About Addiction
Drug Abuse and Addiction
What is drug addiction?
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.† It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain—they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long-lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs. View brain scan images below:
Check out National Institute on Drug Abuse article – Drugs, Brains, and Behaviors: The Science of Addiction, for further information.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-abuse-addiction
NIDA. (2014, July 1). Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction on 2018, February 27