Brain Disease Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brain Disease - Term Paper Example In certain cultures, alcohol consumption is normal. However, even in case of cultural tastes, consumption of alcohol is more likely to turn to addiction if not strictly consumed within limits. Thus, some psychiatrists argue that consumption of drugs and alcohol must be viewed as personal habits and dealt with as such in order to return to normalcy. Deviant drug and alcohol consumption came to be regarded as personal choice not only recently by even in earlier centuries when religious bodies such as "the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance (ASPT), founded by Evangelical clergymen in 1826, also gained support from farmers, industrialists, and homemakers" (Boyer, Paul S, 2001). Protagonists of personal choice argue that even the most diehard consumer of alcohol has the free will to consume or abstain. Anybody conscious of his responsibilities will abstain due to personal and social pressures and economic dictates. Even heavy drinkers have the choice of abstaining in serious environment like business offices or production units where they are employed (HBO Addiction, 2009). Thus the argument that deviant drinker m... Thus the argument that deviant drinker must be medically treated and rehabilitated does not have strong enough basis to pursue medical treatment as the cure for drug and alcohol addictions. Medical treatment, if required, is mostly perfunctory. There are enough cases in organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous where people have opted out of heavy drinking without the use of any medical aid to prove that alcohol consumption is a matter of will rather than the charge of any bacteria or virus (Satel, Susan, 10 July 2007). Nonetheless, drugs and alcohol weaken the nervous system and organs such as the liver and kidneys. Hence, in the absence of a strong and healthy nervous system and other organs, the body becomes vulnerable to disease carrying microbes. Thus, drugs and alcohol abuse could be treated as medical threats even if they are not directly linked with microbes. Defenders of alcoholic consumption are on a difficult pitch when such consumption leads to physical and mental weaknesses. Drug and alcohol addiction may not be linked to "brain disease" but they certainly weaken the physique before long. Their attack on the nervous and digestive system makes the road to recovery difficult and dreary. The damages resulting from alcohol consumption may not be apparent to most people. It takes a heavy toll on the national productivity, and national and personal resource. "The direct effects of addiction are homelessness, unemployment and disease. The cost of interdiction and incarceration are estimated at over $200 billion annually, and the annual burden in lost productivity is another $129 billion" (Satel, Susan, 10 July 2007). The damages resulting from addiction