Is Addiction A Disease
IS ADDICTION A DISEASE?
Drug agencies in the world have struggled for legitimacy in the field of medicine addiction. Drug abuse has become a common norm in the society today. Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes uncontrollable drug seeking and use despite its negative consequences on the addict. Although the decision to take drugs is voluntary for many individuals, the brain changes that over a period of time. It hampers a person's ability to resist his/her impulses to take drugs; in the process an individual becomes a drug addict. This paper aims to answer the question if drug abuse should be considered as a disease. It will also discuss both sides of the debate.
The debate on drug addiction is not new; proponents of the …show more content…
Research shows that one in four deaths in America today is attributed to substance abuse (Lewis, 2015). Individuals that live with substance abuse are at a higher risk of bad outcomes such as accidents, unintentional injuries, and even domestic violence. Research has also shown that drug abuse affects almost every human organ (Lewis, 2015). Drug abuse has been attributed as the lead factor in weakening the immune system and above all increasing the susceptibility to infections (Lewis, 2015). Proponents of the debate suggest that drug abuse should be considered a disease because it causes cardiovascular conditions like abnormal heart rate, collapsed veins, and infections to the heart valves (Lewis, …show more content…
They consider drug abuse as a choice; the drug addict makes his/her own choice to start using drugs. Opponents argue that unlike drug abuse, people do not make choices on real diseases; the diabetic people did not have a choice of becoming diabetic (Verster, 2012). The opponents argue that a drug addict can stop abusing the drugs if he/she is properly constrained (Verster, 2012). For instance, when a doctor applies the Disease Model of Illness to give opinion about a certain disease, they will definitely think of a physical defect in a physiologic system of the body. Once the defect is found, the doctor will give a casual report for the patient's symptoms and point out to the way of treatment. The defects of disease like diabetes make it easier for people to understand. Drug abuse should not be considered as a disease because no one has ever found a defect in the brain that caused the addiction. Research studies have shown that drug abuse has no physical defect and therefore does not qualify to be called a disease like diabetes does (Verster, 2012). The symptoms of the addicts are assumed to be contributed by their irresponsibility and
Drug agencies in the world have struggled for legitimacy in the field of medicine addiction. Drug abuse has become a common norm in the society today. Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes uncontrollable drug seeking and use despite its negative consequences on the addict. Although the decision to take drugs is voluntary for many individuals, the brain changes that over a period of time. It hampers a person's ability to resist his/her impulses to take drugs; in the process an individual becomes a drug addict. This paper aims to answer the question if drug abuse should be considered as a disease. It will also discuss both sides of the debate.
The debate on drug addiction is not new; proponents of the …show more content…
Research shows that one in four deaths in America today is attributed to substance abuse (Lewis, 2015). Individuals that live with substance abuse are at a higher risk of bad outcomes such as accidents, unintentional injuries, and even domestic violence. Research has also shown that drug abuse affects almost every human organ (Lewis, 2015). Drug abuse has been attributed as the lead factor in weakening the immune system and above all increasing the susceptibility to infections (Lewis, 2015). Proponents of the debate suggest that drug abuse should be considered a disease because it causes cardiovascular conditions like abnormal heart rate, collapsed veins, and infections to the heart valves (Lewis, …show more content…
They consider drug abuse as a choice; the drug addict makes his/her own choice to start using drugs. Opponents argue that unlike drug abuse, people do not make choices on real diseases; the diabetic people did not have a choice of becoming diabetic (Verster, 2012). The opponents argue that a drug addict can stop abusing the drugs if he/she is properly constrained (Verster, 2012). For instance, when a doctor applies the Disease Model of Illness to give opinion about a certain disease, they will definitely think of a physical defect in a physiologic system of the body. Once the defect is found, the doctor will give a casual report for the patient's symptoms and point out to the way of treatment. The defects of disease like diabetes make it easier for people to understand. Drug abuse should not be considered as a disease because no one has ever found a defect in the brain that caused the addiction. Research studies have shown that drug abuse has no physical defect and therefore does not qualify to be called a disease like diabetes does (Verster, 2012). The symptoms of the addicts are assumed to be contributed by their irresponsibility and