Introduction: Testing and Refining Marc Lewis’s Critique of the Brain Disease Model of Addiction

Abstract

In this introduction we set out some salient themes that will help structure understanding of a complex set of intersecting issues discussed in this special issue on the work of Marc Lewis: (1) conceptual foundations of the disease model, (2) tolerating the disease model given socio-political environments, and (3) A third wave: refining conceptualization of addiction in the light of Lewis’s model.

Gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9: implications for dual-use and biosecurity

“…Kang et al ( 2017 ) advocate international standards of ethics, and note efforts made to date by the National Academies ( 2017 ) in this regard. We concur with the need for international ethical standards and guidelines, and also note the need for more engaged discourse to define the needs, values and ethical system(s) and principles to be employed (Palchik, Chen, and Giordano, 2017 ; Lanzilao, Shook, Benedikter, and Giordano, 2013 ) Furthermore, in recognition of the potential risk/threat posed by genetic modification, we strongly endorse involvement of the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention (BTWC), in order to ensure inclusion of biosafety and biosecurity communities in any such deliberation and determination of standards. Templates may exist and could be consulted for the development of international norms and best practices through engagement of expertise in technical aspects of emergent technology and security fields (Talinn Manual, NATO, Carnegie Endowment 2017 ).…”

Addictive and other mental disorders: a call for a standardized definition of dual disorders

“…There is broad scientific consensus that all mental disorders, including addiction, are disorders of the brain. This consensus, while not monolithic (some authors opt for a more nuanced approach, although still neurobiological in nature when it comes to SUD [35]), is rather robust and based on multiple lines of evidence [36,37]. Yet, despite such broad agreement, references to addictive and other psychiatric disorders as separate entities are still common, as if the former were fundamentally different from the latter.…”

Addiction Treatment Providers' Engagements with the Brain Disease Model of Addiction

“…Leading advocates of the BDMA, including Alan Leshner (1997), andNora Volkow andcolleagues (2016), have been opposed by others arguing for a public health approach to addiction treatment (e.g., Hall et al, 2015;Heyman, 2009;Kalant, 2010). A two-volume special issue of Neuroethics (see Snoek & Matthews, 2017) was dedicated to the debate, and newly formed research groups have galvanized to oppose the BDMA, exemplified by the Addiction Theory Network (Heather et al, 2018).…”