Addiction is a chronic brain disorder, and not merely a behavioral problem or simply the result of taking the wrong choices, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), which has given addiction a new and long definition. ASAM says that addiction is much, much more than a behavioral problem involving excessive drugs, sex, gambling or alcohol.
ASAM says the new definition is the result of a thorough, four-year process with input from over 80 experts, including top addiction authorities, addiction medicine doctors, and eminent neurosciencescientists from across the USA, as well as every member of ASAM’s governing board, chapter presidents from several states, and experts from NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse).