Is Addiction a Disease or a Failure of Self-Control? Melbourne Hosts International Debate on 21 October

There is a growing view amongst scientists that the chronic use of drugs hijacks an addicted person’s brain, undermining their ability to control their drug use. To others, addiction is a brain disease.

On 21 October, Monash University will host a free debate open to the general public with leaders in the fields of addiction research.

Professor Murat Yucel from the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences (MICCN) researches the long term effects of drug use, using advanced neuroimaging techniques (of brain anatomy, function and chemistry) with psychiatric and neuropsychological assessments to understand the biological and psychological factors that contribute to impaired self-control in addictive and mental health disorders. He believes that “addiction is real disorder warranting medical treatment reducing the stigma and discrimination that many people with addictions experience”.

Dr Marc Lewis, a developmental neuroscientist from The Netherlands strongly refutes this conventional disease model of addiction. He detailed his own years of drug addiction and abuse in Memoirs of an Addicted Brain and has recently written, The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is not a Disease, which argues that considering addiction as a disease is not only wrong, but also harmful. Rather, he argues, addiction is a behavioural problem that requires willpower and motivation to change.

The panel discussion will be moderated by psychiatrist and broadcaster (774ABC and 3RRR) Dr Steve Ellen, and will also feature:

  • Professor Dan Lubman, Director of Turning Point, Australia’s largest addiction treatment and research service, and Professor of Addiction at Monash University
  • Associate Professor Helen Keane, Sociologist at the Australian National University and author of What’s Wrong with Addiction? and co-author of Habit: The Remaking of Addiction, and
  • Gavin Crosisca, former Collingwood AFL football player, former drug addict and Director of Sober Living Housing

The panellists will discuss such questions as:

  • Can people with an addiction wrestle control over their drug use, or have their brain’s been hijacked by the drug?
  • What impact will telling people with an addiction that they have a brain disease have on their belief in their ability to overcome their addiction?
  • Should we be forcing people with drug addiction into treatment for their own good?
  • Will a neuroscientific view of addiction reduce the stigma and discrimination that many people with addictions experience?
  • If our choices are at the mercy of subtle changes in the brain, are we able to make truly free decisions?
  • Can we become addicted to other behaviours such as gambling, food, sex and the Internet, and if so what should we do about it?

The evening is an initiative of the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund, a transformational philanthropic investment supporting research into obsessive-compulsive disorder and addictions.

The panel discussion starts at 6pm sharp with drinks available for purchase from the bar from 5pm.

DRUGS, DESIRE AND DISEASE: How neuroscience is changing our understanding of addiction? is on 21st October 2016, 6-7pm at the National Gallery of Victoria, Clemenger Auditorium, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne. The event is free but registration is required as seats are strictly limited. To book your place visit Eventbrite.