Guns and Alcoholics

[schmieg]

Included in the continuing education requirements for attorneys are courses on substance abuse. Most seminars will include a portion on this to allow attorneys to meet the requirements. I was at a seminar a few years ago which had a rep from AA in as part of the substance abuse portion. He pretty much ticked everyone off as he started off with the statement that everyone was an alcoholic - they just hadn't started yet. He felt that total abstinence was the only solution. It did engender discussion which we continued at the bar after the seminar.

[pleasantguywhopacks]

Went in for a physical a few years ago, the doctor ask me if I drank. I told him I sometimes drink up to a 12 pack a week, he said I was a borderline alcoholic! Guess I need to turn in my guns!

That's just nuts. 1.7 beers a day?

[catfish86]

This is a link that I picked up from another message board that provides a fairly thorough but not burdensome analysis of how dangerous your drinking might be. It was provided by a licensed clinical social worker specializing in sexual abuse. Many of his clients are substance abusers for obvious reasons.

http://www.CheckYourDrinking.net

[carmen fovozzo]

Chronic drunk, I suppose.

Chronic makes it sound like such a negative thing I think constant drunk is a nicer way to put it

How about rarely sober ?

[GhostOfJefferson]

Went in for a physical a few years ago, the doctor ask me if I drank. I told him I sometimes drink up to a 12 pack a week, he said I was a borderline alcoholic! Guess I need to turn in my guns!

That's just nuts. 1.7 beers a day?

Remember that many doctors get their drinking information straight from MADD or AA, and very little of it from actual science. Also keep in mind that these are the same kinds of doctors who take Handguns Inc. seriously as well, with all of their unscientific metrics.

I trust a doctor to diagnose and treat actual medical problems and conditions. When they start preaching to me that 1.7 drinks a day is anything except medically healthy (current real science states that 2 normal sized drinks a day is actually good for you), then I consider them either ignorant or practicing an agenda and not medicine.

The problem with the law being discussed, in my view, is precisely that it hits the absurd subjective standard of "I know it when I see it". That makes it a matter of men, not laws, which is a reversal of how things are supposed to be. Reality is reality, and I understand that, it's just a shame that so much boils down to an individual pronoucement from what may be an uninformed source.

[Morne]

Went in for a physical a few years ago, the doctor ask me if I drank. I told him I sometimes drink up to a 12 pack a week, he said I was a borderline alcoholic! Guess I need to turn in my guns!

Get a new doctor.

If you're feeling foggy, ask him about the relationship between alcohol consumption and HDL (good cholesterol).

My last two primary care docs only mention alcohol consumption in relation to drug interactions or proximity to getting bloodwork done. I am sure if I expressed concern about my drinking they would gladly help, but it is not a worry.

[pleasantguywhopacks]

Two beers in the evening is my normal in the summertime.

[djmac1964]

Went in for a physical a few years ago, the doctor ask me if I drank. I told him I sometimes drink up to a 12 pack a week, he said I was a borderline alcoholic! Guess I need to turn in my guns!

Get a new doctor.

If you're feeling foggy, ask him about the relationship between alcohol consumption and HDL (good cholesterol).

My last two primary care docs only mention alcohol consumption in relation to drug interactions or proximity to getting bloodwork done. I am sure if I expressed concern about my drinking they would gladly help, but it is not a worry.

Never went back after that! that was several years ago.

[catfish86]

Reading some of the answers, I am a little less worried about abuse by prosecutors with unstated motives in removing guns. Although this could be abused.

[schmieg]

Reading some of the answers, I am a little less worried about abuse by prosecutors with unstated motives in removing guns. Although this could be abused.

Anything CAN BE abused. The trick is to write the law making it more difficult to do so.

[bignflnut]

With the advent of these electronic medical records and the fact that you'll show an ID when buying alcohol...it has all the potential of danger.

Australia wants to track alcohol like it tracks prescription meds. Not such a leap to say that if you're under the influence of prescription meds while carrying, you're not sober, therefore it's illegal.

[JU-87]

I was having a discussion with another gentleman and he stated something about alcoholics are not allowed to have guns... Anyway, does that mean, for instance that if one regularly attends AA(Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings, that one is restricted in their rights? What exactly do they mean by chronic alcoholic?

IMO,if you,or anyone onthis board needs AA,(or NA-Narcotics Anonymous), and your attending meetings-good for you! I hope you find "tools" there for a better life.

HOWEVER-I would suggest using the 2nd half of there name: be ANONYMOUS. Don't be an "official" member. I believe that they take privacy seriously, and you can attend events known only as,say,"Cat", not Catfish86 .

Why create a paper trail for someone in the future to follow?

[catfish86]

Reading through this because of another thread, I had some additional thoughts on AA and whether they are "scientific". As someone who has a Social Work degree and has dealt extensively with AA and the steps, many in the medical profession respect the steps and AA more so after they review the scientific literature. Keep in mind that one of the founders had received therapy from Carl Jung, the other was a medical doctor. It was not developed by a couple of guys sitting at the end of the bar after their shift at the factory. It has worked for millions because it embodies a collective experience of what works. Having reviewed a lot of studies and literature on substance abuse, I look at the 12 steps and I am hard pressed to find something to change for the better.

[Tweed Ring]

I don't know if AA is scientific or not. I do know the program works.

[mrbone]

Went in for a physical a few years ago, the doctor ask me if I drank. I told him I sometimes drink up to a 12 pack a week, he said I was a borderline alcoholic! Guess I need to turn in my guns!

2 day is the recomended max for men, which you are just below. I believe many medical studies have shown that men who drink 2 a day live longer than those who drink more than that, but also live longer than those who do not drink at all. So keep it up!