P eople must change their pre-conceived notions about drug addiction and instead understand that is a treatable disease, says one of the government's top drug addiction experts. In a lecture today at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Leshner explained how brain function is modified by drug use and how that change persists after an individual stops taking drugs.
Addiction also has to be recognized as a result of many biobehavioral factors.
Dr. Leshner said a user does not have control over the change when voluntary drug use becomes a compulsive addiction. He likens the change to a flip of a switch, although the change may be a result of opponent processes where changes have accumulated over time. Regardless, Dr. Leshner believes it is important that people understand that once addicted, a person is literally in a different brain state. The task of treatment then, is to revert the brain to its original state. In a sense, that is what NIDA is doing now as it begins to design new medications.