Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain.-The Purloined Letter. Edgar Allan Poe, 1845T he use of language determines how we understand and evaluate the world around us. The various and complex presentations of those who bear the label "addict" have confused our ability to clarify the meaning of addiction and its etiology. The negative effects of substance use and addictive disorders are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in our society. Despite some major advances in understanding addiction and the enormous amounts of money spent on research, there has not been a proportional improvement in explaining its etiology or any significant improvement in treatment outcomes. If addiction does have a cause, it is obscure. The cause remains undiscovered, yet a large body of theories and empirical data has accumulated. Philosophy and ScienceSocrates suggested that normal individuals with healthy minds would not deliberately behave illogically or selfdestructively. If they did not act in their best interest, they would not be acting deliberately, and this would be abnormal. If they acted on desires illogically, they would be exhibiting akrasia, or weakness of will (1). Yet addicts repeatedly and consistently appear to follow the worst course. They continue addictive behaviour and appear to exhibit akrasia, or weakness of will.The poet and laudanum addict Samuel Taylor Coleridge recognized the issue of will and its importance as causal to addiction when he wrote, "my case is a species of madness, only that it is a derangement of the volition, and not of the intellectual faculties" (2). In 1817, Jean Etienne Dominique Esquirol attempted to classify mental illness according to a disturbance The common etiology of substance and behavioural addictions is one that suggests faulty volition caused by a cognitive impairment. A cognitive impairment that minimizes the recall of the negative effects of the addictive behaviour is viewed as necessary and causal to all addictions. The proposed definition for addiction clarifies the confusion associated with addictive disorders, explains the many variable presentations, and provides an explanation of comorbidity and treatment outcomes. In addition, this paper suggests why this process has not been previously identified.( Can J Psychiatry 2003;48:669-674) Information on author affiliations appears at the end of the article.Clinical Implications · Substance and behavioural addictions have a common etiology. · A thought disorder related to memory access is the common cause for all addictions. · Addiction treatment should focus on treating the impaired access to aversive memories. Limitations· The study uses linguistic analysis and inductive reasoning and is not empirical. · No research that has attempted to disprove this hypothesis has been done. · Although memory access is necessary and causal for addiction, other determinants are significant in developing an addiction and are not directly addressed in this study.

IN a previous communication [Campbell, 1930] it has been pointed out that comparatively little experimental work has been done on the chemistry of the particular type of wood decay in which lignin is decomposed, and further, that it is unknown whether such decomposition is invariably accompanied by simultaneous decomposition of the wood carbohydrates. Analytical data were obtained, however, which showed clearly that in the decay of wood by Polystictus versicolor (Linn.) Fr. carbohydrates are depleted as well as lignin. Falck [1927] has concluded that in wood decayed by Fomes annosus cellulose is decomposed in the advanced stages. In the present investigation the study of the so-called white rots has been continued by examining the respective effects of Armillaria mellea (Vahl.) Fr. on beech wood, Polyporus hispidus (Bull.) Fr. on ash heartwood, and Stereurm hirsutum Fr. on oak sapwood.

Fifty six individuals admitted to Recovery Acres (a thirty five bed male residential recovery program/half way house) were evaluated using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and Socrates, an instrument designed to measure stage of change. Composite scores obtained from the ASI indicated that major problems were present in the areas of employment, alcohol, family/social, and emotional functioning. Stages of Change revealed 27% to be in preparation, 67% action, and 6% in maintenance. Patients left Recovery Acres either through relapse, or to follow a non-residential program. Follow-up of 26 cases revealed that residents showed statistically significant improvement in areas of alcohol, drug, family/social and emotional problems. Employment, medical, and legal problems as identified by the ASI composite score were significant indicators of negative outcome. Employment still remained a problem three months after admission for most residents. Stage of Change did not predict outcome in terms of abstinence or residential status.