Drug addiction

Drug addiction, or substance dependence is the compulsive use of drugs, to the point where the user has no effective choice but to continue use. This phenomenon has occurred to some degree throughout recorded history (see "opium"), though modern agricultural practices, improvements in access to drugs, and advancements in biochemistry have exacerbated the problem significantly in the 20th century with the introduction of purified forms of active biological agents, and with the synthesis of hitherto unknown substances, such as methamphetamine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). While "addiction" has been replaced by "dependency" as a clinical term, the terms are used interchangeably here.

References

• Nestler, Eric and Malenka, Robert (Mar. 2004). "The Addicted Brain". Scientific American, pg. 78-83.
• Leavitt, Fred (2003) The REAL Drug Abusers. Rowman & Littlefield.