Replies

It’s not medical advice, it’s an opinion. And he’s right. It isn’t a “disease”, it is a weakness, a personal failing. You can blame the alcohol or the drug, but in the end, people choose to do what they do. Any recovered alcoholic or drug addict - the honest ones, anyway - will tell you that they, and they alone, were the cause of their addiction. Calling those things a “disease” implies that the addict is a victim of something over which they have no control. And that absolves them of their responsibility. Animals have no control over what they do, but people do.

Calling those things a “disease” implies that the addict is a victim of something over which they have no control.

Do you feel the same way about diabetes? Do you understand that alcohol affects the brains of different people in different ways? Do you understand that some peoples brains are triggered by stimuli while others wont..ie..gambling, sex, alcohol, drugs, certain fears, etc? If you are objective you have to admit that this is a physical phenomenon that people are born with. That means that they do NOT have a choice in how their minds react to different chemicals/stimuli. Some people have an "alcoholic gene". That has been medically/scientifically proven for over 100 years and socially demonstrated since the beginning of time. And I believe that you know it. Why not say it and accept it?

Yours is a common opinion which I also shared at one time.
However, I’ve recently researched this question & learned the facts are somewhat different.
While it’s true that the initial decision to imbibe in addictive drugs is a bad *choice* which can be attributed to low character, in fact, it’s more likely attributable to ignorance of the *physiological* nature of addiction.
Addicts as a rule do not intend to become addicted. Every addict thinks he can “try it once or twice,” use occasionally & stop at will.
But addictive drugs literally & very quickly burn through the brain receptors which deliver pleasure responses, which in turn triggers a craving —a need— for more.
The brain is literally changed & the differences between before & after drug use show up on brain scans.
For instance, the brain’s of methamphetamine addicts resemble those of schizophrenics. Drug use *physically* alters the brain *structure* in ways that *cause* psychosis, beyond the addict’s willful control. When addiction takes hold, the addict no longer has any choice.
The brain *can* begin to rebuild itself & heal, but it takes many months, even years, & this requires outside intervention to prevent the addict’s access to the drugs, as well a to provide palliative antidotes.