[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

It's not psychology it's physiology.

Yup. True alcoholism is an addiction, not a habit.

My wife and I both enjoy beer, particularly in social settings. We have beer on draft in the kitchen, and a nice variety in a garage beer fridge. We had an impromptu group last night sitting around the kitchen enjoying a few drinks while the kids played, it's a nice way to unwind after a long day and share an experience between friends. We also genuinely enjoy trying new beers and visiting breweries, it's something I can see us doing a lot of post-kids as a fun weekend road trip.

To me, the big difference I see between drinking and hardcore drugs is the long term physical effects. The CDC considers healthy consumption of alcohol for an adult male to be two drinks per day. Can you do crack, heroin, or cocaine 2x per day without long term health impacts? Obviously if you are an alcoholic and pounding a 12 pack nightly, that's a different story.