ABSTRACT
The nature of the process in which addiction is established may perhaps be most effectively presented by describing a few selected instances which exemplify it in an especially clear-cut manner. In all the instances it is striking that there is no evidence of craving for the drug and of the other changes in attitude that characterize addiction appearing solely as a consequence of physical dependence. In the early stages of drug use before the withdrawal symptoms become a dominant element in the users motivations, the reasons for using the drug are extremely varied and quite different from what they become when addiction is established. Although not every addict increases his dosage greatly beyond the point of bodily need, the vast majority of them probably have the impulse to do so, and success in controlling this tendency comes only through resolute and calculated self-control.
