The Main Problem With Alcoholism
Grateful
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 1,763
Because I have a problem with alcohol the over 90% of the population that doesn't have a problem should be penalized by making it illegal or much harder to obtain? All prohibition did was put the production and distribution of alcohol into the hands of criminals. Either that or people made their own (which was not illegal).
How about food addiction...is it fair that there are 200,000 fast food restaurants in the US?
How about gambling? It's illegal to gamble in most parts of the US yet it's estimated that there is between 100 to 400 billion dollars (yes billion with a b) wagered in the US on sports betting alone.
See where I'm going with this? I've been sober for over 5 years and there is always wine and beer in my refrigerator. My sister drinks wine. My niece and her husband drink beer. A couple of my friends drink either beer or wine. They manage to drink responsibly and I like being able to offer them a drink when they visit. There are 2 convenience stores a mile away from me and 2 grocery stores 2 miles away that all sell wine and beer, so I don't see much difference between it being in my house or being a mile or two away.
I think your issue is that alcohol is so readily available when you have an impulse/craving to drink. That goes away with time if you stay sober and have a solid recovery plan. I think history has proven that making a substance harder to obtain has never stopped people from obtaining it. It's just made it more dangerous to obtain, which only benefits criminals and punishes those who can consume those substances responsibly. And I know without a doubt that during my active alcoholism making alcohol harder to obtain would have never stopped me from getting it. An article I read on prohibition did show that there was a decline in alcohol consumption, but there was a proportional increase in crime that nullified those benefits to society.
How about food addiction...is it fair that there are 200,000 fast food restaurants in the US?
How about gambling? It's illegal to gamble in most parts of the US yet it's estimated that there is between 100 to 400 billion dollars (yes billion with a b) wagered in the US on sports betting alone.
See where I'm going with this? I've been sober for over 5 years and there is always wine and beer in my refrigerator. My sister drinks wine. My niece and her husband drink beer. A couple of my friends drink either beer or wine. They manage to drink responsibly and I like being able to offer them a drink when they visit. There are 2 convenience stores a mile away from me and 2 grocery stores 2 miles away that all sell wine and beer, so I don't see much difference between it being in my house or being a mile or two away.
I think your issue is that alcohol is so readily available when you have an impulse/craving to drink. That goes away with time if you stay sober and have a solid recovery plan. I think history has proven that making a substance harder to obtain has never stopped people from obtaining it. It's just made it more dangerous to obtain, which only benefits criminals and punishes those who can consume those substances responsibly. And I know without a doubt that during my active alcoholism making alcohol harder to obtain would have never stopped me from getting it. An article I read on prohibition did show that there was a decline in alcohol consumption, but there was a proportional increase in crime that nullified those benefits to society.
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Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 62
My point here is not about willpower or the lack thereof being the main issue but rather the wide availability of booze.
There are more addictive drugs that are not huge issues compared to alcohol because they are hard to come by such as cocaine and barbiturates. Imagine if you can buy coke or benzos at any supermarket or convenience store for cheap, that would be much worse don't you think?
There are more addictive drugs that are not huge issues compared to alcohol because they are hard to come by such as cocaine and barbiturates. Imagine if you can buy coke or benzos at any supermarket or convenience store for cheap, that would be much worse don't you think?
Grateful
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 1,763
They might not be huge issues for you, but to those addicted to them they are huge issues. I was addicted to benzos for many years and I found them fairly easy to obtain, and legally I might add. Benzos are not "illegal", they are just more heavily regulated than alcohol. But I didn't have much of a problem talking a doctor into writing me a prescription for them.
I get your point, but alcohol is literally burned into the human DNA when that first pre-modern human ate a piece of rotting fermented fruit and caught a buzz millions of years ago.
I get your point, but alcohol is literally burned into the human DNA when that first pre-modern human ate a piece of rotting fermented fruit and caught a buzz millions of years ago.
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Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 62
Originally Posted by Grungehead 
They might not be huge issues for you, but to those addicted to them they are huge issues. I was addicted to benzos for many years and I found them fairly easy to obtain, and legally I might add. Benzos are not "illegal"
Benzos are way harder to get now if you don't know. You can't get a prescription for more than 30 days and if you try to get multiple scripts they pharmacy network will be notified.
I don't like being alcohol dependent but I think it is way better than all the other stuff. Sure the withdrawal sucks but at least when you OD on booze you just throw it up instead of going to sleep forever. I just read that cocaine can cause longterm to permanent anhedonia after quitting. Can't imagine anything worse than that.
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by zerominuszero20
I Sure the withdrawal sucks but at least when you OD on booze you just throw it up instead of going to sleep forever.
Your point about the availability of alcohol is understood, but it's not something you or I can change. And illicit drugs are a very real problem and available to anyone just about anywhere in many places. For kids under the drinking age, it's actually easier to get Methamphetamine than Alcohol around here.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
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To me this line of argument, which has been voiced similarly here on SR before, is similar to a serial killer blaming society for providing so many gullible victims. Or someone blaming candy manufacturers for their obesity.
The problem is not in the inanimate object, the problem is in me. And I either work it out or I don't.
The problem is not in the inanimate object, the problem is in me. And I either work it out or I don't.
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Originally Posted by zerominuszero20
Not an argument, just an opinion.
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Originally Posted by zerominuszero20
Not an argument, just an opinion.
Either way, it's not what is on the outside that is the issue in any case. It's what is on the inside and what is then acted upon that causes the problem or resolves the problem.
Between the stimulus and the action is freedom. We can live in that freedom once we get sober.
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 7,242
you know, zerominuszero, believing that availability is the problem takes your responsibility away.
in that sense, it is a convenient belief, no
now, given that there is availability, what will you do to quit and stay quit, if that is what you want?
in that sense, it is a convenient belief, no
now, given that there is availability, what will you do to quit and stay quit, if that is what you want?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 62
Let's just say if it wasn't so available then I wouldn't have to remind myself every day not to think about it like you do.
Friend of mine got canned at work and couldn't afford it anymore and just simply stopped.
Friend of mine got canned at work and couldn't afford it anymore and just simply stopped.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: "I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost ..."
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Originally Posted by zerominuszero20
I put the option out of my mind because there was no option unless I wanted to rent a car and drive to another state so I just accepted that there were no booze.
It's not about whether the booze is available, it's about whether the option to drink it is available. When you remove that in your mind, then it doesn't matter if you're literally physically surrounded by bottles of booze, you aren't going to drink it.
Removing the option to drink alcohol is far more effective in the long term than just removing the proximity to alcohol.
Join Date: Aug 2011
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Originally Posted by zerominuszero20
Sure the withdrawal sucks but at least when you OD on booze you just throw it up instead of going to sleep forever.
Things like breathing are kind of important to staying alive, so yeah...alcohol poisoning can easily kill and it does, every single day.
Join Date: Aug 2011
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i'm just saying most people will have a vomit response if they drink too much.
What are you going to do to address your drinking problem?
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