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Actually, it's likely that alcoholism and other addictions will become more and more treated (and more and more successfully so) with - heheh, ironically - drugs.
Treating the complex brain chemisty is going to be far more effective than talk therapy or will power for those who are physical addicts.
The "normal" pleasure procedure in your brain is for happy chemicals to be released, such as dopamine ... and they bind to receptors, providing that yummy jolt of pleasure. Any excess dopamine is taken back up by the nerve cell that released it. Other nerve cells release GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that works to prevent the receptor nerve from being overstimulated.
Addictive substances not only increase the amount of dopamine, many of them (heroin and morphine, for example) actually block the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitters. This is a recipe for a fuctup brain.
Unfortunately, drug addiction also inhibits the cognitive skills of the brain ... making it far more difficult for addicts to make good choices, or to keep from relapsing. The damage done to brain's cognitive powers is kinda long-lasting ... which is probably why people who can keep from relapsing for a year or so are far more likely to refrain permanently.
Some people have messed up neurotransmitter reuptake chemicals to begin with. Some have cognitive disorders to start off. These people are far more susceptible to addiction. Yeah, I agree with Alex that the initial choice to take the risk is each individual's responsibility. That doesn't change that some folks have the brain chemistry deck stacked against them.
Most addicts are known to have the messed up brain chemistry and cognitive disorders ... but it's not known how much is the chicken and how much the egg.
The studies referenced in the Time article put the AA success rate at abouty 20%, with identical success rates for most other forms of treatment for both alcohol and drug addiction. That's better than 5%, but still rather poor. Drugs may change that.
I'm not one for wantonly overusing western medicine's pharmacopia for everything that ails ... but it seems to me drugs targeting brain chemistry or the stress network or hormonal conditions (female alcoholics tend to progress more quickly to alcoholism) are going to be more effective than talk therapy or will power exercises.
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I guess I'm pretty fortunate when it comes to addiction susceptibility. There were about 5 years when I did cocaine every weekend for 8 weeks out the year ... and at no other time. For a few years, I smoked a half-pack of cigarettes a day, at work on a particular job. Never smoked away from work, stopped smoking with no effort when I changed jobs.
I smoked marijuana on an almost daily basis for 25 years. Cut back to once or twice a week with pretty much zero effort. I did lots and lots of LSD, a fair amount of ecstacy, and a good amount of mushrooms. But those are not particularly addictive drugs.
I did a little speed, didn't like it. Downers, hate 'em. Tried heroin once. Booze ... well, you all know I drink a bit socially. And that's it.
Heheh, I don't do caffeine at all.
But I've rolled the addiction dice pretty heavily, and I guess I was taking a fairly big risk. But when it became clear to me that I was not the addictive type, I re-assessed the risk at minimal.
Other people are not so fortunate ... and I can hardly judge them severely for taking the same risks I did ... but having a less lovely outcome.
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