoholic who had a drug problem at one time. Make sense?
Jim