Addiction to drugs or alcohol is a medical illness, a disease of the brain. And yet, there are those who continue to insist that substance addiction is a choice.
Several weeks ago, Matthew Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing on the highly successful Friends sitcom, traveled to the UK to lend assistance to a new drug program involving the courts. While there, he appeared on a television show alongside journalist and anti-drug campaigner Peter Hitchens. A heated debate ensued.
Regarding his own addiction, Perry said, “I’m a drug addict and if I have a drink I can’t stop… if I think about alcohol, I cannot stop.”
Hitchens responded: “People have problems with drugs and drink. People like taking them and don’t want to stop. It doesn’t mean they have a disease.”
“Don’t want to stop?” How about the truth: so many addicts desperately want to never use again, but they can’t stop. Why? Because they are addicted, physiologically as well as psychologically.
Saying that a person addicted to drugs can “just stop” is like telling a diabetic they can simply toss out that insulin and be fine. That person will not be fine – that person will die.
Addicts don’t have a choice about whether or not they have an addiction, their choice is not in whether or not they have the disease but in whether or not they are willing to get the help they need on a daily basis to recover.