ABSTRACT
Any series of case histories of the narcotic addict might well begin with the physician himself, since the disorder cannot be attributed to adverse socioeconomic difficulties; rather, it is a manifestation of a disturbed psychological state. E. M. Waring observed that drug addiction, affective disorders, suicide, poor marriage, and psychiatrically ill wives were more common among physicians as opposed to a control population. In interviews with addicted physicians, C. Winick noted that on the average it took 2 months of drug use for the physician to realize he was addicted. Neither do the physicians’ experiences indicate that the traditional explanation of addiction as the result of socialization in a particular kind of delinquent subculture is adequate to explain addiction in physicians. Two cases (Mr. S. and Mrs. A.) were selected from L. Brill’s study of a number of confirmed long-term heroin addicts of varied ages, social classes, and ethnic and geographical background who achieved and were maintaining abstinence.
