I was private closet-drinker and never drank in public. A couple of wicked hangovers and a health incident put me on the straight-and-narrow path, if you will. LOL. I tried using alcohol as a substitute for heavy-opiate pain-meds when I ran out of them after a couple months or so of daily dosing. It was poor substitute. I kind of used it as an excuse to indulge and to self-medicate myself. I became dependent within a week or so of taking my prescription drugs. I found out that it's not uncommon for cancer patients (I had a sever-kidney cancer and had to have my right kidney cut-out and removed. And they opened me up like a Christmas Turkey! lol.) to become addicted to their meds. I've have used kava over the past 4 years and successfully to completely ween myself off. So Kava has been a God-Send. 
