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Lies, Damned Lies, and Addictions
As explained in the introduction last month, this article explores the role of addiction in product liability litigation. Part Two herein explains the medical model of addiction, and addiction in the courtroom. It also discusses a legal model of addiction and makes a plea for personal responsibility and evidentiary support from the principles of quantum physics.
The Medical Model of Addiction As 'Brain Disease'
In August 2011, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) issued a press release announcing its adoption of a “new definition” of addiction, holding that “addiction is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavioral problem involving too much alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex.” See News Release, ASAM Releases New Definition of Addiction 1 (Aug. 2011) (available at www.asam.org). In introducing it, Dr. Michael Miller, the past president of ASAM, said: “Many behaviors driven by addiction are real problems and sometimes criminal acts. But the disease is about brains, not drugs. It is about underlying neurology, not outward actions.” Id. at 2. The plaintiffs' trial bar laps up pseudoscience of this type, but it is nonsense, calling to mind Mark Twain's famous quip that “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain, “Chapters from My Autobiography,” 1907 N. Am. Rev. 465, 471. So it is with addictions, too. It is the strange case of the disappearing person.
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