Drug Addiction Brain Disease

Drug addiction is a large and vastly growing concern in today’s world. While so many people are affected by being addicted to drugs the debate has grown on whether it is caused by a brain disease or if it is caused by a person’s behavior patterns and choices. The importance of deciding between the two has a large impact on what legal and medical personnel are supposed to do with drug addicts. My own personal opinion I believe that drug addiction is a choice rather than a disease. As you will see in this paper I do not doubt that drugs do in some way affect ones brain, but not to the extent to classify it as a disease. I also believe that drug addicts do have control over their “drug of choice” which also would take addiction of the disease …show more content…
Most people will start using drugs through peer pressure or from some sort of traumatic experience within their lives. I think that being an addicted is even more psychological when you look at how people can come off of drugs. Once again referring back to the article “Is addiction a brain disease” you can see that Jacob Sullum who is an author used within the article makes great points to how social cues make people stop using. Sullum states that drug addicts can see that the drugs are undermining their sense of themselves and the control of their own destinies so they stop using. He states that this behavior shows that drugs chemicals do not take away someone’s free will. Sullum also notes that not all drug addicts have they “aha!” moment but that if those people who did were to have a brain scan their brains would be right there with the ones who continue to use …show more content…
As I mentioned and some of the articles I referred to mentioned that drug use does in some way do something to the brain of the user. However drugs do not disease a person’s brain, drugs will alter their brain for a time but the drugs do not have control over the person’s brain. Drug addicts have the ability to fight the urges in their brain when they feel the need to use. Also when stress and boredom have a role in a person using drugs that is not usually a characteristic of someone who has a disease. Drug addiction is a problem in the world today, but classifying it as a disease off the brain is only giving people an excuse to fall back on when they choose to use their drug of choice. Looking at drug addiction as a disease of choice will give the addict the chance to adapt and fight off the urges of their