The A.A. Member and Drug Abuse

A report from a Group of Doctors in A.A.

This is a summary of the article.

This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a program for alcoholics who seek freedom from alcohol.  It is not a program against drugs.  However, some A.A. members have misused drugs, often as a substitute for alcohol, in such a manner as to become a threat to the achievement and maintenance of sobriety.  These incidents have caused all A.A. members to be concerned with what is popularly known as the “pill problem.”

Because this problem is one which goes deeply into the field of medicine, a group of physicians who are also members of A.A. was asked to help prepare this pamphlet-showing how certain drugs may hurt as well as help the alcoholic.  This is the group’s report.

Quite often a patient, upon being given a prescription, will ask, “Is this habit-forming, Doctor?”  And the physician may be tempted, especially during busy office hours, to give some ready assurance.  If the patient is merely curious, it is one thing.  But if the patient happens also to be an alcoholic, then the asking and the answering of the question can be very important indeed.  For most physicians agree that the tendency to habituation and addictions rest in the individual, not merely in the substance prescribed.  And this medical fact is borne out by the experience of Alcoholics Anonymous, most of whose members are probably more addiction prone than most patients.

Just as alcoholic patients disregarded suggestions that they moderate their drinking, they may disregard their doctors’ orders in the use of drugs.  They may double or triple the prescribed dosage; they may forget when the medication is to be taken.  They may use it to become intoxicated just as they did with alcohol. (To sum up entire article written: this applies to Narcotic pain relievers, Sedatives, Tranquilizers, Barbiturates, Opiates, Amphetamines) These drugs are generally prescribed on a  short-term  basis, to expedite recovery in treatment of various disorders.  For most people they may be safe when taken according to the doctor’s instructions, except where an unusual allergy exists and if not used irresponsibly. It usually works out that those who are unable to control alcohol are also unable to control mood altering drugs.  Alcoholics who fancy themselves as “exceptions”  are bucking very heavy odds indeed.  Also not mentioned in the article the alcoholic must avoid cough medicines that are not alcohol free.  Alcoholics have an allergy to alcohol and any amount of alcohol is enough to get them to crave more.

The A.A. member may be susceptible to all mood altering drugs and should have a thorough understanding with their physicians before taking any type of mood-changing pill.  They should not only be frank about their alcoholism.  They should also reveal enough of their personal histories to permit their doctors to judge wisely in prescribing, or not prescribing, drugs.

The so-called pshchotropic drugs, tranquilizers, are said to act on a specific part of the central nervous system without causing drowsiness.  As with all medications, however, the effect varies with individuals even when the dose is carefully controlled.  These are useful drugs when properly controlled, but the tranquilizers may be dangerous for use by alcoholics. 

Today, the great majority of doctors recognize the dangers in prescribing certain kinds of drugs for the addiction-prone person.  The A.A. member who is serious about recovery will accept the likelihood of being addiction-prone, and will make sure the physician knows all the facts.  If, then, a doctor appears to minimize the danger, the A.A. member might seriously consider seeking other medical advice.  The first opinion may have been entirely correct.  But, for the alcoholic, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

As a general rule, alcoholics are better off without drugs, if possible.  However, they sometimes have other illnesses that need treatment.  Drugs may be indicated.  At such times, doctors will adjust their management of cases, taking into consideration the patient’s probable reaction to drugs.  That is why it is so important for alcoholics to be honest with their doctors about their drinking problem, active or arrested – and also to follow orders strictly should the doctors decide to use drugs.  An alcoholic who experiences any unfavorable reactions should let the doctor know immediately.

Even more seriously, alcoholic patients often combine pills and alcohol.  This double abuse has led not only to serious illness but frequently to death.

More often than not, the prescribing  physicians get the blame.  In nearly all cases, the physicians are the victims of lies and misrepresentations by the patients, who, in turn, are the victims of their own addiction and disease.  As A.A. members know, active alcoholics are notoriously untruthful about their drinking habits and excesses-even with the very doctors they have gone to for help.

Quite often, an alcoholic will obtain prescriptions from several doctors without letting any of them know of the others’ participation.  And an alcoholic who gets desperate enough will always find sources of supply, legal or not. 

Physicians are not surprised to learn that in A.A. there are men and women who have been freed from alcohol only to become dependent on drugs.  The medical profession knows that alcohol is a systemic poison and that alcoholism is a complex disease indeed – involving physical, mental, and emotional factors.  Every doctor, upon thinking about it, realizes that the compulsive nature of alcoholics’ personalities may easily cause them to delude themselves into believing  they can risk the use of drugs to relieve tensions they formerly “handled” with alcohol.

Once alcoholics are under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, they are in trouble,  Many have started using pills thinking they have found the perfect substitute for alcohol.  However, the progression of pill-taking is often the same as that of drinking.  Both usually end in a real binge. 

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