I’ve never had an issue with alcohol. I enjoy an occasional drink with friends. Yes I have drank and gotten drunk. With my addiction and doc I never wanted to drink. I didnt want the alcohol to take away from high. Drinking alcohol doesnt make me want to do my doc. So with this new way of life for me I have been ‘clean’ (without any substance) for 66 days. In those 66 days have had a couple of drinks. Never to get drunk. I think they were all consumed at dinner or after a workday with coworkers. I dont believe alcohol is a drug no different than tobacco is. So why is it every one of my meetings almost every person there has a cigarette hanging out of their mouth but god forbid you say you dont believe alcohol is a drug. To each their own, I say. I am struggling really bad with this. I wasn’t actually done writing this yet. But to the 2 respondents thanks. Especially for my first post ever. My questions are valid especially for someone so new to this. I’ve struggled with these for a long time not knowing exactly how to word them right, and not to hurt any ones feelings or obviously piss anyone off. I’m trying also to learn the lingo. So what’s the difference between clean vs sober? Is it ok to be clean and still have that occasional drink? If not why? Where and how do you collect your sobriety time. For me, I have been clean without drugs for 66 days. For me, that’s an amazing achievement. Remember, I am new to this so try not to be so rash with your opinion or answer to my questions.
I’m trying to understand why you would write a post about alcohol if it wasnt an issue. If you can pick it up and put it down then cutting it out of your life shouldn’t matter should it? If nothing else alcohol makes you fat and is horrible for your liver. I feel the same about smoking. I’ve never had an issue having one cigarette and not smoking for months or even years. In fact I dont even think about it until someone I know tells me they are on the patch or something. Non alcoholic drinkers are similar to this.
I have to disagree with you there and your right each to there own ,I’ve been sat with a loved one dieing in hospital of liver failure belly looks like your 9 months pregnant but your legs and arms are the size of a 5 year olds there skin eyes are yellow and there in tremendous pain ,once you live through that or something like that then maybe you may see it differently,she knew drinking was killing her but she was addicted she was an addict.but each to there own.congraulations on your clean time.
For me, if you don’t have an issue with abusing alcohol, then you are fine having a drink or two. Not everyone has a problem with alcohol. For me, as long as you are honest with yourself about substances…are you abusing something prescribed by a doctor? abusing illegal drugs? using a substance to escape life?
Recovery is not all black and white IMHO. I understand some programs are more stringent in their views, this is simply my opinion.
Do what works for YOU. No shame in that. Just be honest with yourself.
Edited to add: a member whose insight I respect, cautioned me that I was giving a dangerous and stupid POV, so I would caution the OP to be very clear on their relationship with alcohol, now and in the future. As a person with addiction issues, you could fall into the same trap with alcohol.
I can relate. I thought the same and DOC was everything but alcohol. I stayed clean for 3 yrs and then decided to use alcohol. Only consumed alcohol when at dinner with wife or at home. Never used over 4 bottles of beer and I maintained this for a year.
But come new years eve, i had 6 or more and was on holiday with family. A family member got out of hand and long story short. I was alone the next day picking up the pieces of my wreckage from the night before.
I now know that my trauma was why I used a substance. It took me 20 yrs to get to my rock bottom so it is not going to take me 3 yrs to recover from it.
Any mind altering substance is danger for us who have trauma backgrounds. Like I shared, your addict will find ways to sustain your delusions that you can drink sensibly, and then next minute you have harmed loved ones or self again.
I would suggest that alcohol to an addict is a trap.
Alcohol still alters the mind and if so, means you are not fully in control of your thoughts and actions.
Self will run riot.
What @Mephistopheles asked but I honestly suspect this post is a trolling effort. I have never heard anyone question if alcohol is a drug. First time for everything I guess.
Just going to drop a link to the guidelines here: Talking Sober Rules and Guidelines
In particular:
-Please keep the discussion civil - no name calling.
-Please be mindful that there are people with a range of addictions on this site, include MANY alcoholics and that promoting moderation can negatively impact others’ sobriety.
Soooooo true! Remember the bubble? If I start self-medicating with whatever substance or behaviour that gets the better of me, then I’m rapidly in danger of losing my self control.
I need to learn to be ok with myself, accept myself with my trauma-wounded inner child and dark side too (that so wants to trap me back…)
What clinched it for me was was a mental health consultant who explained clearly that over indulging alcohol consumption will rapidly affect critical judgement ability leading to loss of self-control.
