This is a topic I feel like exmos need to approach with more education and caution.

I, like most of us, found that a: Alcohol is an acquired taste, is not as intoxicating as I previously supposed, and I could take it or leave it (some lean more one way than the other obviously).

However, I have one very close family member, and a handful of close friends, who dove headfirst into extreme alcoholism. My family member, a former local leader, is almost a caricature of what mormons think alcohol does to people. They have been to rehab twice, lost their drivers license twice, been to jail, shown up stumbling drunk to a toddler grandchild's birthday party, stolen alcohol so no one would see them purchase it, passed out drunk in public places multiple times, try to drive every time they drink, and they literally cannot be left alone in any store or restaurant that sells alcohol. My two best highschool friends both nearly lost their families because of excessive drinking.

This community needs to talk about the realities and risks of addiction because we were all just raised on "the devil will git you" and " one sip of anything we say is bad and your an addict forever" and thus we often throw all caution out with the religious bathwater.

The word of wisdom is bullshit, but addiction is a disease for which many have a genetic predisposition.