Dr. McCauley taught that approximately 10 to 15 percent of the population meets the definition of addiction. Who knew? The other 85 to 90 percent can be found somewhere on the continuum between nonuser/drinker and heavy user/drinker. Technology does not yet exist that can definitively differentiate a severe abuser from a true addict, so the best indicator of addiction, as Dr. McCauley defined it, is the presence of these three things: “loss of control, the presence of craving, and persistent use of the drug/behavior despite negative consequences.”