Any mood-altering, ‘self-medicating’ attempts to alleviate the deep emotional pain hit that frontal cortex zone of the brain which is the kind of control Centre and judgement ability.
I cannot afford to lose control of my ability to think and act sensibly…
Thanks. I asked you not to be harsh as I am a noob and I can just say that some of the responses were just that. Some of you were a lot more kind. Thanks for your insight and name calling and running me off. I will not be back. So much for fellowship and support .
Well that judgement came easy 
there alot lore people on here. You might want to focus on them rather then people you don’t like.
I think you visit NA Meetings…
At NA we consider Alcohol Drugs and Medicines the substances we work on.
Myself i don’t smoke tabacco and I get your point. But comparing alcohol with tabacco is naive since alcohol has clear state altering effects tabacco don’t.
I wish you all the sobriety you want 
Please don’t leave. We were all new here once and learning our way and I can say for a fact that MANY of us got upset over initial interactions and wanted to leave. I always caution new people to give it a little time. Perhaps get more of a feel for the forum.
There are people on here from all over the world, for many English is a second language and there are cultural differences or generational differences as well. So we do all need to be cognizant of different life experiences, different addictions and issues, etc.
Please give the forum more of a chance. It can be a very solid form of support if you let it. 
To the op, u got one person name-calling and it was quickly flagged and called out. Many people disagreed, but respectfully. Surely u can see this is a safe space. I can see ur point to some extent that to smoke tabacco, a socially accepted drug, and then condemn alcohol, another socially accepted drug, is a bit hypocritical. But many of us do one coping mechanism that would be addictive to another (shopping, eating, masturbation, whatever), and ALL of these things produce dopamine, so everyone is hypocritical. Alcohol is a bit different from cigarettes, shopping, etc, in that people don’t change personality or blackout like they do when drinking or taking hard drugs. Also to repeat what other people said, many people here have tried and failed moderation, and watched others try and fail moderation, that people get defensive, which I personally think people need to be aware and careful about. Finally, addictions often pop out in new forms, even if you stay clean from drugs, u may find alcohol becoming a problem later.
Just do you…whatever works for you. The wisodom to know the difference.
I actually didn’t interpret it as “alcohol is not a drug” but rather that “alcohol was no worse a drug than cigarettes”. I think it was the sentence about smoking at meetings being considered okay.
But maybe I interpreted it wrong.
For me…when I quit alcohol (which is my DOC) I found myself looking for other things to replace it. I have an addictive personality, but wine was an accessible and acceptable drug. I know that I can’t pick up weed now because it won’t be long for me to abuse that too.
My suggestion is that you stay vigilant and if you see yourself replacing one addiction for another make sure you nip in in the bud before you find yourself out of control.
All the best.
Good job on 66 days clean from your DOC.
Here’s how I see it: just because a substance isn’t your Drug Of Choice, doesn’t mean it isn’t a drug. It is. The difference between high and drunk is a distinction without a difference. Both alter one’s mind. Addiction isn’t about the fruit…it’s about the root.
Nicotine is a drug, but it doesn’t alter reality. Funny though, people who say it “calms the nerves” are only nervous because they don’t have nicotine. As a former user of smokeless tobacco, I can attest to this.
The last time I smoked weed was during Reagan’s first term. I quit before joining the Marines. My DOC was alcohol. 780 days free from that chain.
But if they made weed legal tomorrow where I live, I wouldn’t touch it…because past experience has shown me I’d end up liking it too much. It’s just a chain of a different metal. The net result would be the same.
Keep working to stay clean. You are still in the early stages. Maybe with time you will answer your own questions relating to alcohol, hopefully without ever actually developing a physical or psychological dependence on it.
Peace. I’m glad you are here, and hope you will stay.
I posted this before but i think its very fitting for this discussion
I liked this yesterday so I could watch it today when I had more time and just wanted to say thank you for it. There is no one way for everyone to get where they want to be and I think its important that others realize this idea. I’ve said before, if I took every drug on earth at the same time, it still wouldnt be as bad as if I were just drinking. For some, cutting out the worst first is key and working on the rest can take time. Great clip!
Alcohol is certainly a drug. Just because society deems it acceptable doesn’t change that. Doest mean you have an issue with that particular drug but it is what it is.
The whole NA acceptance of cigs and coffee seemed whacky to me too but it’s counter productive to throw out everything because a small part doesn’t gel with you.
And don’t leave. Good folks here
NA has to pretty clearly state that alcohol is a drug for a reason… Because it’s socially acceptable lots of folks don’t make the connection or don’t want to make that connection.