Pharmacology and Toxicology Researchers: Relapse of Stars Shows Pain of Addiction

Updated August 27, 2018 This content is archived.

An article co-authored by David Dietz, PhD, associate professor and chair, Craig T. Werner, PhD, a postdoctoral associate, and Jennifer A. Martin, a doctoral student, all in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, tells about high-profile celebrities who have relapsed into addiction and looks at the painful reality of treating the illness. “Addiction — and relapse — are not the result of a lack of effort, but rather the known symptoms of both a medical and psychosocial problem. In this context, relapse is not indicative of a personal failure but rather a systemic one. Our current treatment regimens still too often fail to prevent relapses because they are still struggling to treat the underlying disease,” they write.