Gracie Price

Professor Sipes

English 1201

24 March 2019

Argument Essay

Millions of people around the world suffer from addiction. My cousin has suffered from

drug addiction for many years. Suffered is the word used here because he had a disease.

Addiction is a disease that has a huge impact on many people's lives. My family did everything

they could to help him get better. He went to rehab many times and then relapsed many times. It

was a horrible thing to watch someone go through, but the reality is it happens every day. It does

not just affect the person suffering from addiction but also the loved ones of that person.

Addiction is a serious topic that Americans and everyone around the world need to talk about so

we can try to cure this epidemic. Addiction is a sensitive topic that does not get much attention

but it is something that needs to be talked about more. Although addiction is thought of as a

horrible choice made by people, studies show that addiction is actually a devastating disease.

In Dayton Ohio there is one of the biggest opioid epidemics in history going on. Drugs

mess with people's brains and cause permanent damage. Addiction is the fact or condition of

being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. The definition of addiction itself

should show people that it is a disease. It is not just drugs or alcohol it can be anything that

people get addicted to. Addiction has no prejudice. It does not matter what race or gender you

are or how old you are or where you come from. This disease can happen to anyone just like

many other diseases. Drug addiction of course is the biggest issue right now because it is one of
the biggest problems that is affecting so many people. Addiction is scary and people need to

begin to talk about it if we want to help put an end to it.

There is science behind this to prove that addiction is a disease. Doctor Michael Bierer

posted on March 11th 2016 an article called “Is addiction a “brain disease”?” In the article he

begins by talking about how addicted people's brains work and why they get set off for a craving

so bad. He then explains how they can learn and get help to avoid these cues. He goes into detail

about the signals in the brain and the alternatives to drug use. He also points out how some

people could help themselves and not everyone suffers from the “brain disease.” It is also very

clear that Dr. Bierer wants to help those with addiction, recover. If people would research more

about addiction I believe they would understand it a lot more and be more willing to help put an

end to it. Many people think that there is no way to help the addiction problem because they

believe that it is a choice. That mentality has to stop because there is articles and articles about

addiction and how it is a disease. The brain once introduced to some of these

drugs/things/activities can not function without them.

 There is research being done about addiction and there are being new things discovered.

Imagine if everyone had the same idea about addiction and everyone believed it was a brain

disease. There would be sod much more research being done and so many more findings. It is

sad to think that if more people would stop being stubborn and face the facts that addiction is not

always a choice that people make then we maybe would have more ways to cure it and would not

have as many casualties from addiction. In the article “How Science is Unlocking the Secrets of

Addiction” by Fran Smith discusses a new technology that may be a cure for addiction. It talks

about the science of addiction and how the new technology works. The purpose of this article is

to inform and teach people about the science of addiction and about addiction in general. This

article is super important. It not only talks about the new discoveries being made to help

addiction but it also talks about how these discoveries work. They use electromagnetic waves

through the brain that cures peoples addiction. The fact that this works is huge for the

controversy about addiction. This proves that addiction is a disease of the brain.

One amazing thing that is being done to help stop addiction is the conversation that is

being started. Many people are beginning to talk about addiction and try and help. In the

documentary “Epicenter: Dayton’s Opioid Crisis” by the University of Dayton Media Production

it gives facts and statistics about addiction. It also talks about how opioid addiction in Dayton is

one of the biggest drug epidemics in history. It also talks about personal stories of addiction. It

talks about how Ohio shut down “pill mills” in hopes to make the problem better but it actually

only made it worse by giving dealers and cartels more opportunities to sell. It is so amazing that

college students are realizing that there is a major problem and they want to help. It is so

important that everyone but especially the youth talk about what is happening and try and find

ways to stop it so it does not continue in the future. If young people start now researching and
talking about this problem by the time they are older the problem will be reduced greatly if not

solved. In the article “UD Students make opioids subject of documentary” by Katie Wedell the

topic addiction is discussed. In the article it tells about how the students are all touched by the

addiction epidemic and how they want to help and show that addiction is a disease and not just a

choice. This trend needs to continue. It is also really nice that the newspaper wrote about what

these students did. Not only did that help spread the word but it showed that this is what more

people need to be doing. It shows that if everyone begins to did this it could have a really big

impact and help millions of people.

There are many people who still disagree about this issue. Unfortunately there is still tons

of controversy about addiction and that makes it hard for anything to be done and any advances

to be made to solving the problem. The article “Why Addiction Is Not a Disease: An Interview

with Dr. Marc Lewis” by Caroline McGraw is one example of the controversy. In the interview

they discuss the following: defining addiction as a learned behavior and why that definition

matters, the pitfalls of the Addiction Disease Model, Recovery and Self Identity, what causes

addiction in the brain, emotional suffering is real suffering, and more about recovery. Doctor

Marc Lewis is a doctor who says that addiction is a disease to a certain extent. He believes it can

not be classified as a disease with other “real” diseases such as cancer. It is reasonable what he is

saying but there is just way too many articles and proven facts that show addiction is a disease

for him to be right.

This article “Drug Addiction. Is it a disease or is it based on choice? A review of Gene

Heyman’s Addiction: A disorder of choice .” by Marc Branch is a review of a book. The article

talks about the views in the book and how the reason why most people say addiction is a disease

is because of the money that comes with it. The writer wrote this as a review of a book but, I
think it also informs. Many people do not want to think of addiction as a disease because once

something becomes classified as a disease there is a lot of money that follows that classification.

