ABSTRACT
To explain how drugs change the brain and produce addiction, we will follow the histories of several people whose involvement with drugs ranges from initial use to full-fledged addiction. Some are addicted when we meet them. Others may not become addicted. Most will. Let’s meet them now. (Unlike the people whose letters appear in the preface, the drug users we are about to introduce are not real people, but composites we have created. They are based on the interactions we have had with thousands of drug users and their families.)
Neil didn’t smoke that much, but when he wanted to get high, he could depend on Justin to sell him good stuff. Thanks to Justin, Neil was able to show up at Michelle’s door tonight with a couple of loosely rolled joints hidden in his shirt pocket. He said his “hellos” to Michelle’s parents and then took Michelle outside to lie in the rope hammock facing the trees in the backyard. Neil lit a joint and passed it back and forth to Michelle in cupped hands to hide what they were doing from Michelle’s parents.
