Why do drug-addicted persons keep
using drugs?
Nearly all addicted individuals believe at the outset that
they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try
to stop without treatment. Although some people are
successful, many attempts result in failure to achieve longterm
abstinence. Research has shown that long-term drug
abuse results in changes in the brain that persist long after
a person stops using drugs. These drug-induced changes
in brain function can have many behavioral consequences,
including an inability to exert control over the impulse
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characteristic of addiction.
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