You're delusional and speaking about something which you clearly have no experience in. Your best course of action would be to stop talking, start listening, and apply some true critical thinking. It'll get you much further than spouting off a troll-like answer to any logical statement presented to you. You might learn something.
The docs at the FAA aren't in the best position to know the "patient", but that's not their problem. Their problem is to look at the facts, apply the criteria laid out in the FARs and make a determination. Do they get it perfect all the time? Hell no. Do they stop A LOT of situations from getting someone hurt? Yes. If someone who's come on the radar for their alcohol use curbs their problem drinking does their life get better? Hell yes.
You think someone with an alcohol problem and brains enough to get a pilot certificate is walking into their PCP and saying, "Hey doc, I'm finishing off about 30 beers every 3 days and on average I do this 3 days a week"? Especially considering they know it'll be reportable on a medical? Here's the answer every PCP and cop on a DUI stop gets, "I have a couple drinks with dinner here and there and everything's good." Then the liver enzymes come out abnormal or the breathalyzer "isn't calibrated".
It's the same answer the AMEs get and it would be WAY worse if they weren't specifically told to look out for red flags related to alcohol and substance abuse.
You think "modern medicine" has the answer to "work wonders" when it comes to substance abuse? Then why the hell do we have people dying from alcohol and substance abuse at a greater prevalence than we've ever seen? If they've got all the answers why don't those $25k rehab centers just get everyone sober and fix them? It's because they don't have the answers and your "real doctors" don't have the answers. There isn't a single cure and it's a complicated problem that can't be solved unless the patient has a vested interest in solving it.
Here's some info from your "real doctors" (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) on what "wonders" modern medicine is working for substance abuse. Pay attention that this has NOTHING to do with the FARs or the FAA.
Alcohol Facts and Statistics | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (nih.gov)
"Low risk drinking": Women, no more thank 3 drinks on any single day, and no more than 7 drinks per week. Men, no more than 4 drinks on any single day, and no more than 14 drinks per week. Notice it's impossible for the average person to hit a .15 BAC (tolerance) under this criteria.
"Binge drinking": pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration to .08. Typically after a woman consumes 4 drinks or a man consumes 5 drinks in a 2 hour time frame. This is very close ir well below the level opined by everyone in this thread. This level probably wouldn't get most to a .15 BAC.
"Heavy drinking": SAMHSA defines heavy drinking as binge drinking on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days. This is WAY below the level you'd need to routinely function at a BAC of .15 or greater.
High-Intensity drinking as an emerging trend: Compared with people who did not binge drink, people who drank alcohol at twice the gender-specific binge drinking thresholds were 70 times more likely to have an alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visit, and those who consumed alcohol at 3 times the gender-specific binge thresholds were 93 times more likely to have an alcohol-related ED visit. Ending up in the ER because of alcohol is not "normal".
An estimated 95,000 people (approximately 68,000 men and 27,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity. Compare this to the deaths related to the current situation, and the measures the government in specific states have instituted. Then tell me about infringement of rights and privileges.
Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of drowning and injuries from violence, falls, and motor vehicle crashes. When you drink at problem levels, BAD stuff happens.
Prevalence of Alcoholism in the United States (verywellmind.com)
Men: 23% report binge drinking five times a month. 12% report binge drinking three times per month. If these stats are a representative sample that means 37M men and 20M women are problem drinkers.
College students: 36.9% reported binge drinking in the past month and 9.6% disclosed heavy drinking. All of these percentages are significantly higher for the same age group among non-college students. It's not youthful partying, we've turned college into an alcoholic factory.
Alcohol Relapse Rates: Abstinence Statistics, How to Avoid & Deal with a Relapse (therecoveryvillage.com)
Relapse in first year of alcohol sobriety 30%. 2nd year 21.4%. 3-5 years 9.6%, >5 years 7.2% There's a reason why monitoring period are as long as they are. No well understood and treated disease has the recidivism and fatality rates.
I didn't make this stuff up, and it's not like I had to search hard for stats to prove my point. NONE of this is from the FAA. MUCH of this came from your tax dollars funding it. If you think it's BS then you probably have a bunch more letters to write.
TLDR: You're whining about stuff which you have no real understanding of and you're adversarial towards the few that do understand and are actively invested in trying to provide real help to those that need it. I'm done with this thread. Grow up.
