Drug Addiction vs. Alcoholism

I am clearly a recovered drug addict. My drugs of choice were cocaine and marijuana. I did drink alcohol but not only sporadically, but the majority of the time, only a beer, wine, or something like a pina colada. I am also a compulsive overeater and bulemic.

I have only gotten drunk to the point of blackout once in my life. I have become highly intoxicated only about 3-5 times ever (I'm 62 now). I don't believe I am an alcoholic as alcohol has not affected my life. Coke and pot definitely have assisted me in harming my own life a lot.

Someone told me that if you are a drug addict, you are always an alcoholic even if alcohol is not your drug of choice (which it wasn't). Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.

Alcoholism-and-Drug-Addiction-Help.com Comment

Because for any drug addict, alcohol is also regarded as a drug, even if it never came close to being your substance of choice or was ever any sort of problem for you.

Remember your primary illness was addiction, and so just because your drugs of choice were previously cocaine and marijuana, that doesn't mean alcohol could never turn into an addiction for you.

Because a trait of almost all addicts - whether it be to drugs or alcohol - is that they have a tendency to cross-subsidize (i.e. move from one addictive substance to another) as a way to justify continuing to use and so not have to address their self-destructive behavior.

So even though you regard yourself as a recovered drug addict for whom alcohol was never a problem, the risk of you returning to drugs increase exponentially should you decide to start drinking again. Because alcohol (like drugs) is not only a mind-altering substance, it lowers your boundaries/inhibitions and so you do things you normally wouldn't do if you were sober.

Plus if you're pre-disposed towards addiction, just because alcohol was never a problem for you before, it doesn't mean it won't become so if you were to start drinking. It's about 'that feeling' any mind-altering substance can give us, and once that gets triggered, the consequences could be devastating.

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