Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Drug dependence means that a person needs a drug to function normally. Abruptly stopping the drug leads to withdrawal symptoms. Drug addiction is the compulsive use of a substance, despite its negative or dangerous effects.
A person may have a physical dependence on a substance without having an addiction. For example, certain blood pressure medications do not cause addiction but they can cause physical dependence. Other drugs, such as cocaine, cause addiction without leading to physical dependence.
Tolerance to a drug (needing a higher dose to attain the same effect) is usually part of addiction.
See also:
Drug abuse Drug abuse first aid
Alternative Names
Drug addiction; Addiction - drug; Dependence on drugs
Images
Review Date: 02/11/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)

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