This report reviews the development of neuroscience related to addiction and explores how it may affect the way drug problems are perceived and treated, and considers ethical issues that are significant for drug policy in Europe. Neuroscience provides a better understanding of how people become addicted to drugs and why they find it so difficult to stop, even when they experience serious negative consequences. It also offers the prospect of providing novel approaches to both the prevention and treatment of drug problems. It can also lead to developments that, if misused, can have serious negative consequences, such as the unrestricted use of sensitive screening techniques or invasive and potentially dangerous surgical interventions. Neuroscience on addiction can also change the way we think about addiction and, therefore, the types of policies that can be adopted to deal with it. Neuroscience and genetic research can arguably change the long-standing debate between moral and medical models of addiction by providing a detailed explanation of causal addiction in terms of brain processes, often referred to as the 'chronic and relapsing brain disease' model of addiction. It is worth noting that causal models of addiction, if misinterpreted, can lead to neglect of social policies to reduce addiction and drug use and to more coercive policies towards addicts.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627319300698