The U.S drug epidemic is becoming increasingly out of hand. There were nearly 60,000 deaths in 2015 alone, do to drug overdoses.(How Many People ) This statistic can not go un noted. If a solution to this crisis can be found, our roads neighborhoods and towns can all be made a safer place for all. But the problem does not stop there. Of the estimated 20.8 million people aged 12 or older influenced by drugs. “Most had some form of a substance abuse disorder in the past year, including 7.7 million people with an illicit drug use disorder and 15.7 million with an alcohol use disorder.”(How Many People) But how can we defeat such a massive problem? The drug epidemic is something that affects us all, everyone knows someone who is at the mercy of drugs. People who are addicted to drugs are incapable of change because it is a mental illness. The government should recognize and treat …show more content…
Both sides make strong points but, addiction is still not a disease. Those who choose to believe that addiction is a disease are looking for a name to call it. Addiction is a complicated issue that does not have an easy answer. We should not be content with calling it a disease. Addiction is a problem nonetheless, but considering it as a disease may be used as a crutch. As well as pushing the idea that you can not overcome it. I have seen with my own eyes with family members overcoming drugs and or alcohol under their own will power. A disease needs constant treatment, and you don 't always win. The world we portray by calling addiction a disease is one that supports an untrue fact, one in which you can 't be an addiction on your own. Taking a away your own will power is half the battle. This epidemic has to stop “23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and or drugs” The government 's role should not condone that the is a disease because that will encourage this number to stay the same instead of