It is considered that addiction is one of the most prominent social problems in the society today. There is an increasing number of people who are getting involved into this problem. Certainly, it is considered that the young ones or the youth are the common victim in this issue.
For instance, there are about 650,000 up to 2.4 million cocaine addicts in the United States in the year 2002 and most of them are youth (Addiction Rates And Drug Legalization, n.d.).
From here, I would say that addiction should be cited as a personal choice rather of classification as a disease.
I would say that addiction could possibly be manifestations of a person’s weakness. Hence, I would say that people who become addicted to a particular object or behavior do not possess the will to fight the temptation of addiction and abuse. Moreover, there is no disorder that forces an individual to try drugs for the time. With this, it is fair enough to say that addiction could also be accounted as an indication of an individual’s weakness of character.
More significantly, every individual or person living in this world is entitled to have their own right choose and are likewise bestowed the decision that they make for their personal welfare. Hence, as a citizen of a democratic country, people are entitled to have absolute freedom, which allows a person to do whatever he or she prefers according on his or her desire.
Thus, addiction is indeed a personal choice, whereas an individual or a person is accountable for his or her actions. Nonetheless, it is fair enough to say that addiction should never be considered as something that is entirely laid on personal decisions and has nothing to do with any other disease or disorder. In the end, the argument that addiction is a disease is empirically unsupported with scientific facts and information, which would strengthen this contention (Schaler, 2002).
References
Schaler J. (2002).
Addiction Is a Choice. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/47476
Addiction Rates And Drug Legalization. (n.d.).
Retrieved August 13, 2008, from http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/debate/myths/myths2.htm