ABSTRACT
Thestudyofaddictionprovidesaveritablesemanticminefieldthroughwhich cliniciansandresearchersmusttreadcarefully.Descriptivetermssuchas 'alcoholic'or'drugaddict'mayrepresentausefulshorthandtodescribecertain peoplewhotakepsychoactivesubstances.Theyarealsosufficientlyimpreciseasto meandifferentthingstodifferentpeopleandarethereforesubjecttomisinterpretationandfutileargument.
