RI: BHDDH (Substance Use Conditions)

Substance use conditions occur when the continuing use of alcohol and/or drugs causes significant impairment. This includes health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. Effective medications exist for treating opioid, alcohol, and nicotine addiction and lessening the symptoms of many other mental disorders. Some medications may be useful in treating multiple disorders.

With much research and input from top addiction authorities, addiction medicine doctors, neuroscientists and experts from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the American Medical Association (AMA) classified addiction as a disease in 1987. In 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine joined the AMA, defining addiction as a chronic brain disorder, not a behavior problem (or simply the result of making bad choices). Addiction is a disease just like other chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.