1
Drug and Alcohol Addiction: Overview
The human brain is capable of creating complex and beautiful things. It is capable of undying love and compassion for others and of true selflessness and generosity. However, the human brain is also capable of intolerance and cruelty, and the brain itself is not immune to its own destructive powers. The needs and wants of the human brain can overcome its abilities for reason and rational thought to the point of selfdestruction and even death. This can be the case in drug and alcohol addiction. To fully understand the problem of drug and alcohol addiction, one must appreciate the processes that occur in the human brain during the phases of drug use, abuse, dependence, and addiction. Fundamental to this appreciation is the concept that drug and alcohol addiction is a brain disease. Scientific evidence implicates the human brain as both the underlying cause and ultimate solution to the problem of addiction. Our brains are responsible for all of our thoughts, motivations, and actions. The human brain is susceptible to all drugs of abuse. Ultimately these drugs change the chemistry and functioning of the human brain and lead to impaired judgments and actions that can result in chronic drug use. Yet the same human brain is capable of understanding its
1