ADOLESCENCE DRUG ADDICTION

INTRODUCTION

Like most psychiatric disorders, drug addiction is defined today solely on the basis of behavioral terms. For example, addiction can be defined as a loss of control over drug intake, or the compulsive seeking and taking of drugs despite adverse consequences. The devastating consequences of addiction are well known. Addiction is the leading cause of AIDS, lung cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver and costs society hundreds of billions of dollars due to loss of life and productivity. Unfortunately, today’s treatments for addiction are inadequate for many addicts.