physiological aspects of drug addiction and abuse

The debate over the question of drug addiction and abuse as a physical disorder operates on many levels. The issue of whether there are drugs to which one can become physically addicted is a relatively uncontroversial on which most theorists agree. There is a far more vigorous debate over the cause of drug abuse and dependency, however, between those who see certain people as biologically vulnerable to drug abuse and those who see other factors such as one's position in society or upbringing as the more relevant to the likelihood of developing the disorder.

Although most psychologists concede that some addictions are biological, there are many drugs which are not seen as "physically addictive" but which some seek to explain the use of in terms of physical dependence. There is agreed difference between the chronic drug dependency with long term affects on one's life and the acute drug abuse, defined in DSM IV as "interference with major role obligations at work, school or home, r...