Discussion:
Throughout our discussion of drug use, we've been relying on the concept of "addiction." But the truth is, it's not really clear what an addiction is .Definitions of the term are notoriously imprecise and unclear.
If we define "addiction" as physical dependency on an ingestible substance, we reach the odd result that we're all addicted to food, air, and water. If we define "addiction" in terms of craving, we reach the odd result that we're addicted to things like music, which most or many of us crave. Some people think it makes perfect sense to speak of behavioral addictions like sex, porn, gambling, video games, TV, violence, and risky behavior; some find that absurd. Some think that addiction is the fault of the addict; some regard it as a disease for which no one bears responsibility. A definition of "addiction" needs to handle or deal with such facts, but few do.
More issues to deal with: it's taken for granted nowadays (in the U.S., anyway) that the " opioid epidemic " has been caused in large part by over-prescription by physicians. Funny thing: most people follow their doctors and pharmacist's orders without thinking, much less desiring the therapies they order-and yet it's also true that most definitions of addiction define it as though addiction is caused by the addict's desire for the substance. While we're at it: how do we reconcile the existence of an "opioid epidemic" caused by doctors with an epidemic of chronic pain presumably not caused by them? (The phrase "opioid epidemic" is itself questionable. An epidemic is the widespread occurrence of an infectious disease. But an opioid is not a disease at all, much less an infectious one.)
So the concept is pretty confusing. Here is your quiz question:
Come up with a definition of "addiction" that makes sense, and explain why it does. Find one from somewhere, with or without modification, explaining why you think it's a good definition.