by Greg Skipper

About the author: Greg Skipper is the medical director of Springbrook Northwest, a residential treatment program for alcoholism and other drug dependencies in Newberg, Oregon.

The debate continues regarding whether or not addiction to alcohol or drugs is a disease. At the real heart of this debate are questions regarding the individual’s responsibility for the disorder and understanding of the pathophysiology of the brain.

Most People Misunderstand the Concept of Disease

Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines disease as “a definite morbid process having a characteristic train of symptoms; it may affect the whole body or any of its parts, and its etiology, pathology, and prognosis may be known or unknown.” At first blush addiction certainly seems to satisfy this definition. The Jellinek curve graphically portrays the inexorable morbid progression of symptoms from surreptitious...