Just another few thoughts.....
I am a food addict/recovering bulimic... and I have to "take the cork out of the bottle" every day without letting it send me into relapse.
Now... being multi addicted... I apply those same recovery principles to my other addictions. So.. over time I've come to recognize when I'm being compulsive... and know when I'm setting myself up to use. If I chose to ignore these signals and red flags... then I can lose my ability to choose around my addictions.
I personally believe that a person CAN learn to moderate themselves if the desire and the need are strong enough.... like in the case of being able to eat....but one also needs clean time in order to give themselves a point of reference.
There is no ONE right way... and any 12 step program I've been involved with invites me to "take what I like...and leave the rest!"
This more than anything told me that I have "CHOICE" in these matters... and that each of us could walk our path in our own unique way.
Now... I know what worked for me.... but I think it's incredibly presumptuous to think that what worked for me will work for everyone.
But... if the 12 step framework hadn't been in place... and if there were no long term abstinent members to feed me the solutions at whatever pace I could absorb them... I would probably be dead by now.
Therefore... I can see why the programs come from a position of abstinence. We need a baseline to loft from.
And... of course... there are those moments when one's HP simply removes the compulsion....
Those are truly blessed events.