For nearly 40 years scientists have been working on vaccines
against all… (Illustration by Wes Bausmith…) Should drug
addiction be considered a disease, or will thinking about
addiction in this way only further enable drug users by
convincing them that they're powerless? Gil Kerlikowske, the
director of the National Drug Control Policy and President
Obama’s top drug policy advisor, believes so, saying that
addiction should be treated as a public health issue.
Kerlikowske addressed the issue from the Betty Ford Center in
Palm Springs on Monday, calling for more accessible
rehabilitation and recovery programs. Morgan Little elaborated
on Politics Now: "Previous federal drug policies were a three-
legged stool, Kerlikowske said, with criminalization, prevention
and treatment serving as the foundation for national policies.
Now, there will be a fourth leg -- recovery. […] The proposed
access includes a voucher system to allow not only those
recovering to pay for treatment, but also would pay for costs
such as tran