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And in some jurisdictions, one or two drinks an hour with a meal will qualify you for a DUI.

It's not a matter of think I'm not drunk, it's an absolute fact. Tested and proven with the explicit intent of knowing without any doubt or speculation that I will be well within the legal limit for BAC and that I drive just as prudently as I would with no alcohol in my system. Any person with the same body weight as me can confidently drink exactly as I have described here and drive with no impairment whatsoever. Smaller people and those on medications, your mileage may vary. I'm 38, and weigh 225, and I know absolutely without a doubt what my BAC will be 1 hour after 2 drinks with a meal

And regardless of what you personally think is childish, the fact is using any substance with the intent of altering your state of perception is in fact abuse. Dismiss it if you wish, but my facts are rock solid.

It's not a matter of think I'm not drunk, it's an absolute fact. Tested and proven with the explicit intent of knowing without any doubt or speculation that I will be well within the legal limit for BAC and that I drive just as prudently as I would with no alcohol in my system. Any person with the same body weight as me can confidently drink exactly as I have described here and drive with no impairment whatsoever.

Oh, if only all the world's drinkers and drivers were as conscientious and civic-minded as you . . .

And regardless of what you personally think is childish, the fact is using any substance with the intent of altering your state of perception is in fact abuse. Dismiss it if you wish, but my facts are rock solid.

How in the world is using an intoxicating substance to get intoxicated abuse of that substance? Intoxicating substances are, by definition, supposed to make one intoxicated.

It's not a matter of think I'm not drunk, it's an absolute fact. Tested and proven with the explicit intent of knowing without any doubt or speculation that I will be well within the legal limit for BAC and that I drive just as prudently as I would with no alcohol in my system. Any person with the same body weight as me can confidently drink exactly as I have described here and drive with no impairment whatsoever. Smaller people and those on medications, your mileage may vary. I'm 38, and weigh 225, and I know absolutely without a doubt what my BAC will be 1 hour after 2 drinks with a meal And regardless of what you personally think is childish, the fact is using any substance with the intent of altering your state of perception is in fact abuse. Dismiss it if you wish, but my facts are rock solid.

Your facts are anything but rock solid. You equate BAC with impairment and that's just wrong. For example, if you just put in a 20 hour day and then stopped to eat and had 2 drinks over the course of an hour, you would be much more impaired than if you had the same meal and 3 drinks while well rested. Your BAC may be lower, but you would be more impaired and more likely to have an accident.
As far as impairment overall, surely you can recognize that there are a great deal of people out there who are effectively "impaired" while perfectly sober.

I really have a hard time believing there are all these people out there drinking alcohol just for the taste. I don't know that I've ever met anyone like that. For that matter, most people who don't drink alcohol don't really like the taste when they do try it unless the taste is masked by fruity sweeteners or some other taste that hides the alcohol. Most have to acquire a taste for alcoholic beverages like beer or a nice red wine. And as for not getting a buzz after a couple of glasses of wine with a meal, I say bull. Even just that much gives you a nice warm buzz. It feels good. It slightly alters your perception. I gives you a nice feeling of well being. Personally, I really like doing that. It's a great way to unwind and enhance the enjoyment of a good meal and whoever I am sharing that experience with. I'd be lying to myself though if I said I was only drinking the wine for the taste. There are all sorts of good tasting drinks with no alcohol in them I could choose. If I choose the wine it's because I want that nice warm buzz that comes along with it.

You said something in a previous post about people enjoying the "social aspect" of drinking. What do you think that "social aspect" is? People drink at get togethers because it enhances the experience. It enhances the experience because the alcohol lowers inhibitions and provides a sense of well being. It alters perceptions. It makes not so pretty girls look pretty. It makes not so funny jokes funny. People talk more, laugh more, and have more fun because they are intoxicated, even if just mildly so. Are they all just drinking for the taste? Heck no. If they say they are they are lying to you and themselves.

If anyone who uses an intoxicant with the intent of altering his perception is abusing that intoxicant than just about everyone who ever drinks any alcohol is abusing it. Certainly anyone who drinks alcohol to unwind or enhance the enjoyment of something is drinking to alter their perceptions. They may never use those particular words or think about it in those terms, but that is exactly what they are doing.