People do not want their money going towards research for addiction. It is understandable to

think this way however, it depends on the type of person you are. Would you rather have

millions of lives said or a little extra money. For most people the decision would be easy and

obvious but others would say money. It is sad that we live in a world that thinks this way but that

is the reality of it.

It does not matter how many studies people do or how many articles people read it is a

simple fact that addiction is a brain disease. No one wants to be addicted to drugs all their life

and die due to that. It is sad to face the fact that if that is really what they wanted then they would

commit suicide. Many people can try drugs, alcohol, etc. and never be addicted. However, for

some people they can do it once and immediately be addicted and it is all due to the makeup of

the brain. They call it the reward system. Sometimes those that are addicted can only get the

feeling of joy if they abuse the thing they are addicted to. There is so much science behind

addiction. For example you could look at pets such as dogs. Dogs go to the bathroom outside and

when they are puppies they are trained to do this. They are trained by the reward system. If they

go to the bathroom outside instead of inside they make their owner happy and they get a treat and

affection. They then keep going to the bathroom outside because after so long it just becomes a

part of them. Addiction is exactly like this but, not in a good way. The people who suffer from

addiction think they can only be happy if they use whatever they are addicted to. They use

because they want to be happy and even if it is only temporary they just want that euphoric

feeling.
 Also, many people have no sympathy for people who go through addiction even though

almost always especially with drug addiction there is horrible side effects. Addiction is a

psychological and physical inability to stop taking or practicing something even though it causes

harm. For example my cousin who I talked about in the first paragraph was highly addicted to

Xanax. He would go to rehab and come out and be fine for a while. However, he had a rough life

and suffered through many traumas including the loss of his girlfriend to brain cancer and his

dad being in prison for most of his life. These traumas seemed to set him off and he would start

using again. When he would start using again he would get really bad seizures and even when he

was withdrawing he would get bad seizures. He had to be put on seizure medication and was

hospitalized many times. It was a scary thing to watch him go through.

Going through withdrawal and rehab is one of the hardest things to go through. No one

realizes how much addiction affects your body and mind. Once you stop using you don't just

automatically feel great and are no longer addicted. It takes a lot of time and hard work to get

through and past an addiction. There are many ways to help with the hard process though. Once

people are out of rehab it is a great idea to surround yourself with people that care about your

well being, go to a support group, and most important of all stay away from people who want to

see you go down a bad path. There are so many treatment options and so many different ways to

get help. Addiction becomes a behavior and a way of life after a while and as many people know,

behaviors and personalities are hard to change. It is kind of like when a child does something bad

and thinks it is fun so they keep doing bad things and eventually it is who they are and it is just a

part of their personality. That is what addiction is like. Someone does drugs once for the fun of it

and then ends up liking it and wanting to keep doing it. After a while they are addicted and do

not want to stop doing it regardless of consequences. Addiction and the thing or substance they
are addicted to becomes a part of them and they no longer can live without it. It is very sad to

think that one mistake can lead to a whole change in a person's personality, behavior, and even

their brain.

Getting the conversation about addiction started is so important. If no one is talking about

addiction there will be no action and no action means it will just keep happening and more and

more people will die and/or be affected by this. Eventually if we continue to not talk about this

epidemic then it will be too late by the time we do start. Addiction can happen to anyone and it is

important to be informed about it. Although some people think of it as a choice made by dumb

people it is actually a disease that people do not choose to have. Millions of people suffer from

this and millions of people want help to get better but do not know where to start. In the future

people need to realize that this problem is causing so much tragedy and that everyone needs to

help end this addiction epidemic.

 Works Cited

Becona, Elisardo. “Brain disease or biopsychosocial model in addiction? Remembering

the Vietnam Veteran Study.” Psicothema, 1 July 2018, https://eds-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=023228f4-dcd1-4f3e-a771-

44b142082b82%40pdc-v-sessmgr02.

Bierer, Michael. “Is addiction a ‘brain disease.’” Harvard Health Publishing, 25 July

2017, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-addiction-a-brain-disease-201603119260.

Branch, Marc. “Drug addiction. Is it a disease or is it based on choice? A review of Gene

Heyman’s Addiction: A disorder of choice.” Journal of The Experimental Analysis of

Behavior, March 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047254/.

Kennedy, Gregory. “‘Epicenter: Dayton’s Opioid Crisis’ University of Dayton Media

Production.” Youtube, 27 April 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvP5v_uMwM.

McGraw, Caroline. “Why Addiction Is Not a Disease: An Interview with Dr. Marc

Lewis.” The Cleaning, 15 August 2017, http://www.theclearingnw.com/blog/why-

addiction-is-not-a-disease-an-interview-with-dr.-marc-lewis.
Smith, Fran. “How Science is Unlocking the Secrets of Addiction.” National

Geographic, September 2017,

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/the-addicted-brain/.

Wedell, Katie. “UD students make opioids subject of documentary.” Dayton Daily News,

10 May 2018, https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime--law/students-make-

opioids-subject-documentary/TOBmF6CcMLb04c8o0tpVcO/.