We received numerous letters regarding 'The Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007' sponsored by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) Below is part three in the series.

After 22 years in the treatment field, and seeing the terminology change and theories abound, it is refreshing to me to see people willing to look at core issues surrounding the disease. The [concept] of a brain disease does give people who struggle to regain their lives a reason that is explainable.

To allow our society to continue to destroy hope of recovery by making it a moral or legal issue without consideration the impact of the neurological makeup of individuals is a disgrace. Leaders in the treatment of the disease have [to] know that this is one of the key components in having successful outcomes.

I would welcome the change of names at the federal level in the research centers.

David P. Perkey
Greenville, Texas

If at the moment of conception I could have chosen a brain that is not prone to addiction, I assure you I would have done so.

I have been in recovery for 23 years from alcohol addiction and 15 years from tobacco addiction. I still apply the tools given to me in treatment to remain free of these physical temptations and mental obsessions.

I can personally assure you that my continuous sobriety has little to do with the exercise of free will and more to do with the lifestyle changes.

Allen McQuarrie
Doylestown, Pennsylvania

The proposed name change for the National Institute on Drug Abuse as the "National Institute on Diseases of Addiction," and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as the "National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health," while intended to further thinking of addiction as a "brain disease," may have some unintentional consequences.

Among those are the following:

It continues to perpetuate at the federal level a separation of alcohol, nicotine and other drugs by having separate agencies address the problems resulting from the use of these substances by those who fit the criteria for addiction.

It continues the policy at the federal level of placing emphasis on the small percent of users who become addicted. In doing so, we make the mistake of failing to recognize that most of the problems caused by use of alcohol and other drugs, with the possible exception of nicotine, are not caused by those who fit the criteria for diagnosis as addicted but by those who use -- and yes, abuse -- these substances. 

It fails to recognize that the outcomes for use and abuse for many individuals are the same as for those who fit the criteria for addictions, such as overdoses, drug-related birth defects, impaired driving, domestic violence, crime, human immunodeficiency virus, and other serious infections transmitted through shared injection equipment, to name a few examples. 

It is time for our nation to have a national strategy that addresses alcohol, nicotine and other drugs together rather than separately. We have a seemingly political approach to a major public-health problem. We have developed national goals for prevention and treatment in Healthy People 2010, but [have] a fragmented approach at the federal level to accomplishing these goals.

The issue is not whether addiction is a "brain disease" … but whether we are willing to develop a national strategy that reduces our current level of fragmentation. Perhaps our political leaders would serve the future better if they seriously considered placing the current array of federal agencies,  including the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, in one agency tasked with implementing the goals in Healthy People 2010.

James A. Neal
West Columbia, South Carolina

Besides the names of the agencies, a larger concern for me is that they are two separate agencies, both receiving separate funding and separate leadership.

Chris Budnick
Raleigh, North Carolina

I believe a little compassion could go a long way in making this world a better place, but I don’t think labeling an addiction as a disease does addicts any favors. In my humble opinion, we do a disservice to addicts when we rob them of their power to effect positive change in their lives by attempting to minimize personal responsibility in bringing about that positive change. Addicts are not bad people! Their free-will has been hijacked by their addiction.

Darin C. Uhrich
Casa Grande, Arizona