Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name: Trang Vo
It has been one of the most painful and confusing encounters in my life, watching my one time
best friend in and out of rehab every now and then. Before he fell victim of the menace,
whenever I saw addicts on the streets I had always thought to myself that they are simply paying
for the wrong choices and actions in their lives. I always told myself that they were in that state
because they made a choice to live that way, and went ahead to pursue actions that led them
there. However, now that it is my friend, I somewhat disagreed with my prior thoughts and
started thinking that it must be a disease. After all, doctors and multinational organizations have
proved that addiction is a disease. But I am still not quite sure if my opinion has change when it
is about the others in the streets. This is a critical dilemma situation that Gene Heyman of the
New York Times explored in a 2014 article Drug Addiction Is a Matter of Difficult Choices.
Either way that we decide to look at it, there are two sides of the equation with very strong
The Dilemma
Over the last three decades, a lot has been established as the main causes of extreme drug
use, and the possible remedies that can stop the dependency on drugs. However, there has not
been an agreed approach, especially because the research findings conflict largely with the most
common beliefs that surround the topic (Heyman). The most common arguments is that
considered a result of moral weakness from another perspective. None of these has managed to
capture the true reality of addiction. This points to the fact that the search for medical cure for
addiction, or tougher jail terms is misguided. They have diverted the focus from programs that
it a disease status. First, it is marked by frequent brain relapses, sets of behavior changes, and
cross addictions. It is also caused by genetic factors like other chronic diseases. Lastly, there are
medications that have proved effective enough to block the rewarding effects of drug use, and
thereby can decrease the drug cravings of an addict (Wise). For the cross addictions, research has
established that for individuals who have been dependent on a drug at a particular time in their
life, they are likely to depend on another drug some other time as well. Genetically, studies have
shown that genes play a significant role in determining who is a t a greater risk of becoming
addicted. For individuals who have a drunkard background, they are 40 60 percent more likely
to be alcoholics than those without such a background, which is an effect that is transferred by a
combination of multiple genes, rather than just a single dominant or recessive one (Wise).
Medically, drugs have been manufactured that have countered the rewarding effects of the drugs,
as well as blocked the withdrawal symptoms that arise after quitting the drugs. Research is even
going further and seeking to develop a vaccine that can fight addiction, with a cocaine addiction
vaccine almost becoming a breakthrough. All these are undeniably valid facts that come close to
However, addiction has several twists that relate it to choices and recklessness more.
Working from people who have quit drugs, there are a lot of them who confess that they stopped
doing drugs because of financial pressures (Heyman). Some quit because they faced the threat of
legal sanctions, and others because they had family obligations, especially from parents and
children. Now this does not sound like a disease by whatever definition or description. The drug
consequences (Siegel). But when the costs increase against other constraints, and the utility also
falls, then some people decide to halt their addictions. It is so unlike any disease to just go away
simply because the patient runs out of money or simply because they do not fancy staying with
The worst bit about drug addiction is that it has dire monetary implications on the society
and the people close to the addicts. Most of the successful interventions that have worked have
introduced activities that compete with the drugs like providing role models, promoting
fellowship, and giving opportunities to serve others. The worst bit is that research proves addicts
as people who can take control of their lives. But what is actually needed is the reformulation of
the drug addiction policies and addiction interventions based on credible research.
Works Cited
Trang Vo 4
Siegel, Zachary. "Is Addiction A Habit Or A Disease?". The Daily Beast. N.p., 2017. Web. 25
Mar. 2017.
Wise, Roy A. "Addiction becomes a brain disease." Neuron 26.1 (2000): 27-33.