Scrolling through social media platforms such as Instagram or Tumblr and coming across aesthetic-pastel-goth-90’s-grunge-inspired accounts sharing photos of adolescents and young adults smoking, drinking, and sharing needles while they are praised for their “trendiness.” But as I walk down the streets of my city noticing homeless signs, pleading for donations, and wanting a second chance with cigarettes dangling from their lips as they are spat on by modern society. “You can’t afford a clean t-shirt but you can buy a pack of Camels? Disgusting. Get a job and stop asking for handouts!” is just an example sentence of the ignorance in America. Why is there such a gap between the two? Why is one example of drug use romanticized by popular society yet the other is looked down upon? How can we fix this gap?
Addiction is a complicated thing. The definition, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse is “a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.” The modern stigma surrounding addiction fundamentally states that if one is addicted to drugs or alcohol, they chose to be in that situation and must suffer the consequences, which includes not receiving health care. My question is: Who would voluntarily choose to to be addicted to a substance?
According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, addiction is considered a disease, and not a “choice” for many reasons:
Some people think addiction cannot be a disease because it is caused by the individual’s choice to use drugs or alcohol. While the first use (or early stage use) may be by choice, once the brain has been changed by addiction, most experts believe that the person loses control of their behavior.
Choice does not determine whether something is a disease. Heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer involve personal choices like diet, exercise, sun exposure, etc. A disease is what happens in the body as a result of those choices.
Others argue that addiction is not a disease because some people with addiction get better without treatment. People with a mild substance use disorder may recover with little or no treatment. People with the most serious form of addiction usually need intensive treatment followed by lifelong management of the disease. However, some people with severe addiction stop drinking or using drugs without treatment, usually after experiencing a serious family, social, occupational, physical, or spiritual crisis.
Addiction can ruin families, relationships, and futures for all who are involved. Yes, some people choose to drink alcohol or use drugs, but no one wants to become addicted. Let us end the stigma surrounding addicts who shamed for letting their disease be deemed as a choice.
