Originally Posted by
tomsteve 
i liked what ya wrote, but this part is a misinformation. AA is not exclusive to alcoholics only. the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. there is great information in the 12&12 on the 3rd tradition on the subject.
all inclusive, never exclusive.
Hi Tomsteve,
As you know AA is an organization that has evolved through the generations and this subject is one subject to debate and even resentments. I don't have a dog in the hunt as I am not alcoholic nor drug addicted... I have lots of other issues and have greatly benefitted from the 12 steps that AA developed.
Back in the day alcohol was king and while narcotics were out there they were not widely used and society was mostly dealing with alcoholics and AA developed to directly service that group.
In its earliest days it was only alchoholics and you had to be given a "card" to even come to meetings which were not formatted in the way they are today!
As drugs became more prevalent the attendence of drug addicts became more common and other organizations developed and were given permission to use the 12 steps but not the name of AA ... eventually NA became the organization.
As it is today there are many people who are cross addicted to more than one substance and while alcohol may not be their main substance of choice they cannot drink or take any mind altering substance and technically do want to stop drinking.
Having spent 4 years in the rooms with my XA and studying the roots and history of AA as well as listenig to hundreds of speaker talks on the subject I do think ... personally... that a stone cold hard core "real" alcoholc... the kind that drink until they hit a jail cell, straight jacket, padded cell, hospital bed or the morgue do best when they are matched up with someone with the same kind of alcoholic hard wiring that has gotten a hold of recovery and can take them through the steps.
My XA was one of those "real alcoholics" and when he finally found spiritual recovery it was because he got hooked up with some tough old timers ... and when he lost his recovery it was because he neglected his program.
So...it isn't black or white... but I agree with Chris R. alcoholics can die if they don't find the thread of recovery through authentic, 12 step based AA and hook up with a sponsor who really gets it and can share it.
On the other hand, the world is full of enablers, codies, the rooms are full of social seekers, problem alcoholics etc, etc... and each of us has a HP who knows all and can overcome the obstacles if we truly are seeking our own way out of addiction...
AA isn't perfect and neither is life... hopefully those who are willing to do anything to find sobriety will keep seeking until they find...