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New U.S. bills and recent scientific research wants to classify drug and alcohol addiction as a disease. While the intention is altruistic, the outcome of the name change could have dire effects on addicts who can just blame their brain for their cravings.

The next time Lindsay Lohan or Daniel Baldwin enter rehab, we might not be pitying their moral failings; instead, we could be classifying their falls from grace as a consequence of brain disease. The idea of renaming drug and alcohol addiction as a disease, as opposed to a habit of weak willpower, is gaining momentum in the U.S., even if the fallout of that reclassification could have harmful consequences.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del) is sponsoring a bill called Recognizing Addiction As a Disease Act of 2007, according to Slate. Addiction should be called a disease, the bill claims. Why?

…because drugs change the brain’s structure and manner in which it functions. These brain changes can be long lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs.

The bill also explains how renaming addiction could change how addicts recover from their vices. It states: (more…)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A simple smile can often be a dead giveaway of a methamphetamine user. Congress is hoping that pictures of meth users’ mouths and teeth will help stop children from ever trying the drug. Experts said meth use rots teeth, in addition to the harm it does to the rest of the body.As a dentist, Dr. Chad Johnson has seen cases of meth mouth.

“It’s not very prevalent in the population, but when you do see it, it’s disturbing,” he said.

Fayetteville Deputy Chief Tracey Risley is involved in a northwest Arkansas program called “Project Choice,” and part of the program is to educate school-age children about meth. (more…)