Atheist jailed for denying ‘higher power’ in Calif. drug rehab gets $2M

[Warren DeMontague]

64. I dont buy that people who have an innate physiological dependence on alcohol

Can turn around and moderate.

Ever.

Im sorry, I simply don't.

Im not talking about maybe people who partied too much in college and settle down or whatever- and I'm certainly willing to concede that there are different types of "alcoholisms", many of which I would categorize instead as problem drinking...

However, if you're talking about the type of person who can't drink a bottle of wine without subsequently being on the hook for 36 hours of DTs and potentially life-threatening withdrawals- which is not a "normal" reaction to a bottle of wine, and I happen to know for a fact that those people do exist- no, I'm sorry, but no amout of "willpower" is going to turn them into a moderate drinker.

Also it's funny that you mention MM.. Last I heard it was the founder herself who ended up getting drunk and driving, and killing 2 people. A horror story, indeed. But I cant tell people what to do, or think...any alcoholic- im talking about people with a physiological as well as psychological dependence on alcohol- who thinks they can turn around and moderate, I'm not going to be able to stop them from trying to pull off that most impressive feat.

i do think "MM" style approaches are dangerous because they feed into a favorite illusion of the alcoholic, namely that someday they will be able to "drink normally". When someone's immediate response to ingesting any amount of alcohol is a physiological craving for more, that is not a normal physical response to alcohol. And barring some profound deeper chemical understanding, it is not likely to be changed into one.