Drug Addiction: Voluntary or Involuntary?
There’s no doubt that in 99.9 percent of cases, the first use of any recreational drug is voluntary. Even the use of an addictive prescription drug, ultimately, is voluntary. But what about addiction? Do you choose to use or is it an uncontrollable compulsion?
The answer is: a little bit of both. The compulsion to use and the craving for a drug of choice are both characteristics of drug addiction as a medical disease. Yes, the first step to developing this disease—like smoking that leads to lung cancer—is voluntary, but once the disease has developed, it’s pretty much out of your hands. You started it, opened the door to its manifestation, but now that it’s here, it is a medical problem and not one you can erase with apologies and promises not to do it again.
When does the voluntary action cross the line into compulsive behavior? That is different for everyone. Tolerance levels vary in each individual, as does the predilection for addictive behavior. The drug used plays a part as well as the dosage, the length of time the drug is taken, how often, and other drugs it is mixed with. All of these factors dictate when and to what extent the brain is changed and at what point the idea to use becomes a craving.
No matter when it happens, this transition occurs unbeknownst to the user. No one intends to get addicted, but when it happens, treatment is the only way to put the disease into remission. If you’re not psychologically addicted, treating the physical addiction with a substitution and detox drug like buprenorphine is all you need to get back on track and shake the cravings without going through withdrawal.
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