Do you consider drug addiction a disease?

[NFLTrends]

:an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors.

Making a choice to start drinking or doing drugs is just plain stupidity cause you know what the outcome could be. Making a bad choice is not a disease. Might be borderline retarded, but not a disease.... Possibly mental illness? Retardism?

 

[Redagger029]

I've seen people walk away from drugs or alcohol because it was killing them.

You cannot just walk away from cancer because it is killing you.

 

[Illini]

:an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors.

Making a choice to start drinking or doing drugs is just plain stupidity cause you know what the outcome could be. Making a bad choice is not a disease. Might be borderline retarded, but not a disease.... Possibly mental illness? Retardism?

You just said mental illness is not a disease. Glad you're perfect. Cheers.

 

[JudgeWapner]

Yes.

 

[NFLTrends]

You just said mental illness is not a disease. Glad you're perfect. Cheers.

Did I say mental illness is not a disease??? No.... I said drug addiction is not a disease. And the drug addicts might have mental illness instead.

 

[Illini]

Did I say mental illness is not a disease??? No.... I said drug addiction is not a disease. And the drug addicts might have mental illness instead.

You said it's not a disease but might be mental illness.

I'm not trying to play semantics here. I just think that everyone has issues. People judge other people's issues, and that is ignorant. Compassion is hard to come by, but I've found the more that people suffer, the softer hearts they have for others. And having one affliction does not help you understand other afflictions, but it does tell you that nobody can understand what it's like to be somebody else until you've walked in their shoes.

 

[Bourn]

If you read the definition of disease you will learn its a disease. Lol. You may not agree with it, but by definition it is a disease.

 

[Ricboff]

Drug addiction is a substance abuse DISORDER . It certainly can lead to disease , ex., liver cirrhosis in advanced alcoholics .

 

[Enfuego]

You don't have the predisposition for it. I don't either, but I have family members that do. I have a predisposition for depression, and I can't just decide to be happy. It is a battle and takes a lot of effort to cope with. There are all sorts of afflictions people have, depending on their genetics. Homosexuality is another one. I can't begin to understand why a guy would be attracted to another guy, but I conclude they have something that I don't have. Are these afflictions diseases? More or less, I think so.

Being a homosexual and being an alcoholic or very different things IMO.

 

[RoofTop]

Nicotine and caffeine are drugs

 

[seldomseen]

Any one who has ever been effected by drug addiction knows how terrible it is. Who cares to argue over semantics?

 

[Ricboff]

Because that's what the OP was asking

 

[Enfuego]

Any one who has ever been effected by drug addiction knows how terrible it is. Who cares to argue over semantics?

But it's terrible because the user brought it upon themselves. I'm only asking if you consider it a disease? A victim of cancer doesn't bring that upon themselves unless they smoke.

 

[HarryCaray]

Some of the responses in this thread are just dripping of arrogance and ignorance. For those of you who are not addicts and don't know addiction...congrats. But is it really that hard to accept the fact that you might just not get it?

Alcoholism itself is a not a bad choice or series of bad choices. If you know you're an alcoholic and drink anyway, then yes of course that is a bad choice. But no one chooses to be an alcoholic.

I can never have another drink in my life without risking death. That is not by choice, it is proven medical fact for millions of alcoholics.

It is not by choice that I am an alcoholic. It is by choice that I do not drink because of it, and it is by choice that some continue to drink in spite of it.

The word the Big Book of AA uses is "allergy" and that seems to be about accurate to me. No one wants to have an allergy, but some are smart enough to avoid the pollen if they do.

Any one who has ever been effected by drug addiction knows how terrible it is. Who cares to argue over semantics?

This

 

[wilbur]

But it's terrible because the user brought it upon themselves. I'm only asking if you consider it a disease? A victim of cancer doesn't bring that upon themselves unless they smoke.

Or eat red meat, go out in the sun,use artificial sweeteners.....

 

[Bourn]

The question by the OP can be answered by simple reading comprehension. It's truly baffling to me that some people can't read the definition of disease and understand that alcoholism and drug addiction affects the brain therefore is classified as a disease. Good luck on your wagers.

 

[Enfuego]

Some of the responses in this thread are just dripping of arrogance and ignorance. For those of you who are not addicts and don't know addiction...congrats. But is it really that hard to accept the fact that you might just not get it?

Alcoholism itself is a not a bad choice or series of bad choices. If you know you're an alcoholic and drink anyway, then yes of course that is a bad choice. But no one chooses to be an alcoholic.

I can never have another drink in my life without risking death. That is not by choice, it is proven medical fact for millions of alcoholics.

It is not by choice that I am an alcoholic. It is by choice that I do not drink because of it, and it is by choice that some continue to drink in spite of it.

The word the Big Book of AA uses is "allergy" and that seems to be about accurate to me. No one wants to have an allergy, but some are smart enough to avoid the pollen if they do.



This

Just don't agree with this statement at all. Some will agree and some won't I guess. I just don't see how addiction is not a personal choice.

 

[seldomseen]

Some of the responses in this thread are just dripping of arrogance and ignorance. For those of you who are not addicts and don't know addiction...congrats. But is it really that hard to accept the fact that you might just not get it?

Alcoholism itself is a not a bad choice or series of bad choices. If you know you're an alcoholic and drink anyway, then yes of course that is a bad choice. But no one chooses to be an alcoholic.

I can never have another drink in my life without risking death. That is not by choice, it is proven medical fact for millions of alcoholics.

It is not by choice that I am an alcoholic. It is by choice that I do not drink because of it, and it is by choice that some continue to drink in spite of it.

The word the Big Book of AA uses is "allergy" and that seems to be about accurate to me. No one wants to have an allergy, but some are smart enough to avoid the pollen if they do.

Thats just it. I get it's hard for people to understand. At one point I was heavily into painkillers. The choice was to stop. I never even sought them out to begin with. It's been 6 years and I know I still can't touch them.

 

[HarryCaray]

Just don't agree with this statement at all. Some will agree and some won't I guess. I just don't see how addiction is not a personal choice.

Guess maybe it's just semantics.

I don't drink yet I still consider myself an alcoholic. How do you rectify that one?

If it were a choice, and I don't drink, haven't I "chosen" not to be an alcoholic? But the entire medical community would agree that I am. There is no doubt in my mind that I am.

It's not as if I WAS an alcoholic when I was drinking and then I ceased to be one when I quit. I still am today and it's not by choice.

 

[HarryCaray]

Guess for me it comes down to this:

If you can still "have" it even though you're choosing not to drink...it's a disorder/disease/whatever.