Medications in addiction recovery—a clash of science and stigma | Science
Is it useful to regard addiction as a moral failing or as a medical challenge? Drug use or alcohol binges during adolescence might be seen as a sign of deviance from society rules or weakness, but substance dependence, once established, is a health care problem. There are now treatments available to break “the chains of abject slavery [that] have wound themselves around the constitution” and to maintain an improved health status. Individual determination is sometimes sufficient, but pharmacologic and psychological support increase the likelihood of long-term improved health. A moral perspective about addiction, however, creates obstacles for people who are recovering from it and associates stigma with the mechanisms that can support recovery. If the individual in treatment is taking their medication daily, as prescribed, then is this evidence of addiction or of good adherence? In this area, even scientists sometimes struggle to apply the objectivity that they usually employ in other areas of their research.
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