“Is drug addiction a genetic disorder?”
I am a 32 year old male. My uncle had an addiction to drugs his entire life. Is it genetic?
2 Answers
No!
Yes, to some extent. If one of your first-degree relatives (parent or sibling) has or had a substance use disorder, your chance of inheriting it is about 25%. This likelihood is much less with just a single affected uncle. (But not an uncle by marriage who's not a blood relative.) One way to tell is how you respond to alcohol. If having a few drinks is the most fun you can have, you've likely inherited the risk. If you can take or leave alcohol and find no euphoria when you drink, then you probably didn't inherit the risk. Those with the risk have about a 50-50 chance of becoming addicted. Again, the test is how euphoric you become with a given substance. There are a lot of people who recognize they're at risk, but never let themselves get to there. For those with the risk or who have crossed the line into active use, my advice is that this illness is NOT your fault. But it IS your responsibility!
