OPIOID EPIDEMIC

Opioid Epidemic: Is Addiction a Choice or Disease?

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that addiction starts as a choice and slowly morphs into a disease. I will explain. To begin with, addiction could be deemed a choice at the onset owing to the fact that an individual could elect to either use or not use opioids. However, constant use of opioids results in a strong compulsion to continue using the said drugs effectively resulting in addiction. Indeed, according to Lautieri and Thomas (2021), addiction could be conceptualized as a mental disorder. More specifically, addiction, as Lautieri and Thomas (2021) point out has been described as a medical disorder that affects the brain and changes behavior. Further review of available literature indicates that there are a number of distinct features that make addiction more of a disease than a choice.

Unlike would be the case if it were a choice, opioid addiction results in changes in the brains response to scenarios that relate to self-control, stress, and rewards (Lautieri and Thomas, 2021). As has further been pointed out, the said changes happen to be long-term. Indeed, according to Lautieri and Thomas (2021), these changes in the brains response could last long after an individual stops abusing drugs. It is also important to note that like a disease, opioid addiction could be successfully treated through the deployment of various medical interventions. One such intervention involves the use of medications including, but not limited to; extended release naltrexone (Vivitrol), methadone, and buprenorphine (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016).

However, there are those who have argued that addiction cannot fit under a chronic illness model for a number of reasons. One such reason is that the best survey data available indicate that most drug addicts quit their addiction, a fact inconsistent with a chronic-disease model (Branch, 2011, p. 264).

References

Branch, M.N. (2011). Drug addiction. Is it a disease or is it based on choice? A review of Gene Heyman's Addiction: A disorder of choice. J Exp Anal Behav., 95(2), 263-267.

Lautieri, A. & Thomas, S. (2021). Is Addiction a Disease or a Choice? Why Its Complicated. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/is-drug-addiction-a-disease

National Institute on Drug Abuse (2016). Effective Treatments for Opioid Addiction. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/effective-treatments-opioid-addiction