Why Treat Them? They’re Only Addicts!

This is an important issue and has to do with society’s views and attitudes about addicts. Addicts and addiction carry a stigma. Many consider drug use a moral failing requiring something like an awakening, an epiphany or a spiritual rebirth for a cure. Many feel that addiction is something that the individuals do to themselves so therefore they should undo it by themselves. Why bother with addicts? Let them figure it out! There is a lot of self-righteousness and moralizing in some groups. But research in addiction over the last decades has shown that addiction is a brain-based disorder due to biological and environmental factors. From this perspective, drug abuse is similar to other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, for example.