Hi Boombox
By the end of my drinking career almost all of my friends were drinking buddies. Alcohol was the common element in a lot of my relationships . Many people were peeved when that changed and many tried to get me back in - 'just go easy on the beers' (!)
Those who supported me are still around...those who did not, are not.
I decided ages ago that just writing people off because I used to primarily get drunk with them wasn't fair
I'm not denying that some of my buddies were good friends, even if the common element was drinking.
Good and bad some of those guy shared a lot of my life.
But - would you encourage a mate to drink who drank like we did, Andy?
That's not mateship - that's something else.
In the end, however painful, I knew I had to write off anyone who could support me, because it really was life or death for me.
D