Is Addiction a Choice or Illness?

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Annotated Bibliography on Is Addiction a Choice or Illness?
Bierut, John. "Genetic vulnerability and susceptibility to substance dependence." Neuron 69.2 (2011); 618–627. Print
In this article, John Biurett approaches drug addiction as a problem that needs to be addressed from a genetic viewpoint. The author concludes that drug addicts should be understood as people, who have genetic disorders and not just miscreants. Genetic studies have been able to link the transition from regular use of drugs to their dependence. Factors that facilitate the transition have also been identified in this article. Although this article will not form the basis of my research, it will be crucial since it will form the opposing side of my debate and act as a balancing scale.
Boys, Annabel, Marsden, John and Strang, John. "Understanding reasons for drug use amongst young people: A functional perspective." Health Education Research 17.2 (2012): 457-469. Print.
This journal article seeks to examine why drug use has been on the rise in recent years. The article notes that most young people experiment with drugs at one point in life mainly due to poor decision making, peer pressure and experimentation. