We Need a Cultural Shift in How We Think about Addiction

The recent The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health calls for a cultural shift in how we think about addiction. For too long, many people have viewed addiction as a moral failing. This stigma has created an added burden of shame for people with substance use disorders which makes them less likely to come forward and seek help. It has also prevented us from investing in prevention and treatment.

Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a chronic but treatable brain disease that we mu...