I got off opiates when I was 19 but drank, smoked weed, and took magic mushrooms for about 4 years before I went back to opiates. I was also a workaholic during that time. Looking back on it I would say that I was drinking "alcoholically" before I slid back into my opiate addiction. Once I started doing opiates I almost stopped drinking completely. Alcohol and opiates do not mix well. I stopped drinking because the combination of the two would make me sick and when I was on opiates I only wanted to feel the effects of the opiates. Alcohol would put a "damper" on my opiate high. I would sometimes drink to ease the pain of opiate withdrawal. I would take alcohol over any stimulate such as cocaine but opiates were my favorite above all else. Alcohol was among my favorite drugs I am sure I would have been a full blown alky if I never discovered opiates.