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Addiction and Withdrawal

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  359

2026-08-11

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Addiction and Withdrawal

When a person becomes addicted to a drug, there will be a potent craving for it. The person’s whole life becomes a constant search for the money to buy the drug or for the drug itself. This dependence can be more than psychological. There may be an actual physical dependence on the drug. How can you tell if a person is psychologically dependent on a drug or physically addicted? Outward actions and reactions may not reveal this since they cause similar behaviors in the victim. The way to find out is for the subject to suddenly stop taking the drug. If there is a physical dependence on the drug then the person will undergo a withdrawal syndrome. This is a well-defined set of physical symptoms, including high temperature, physical discomfort, pain, etc. In certain cases, such as severe addiction to barbiturates, sudden or “cold turkey” withdrawal can be fatal. If the person is psychologically dependent on the drug, there will be no withdrawal syndrome but the subject will be quite uncomfortable and will demonstrate symptoms of deprivation of the drug.