Is Drug Addiction A Disease Essay

Jean Oakley Oakley 1

Ms. Smith

English 12

14 March 2018

Is Drug Addiction a Disease or a Choice?

Drug addiction is seen by many people to be a disease, but where’s the proof? Scientists have yet to show or even prove that it is a disease. Examples of real diseases would be cancer or diabetes, not drug addiction. Addicts will typically blame other people for their addiction, so they won’t have to blame themselves which leads to them saying “It’s a disease.” Scientists such as Carl Hart and Dr. Michael Nader have conducted experiments to prove addiction is a choice.

In a real disease, people have a place in their body which produces a

Hart had addicts choose between cash or drugs, which most chose drugs and that proves when addicts are given a better CHOICE, they’ll CHOOSE it. By conducting the research, Hart gathers addicts who were willing to test but not willing to get clean. Every day they either get a dose of crack cocaine or methamphetamine. They then let them choice between a five-dollar voucher, five dollars, or the exact same dose they had before. When they leave in two weeks, they are given what they have chosen. Usually if they drug is a higher dose, they choose the drug, not the voucher or money. (Sally Satel. The Science of Choice in Addiction. Paragraph 7.

They chose to do what they did. A disease is not something you just choose to have! People with real disease such as aids and cancer, did not choose to have a disease. They are choosing to become an addict without a disease. You were not forced to take the drug, no one put a gun to your head or had a knife to your neck, and you took that drug on your own free will. It is a weakness, just like over eating and under eating. Many people do this and have problems with them. We all have weaknesses. People can cause activities to turn into diseases. (Alfred. Drug Addiction Is Not a Disease. 2017. Whole