Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters.

@article{Leshner1997AddictionIA,
  title={Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters.},
  author={Alan Leshner},
  journal={Science},
  year={1997},
  volume={278 5335},
  pages={
          45-7
        }
}
  • A. Leshner
  • Published 3 October 1997
  • Psychology, Medicine
  • Science
Scientific advances over the past 20 years have shown that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain. As with many other brain diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the disorder itself. Therefore, the most effective treatment approaches will include biological, behavioral, and social-context components. Recognizing addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder… 
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