NCJ Number
172383
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Drug use is a choice, not a disease; efforts to change destructive behavior associated with drug abuse should focus on behavioral accountability related to the consequences of the drug user's actions.
Abstract
The tendency to view unusual or questionable behavior as part of a disease process is now being extended, along with the characteristic theory of "loss of control," to include all sorts of "addictive" behaviors. Aside from the disease model, there are two other ways of viewing drug addiction: the free-will model and the moralistic model. In the free-will model, drug use is envisioned as a means of coping with environmental experience, a behavioral choice and a function of psychological and environmental factors combined. Under the moralistic model, addiction is viewed as the result of low moral standards, bad character, and weak will. The punitive nature of America's current war on drugs with its call for "user accountability" is typical of the moralistic perspective. Proponents of the free- will and the disease models disagree with the moralistic perspective, but for different reasons. The free-will advocates believe addicts should not be punished for having unconventional values; they believe treatment should focus on changing the psychological and environmental conditions conducive to drug use. Coping skills should be taught along with the building of self- esteem and self-efficacy. Advocates of the disease model believe that addicts should not be punished for being sick and that treatment should focus on the biological factors that cause and reinforce drug use. The free-will model best accords with scientific findings. Research suggests that drug addiction is far from being a disease. As long as drug addiction can be blamed on a mythical disease, the real reasons why people use drugs -- those related to socioeconomic, existential, and psychological conditions -- can be ignored. 23 references