Addiction Is a Choice or Caring for a Dying Loved One

Addiction Is a Choice

Author: Jeffrey A Schaler

Politicians and the media tell us that people who take drugs, including alcohol or nicotine, cannot help themselves. They are supposedly victims of the disease of 'addiction', and they need 'treatment'. The same goes for sex addicts, shopping addicts, food addicts, gambling addicts, or even addicts to abusive relationships.

This theory, which grew out of the Temperance movement and was developed and disseminated by the religious cult known as Alcoholics Anonymous, has not been confirmed by any factual research. Numerous scientific studies show that 'addicts' are in control of their behavior.

Contrary to the shrill, mindless propaganda of the 'war on drugs', very few of the people who use alcohol, marijuana, heroin, or cocaine will ever become 'addicted', and of those who do become heavy drug users, most will mature out of it in time, without treatment. Research indicates that 'treatment' is completely ineffective, an absolute waste of time and money.

Instead of looking at drug addiction as a disease, Dr. Schaler proposes that we view it as willful commitment or dedication, akin to joining a religion or pursuing a romantic involvement. While heavy consumption of drugs is often foolish and self-destructive, it is a matter of personal choice.

What People Are Saying

Morris Chafetz
This is indeed a rare book. Schaler has produced a unique, masterly work which explains addiction from a revelatory perspective. The reader can learn how the controversial area of addiction can be looked at and understood in a new light. (Morris Chafetz, M.D., Founding Director, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

Thomas Szasz
Thomas Szasz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse

Addiction Is a Choice is a powerful antidote against the twin poisons of anti-drug propaganda and drug prohibition.

Herbert Fingarette
Herbert Fingarette, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of California, Santa Barbara

Dr. Schaler has a hard-hitting, no-nonsense style which for me made Addiction Is a Choice a clear and fascinating read. The wealth of information and fresh insights reflect the writer's career as scholar-teacher-therapist, and especially his many years of research and practical work in the addiction field. The book dispels many myths about addiction and should provide liberating insights to the afflicted. It deserves to have a major impact on the way we think and act in our dealings with addictions.

Jim Powell
Jim Powell, Editor of LaissezFaire Books and Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute

A dramatic affirmation of individual responsibility. . . . An explosive book.

Joseph Gerstein
Joseph Gerstein, M.D., F.A.C.P., Harvard Medical School

Herein, Dr. Schaler drives a stake into the heart of the `disease' concept of addictions. Millions of people have stopped smoking, abusing mind-altering drugs, and drinking addictively on their own, without the intervention of counselors or doctors or programs. Dr. Schaler explains persuasively why and how this happens, despite all the genetic and hormonal predispositions.

Table of Contents:

	About the Author	ix
	Preface	xi
	Introduction	xiii
1.	Two Ways of Looking at Addiction	1
2.	Is Addiction Really a Disease?	11
3.	Do Drug Addicts Lose It?	21
4.	How Beliefs Affect Reality	37
5.	Where the Disease Model Came From	47
6.	Smoking Right and Responsibility	57
7.	Who Are the Addiction Treatment Providers?	61
8.	Busting the Disease-Model Cult	83
9.	The Project MATCH Cover-Up	95
10.	Moderation Management and Murder	107
11.	Thinking Differently about Addiction	115
12.	Addiction Treatment and the First Amendment	131
13.	What to Do about Drugs	139
	Bibliography	147
	Index	171

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Caring for a Dying Loved One: A Comprehensive Guide

Author: Bob A Fischer

Someone in Your Family is diagnosed with a terminal disease and your whole world is turned upside down. What can you do to help them through their final days? Where will they be cared for? And by whom? How do you decide? What do you do when members of the family disagree on the best way to care for the dying loved one? What resources are available to make it easier for everyone involved? What ethical issues may arise regarding the withholding or withdrawal of life support? How can the loved one be ministered to spiritually as he or she prepares for eternity? When is it time to let them go and how do you go about it? How might hospice help? This is only a small sample of the many matters covered in this handy guide for those who are responsible for the care of a dying loved one. Trying to make sense of suffering and death, the role of grief, the need for forgiveness and reconciliation at times, the essential part that prayer can play and an overview of some bioethical decisions that may have to be made are among the many important issues dealt with here.