Addiction is a disease that affects ten percent of Americans, but countless others, including family and friends, are devastated by it. Addiction is not a choice a person can make; rather, illness robs people of the ability to make conscious choices. Science has progressed to show exactly how drugs chemically affect the brain, proving that it is a disease and not a moral failing. Addiction is a disease and should be treated through rehabilitation and community support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), not through imprisonment, and state and federal governments should increase funding and programs for prevention and treatment. a disease that causes many neurological effects on the brain. In fact, addiction is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is the standard reference for psychiatric illnesses (DSM-5) and affects ten percent of the population (Understanding). Most medications release chemicals that affect the midbrain and change its chemical composition. Specifically, nerve cells in the brain release dopamine when humans engage in pleasurable activities, such as eating good food, exercising, and having sex (Understanding). This causes the person to seek out this pleasurable activity again and again (substance abuse). Drugs, from alcohol to marijuana to heroin, also cause the brain to release dopamine, but more quickly and strongly than most activities. (Mandal) With repeated use, the addict becomes accustomed to this stronger, faster feeling of pleasure and can no longer experience the gentler pleasures of normal activity. In this way, the brain becomes "broken" and the addict continues to seek that feeling of well-being that one only feels with drugs (Substanc...... middle of paper...... ten percent of them become addicted to this drug and try harder drugs (above the influence/FAQ Teen drug use is neglected in most households, but most of them). Drug addicts begin using drugs as teenagers and carry them with them into adulthood. Therefore, allowing it is risking addiction in their own children or in the other children they allow. drinking and even smoking marijuana in their home. Letting children with peanut allergies eat peanuts in your home puts people's lives at risk, as does addiction. Parents should be able to trust that their children are safe. in someone's home, allowing drug use. a message that everything is fine and which neglects the fact that ten percent of people who will become addicts suffer from theft of things, lawsuits, loss of time at work because of the addict, emotional damage and fear of lose. their child.