Many, many people, millions of people, can have a beer or a glass of wine and be perfectly fit to drive. Even if they were to be pulled over and given a breathalyzer, their BAC would be well below "drunk" or even "impaired." A glass, or even two for a person my size (6'1", 185), has very little effect on reaction time, perception, and reasoning, particularly if they wait a half hour to 45 minutes before driving. Those people don't drink to get "buzzed." The drink goes well with the food and the conversation, and they are not "sinning" when drinking.
And that, RD2, is the answer back to you.No offense, but obviously not. You seem to think you're the only one here with a a drinking past. I believe there are many on this board, including me, who used excessive amounts of alcohol to self-medicate my PTSD.
When I admitted to the disorder and agreed to have it treated adequately (by one of the few psychiatrists at the VA who actually knows what he's doing), the issue I had with alcohol went away. I still waited about 20 years, after 27 years of abstinence, before I took the risk of drinking again. It would be impossible for anyone to say I abuse alcohol today, especially given the caution I engaged before trying it again.
You refer to "buzzed" in the same way a current public service campaign uses it. What the teen/young adult anti-drinking-and-driving ad campaign is saying -- "Buzzed is drunk" -- may be an effective message that gets young, dumb irresponsible drinkers to think about it before they do it. The reality is, the message is completely false, because it implies that a single drink, or two, makes one "buzzed." That's nonsense.
"Buzzed" or "drunk" depends on a variety of factors that vary greatly from person to person, such as body weight, alcohol tolerance, total intake, and a host of factors that the ad campaign and you apparently choose to ignore. As you and others do, apparently, that everyone who drinks has an intent to "feel the buzz." Total garbage.
Facts are facts. You have opinions. There's a difference.