The Disease Model of Addiction Research Paper

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Addiction as a Disease

While drug addiction may not bring about obvious physical changes like some diseases, it still causes permanent changes to the brain. Drugs circumvent the natural system of rewards generated by the brain, whereby performing a pleasurable action will cause a release of dopamine. "The natural capacity to produce dopamine in the reward system is reduced, while the need persists and the drug seems to be the only way to fulfill it. The brain is losing its access to other, less immediate and powerful sources of reward. Addicts may require constantly higher doses and a quicker passage into the brain" ("The addicted brain," 2009). Contrary to Hojung Lee's suggestion, addiction is not really analogous to a habit, despite the fact that it is often called that (as in "he has a drug habit"). The compulsion to use is irresistible to the addict, which is why addicts will sacrifice jobs, family commitments, and even personal comfort to use their drug of choice. It is not a habit like brushing your teeth or getting up at a particular hour of the morning. A habit can be postponed or altered if circumstances dictate it or if there is a logical reward that benefits the addict to change it. That is not the case with drug addiction.

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Another important point in favor of treating addiction like a disease is one of utility. If addicts are not deterred by the loss of their jobs, homes, spouses -- even their children in some instances -- the deterrent of prison is unlikely to convince them to alter their behaviors. Viewing an addiction as crime rather than a disease calls upon the legal system to punish it with jail rather than rehabilitation. "Research over the last 2 decades has consistently reported the beneficial effects of treatment for the drug abuser in the criminal justice system. These interventions include therapeutic alternatives to incarceration, treatment merged with judicial oversight in drug courts, prison- and jail-based treatments" (Chandler, Fletcher, & Volkow 2009).

Also supporting the concept of addiction as a disease is the fact that heritability seems to play a major factor in the development of addiction. "Family, adoption, and twin studies reveal that an individual's risk tends to be proportional to the degree of genetic relationship to an addicted relative. Heritabilities of addictive disorders range from 0.39 for hallucinogens to 0.72 for cocaine" (Bevilacqua & Goldman 2009).….....

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