...to use drugs when there is no medical reason for that use. These theories range from biological explanations, to psychological explanations to sociological explanations. Perhaps the most comprehensive explanation that can be proposed to explain illicit drug use would be the multifactor disease model of addiction. Talbot (2007) suggests that some individuals that use drugs do so in the search for pleasure or the relief of pain, stress, tension or depression. Others do so as a result of peer pressure or in the pursuit of religious, mystical, or social experiences or to enhance physical performance. The proposed multifactor disease model of addiction can successfully explain each of these reasons.
The validity of the multifactor disease model of addiction is supported by the fact that illicit drug use, whether that use revolves around the irresponsible use of drugs that are prescribed by a doctor or the use of street drugs, obeys no lines of demarcation regarding...