Assignment 9 of 9

After watching the videos; Heroin Addicts Speak, choice or Disease, Cross- Addiction: The Back Door to Relapse, and Killing the Pain. I think that you did a great job at showing that drug abuse can happen to any one not just some poor or uneducated person. I think these videos show how easy it is for someone to loose everything by abusing substances, and not recognize or seem to care that they're destroying their lives. I noticed that many of the participates in the videos were educated, had a great life, thought they had everything under control, and wished they could live a normal life. I did not agree with the choice argument that says that, " Addiction can't be a disease because drug taking is a behavior and all behaviors are choices." When I first entered this course I also thought that substance abuse was a behavior and not a disease. I think that by learning more about substances and the behavior of the human brain I may have to change my thoughts. In The video Choice or disease, a comparison was made between diabetes and substance abuse; which says, that substance abuse is a choice, and diabetes is not, but if we look at it, is diabetes not a choice? I mean our diet is a choice, I know some people can't help what they eat and what their genes pass on to them, just as some people's drug problems are not exactly their fault. I noticed in the Killing the Pain video, some of the abusers started out trying to alleviate pain. I don't know. I guess we all have our addictions or things that make us comfortable; just knowing when and how to control them is sometimes difficult.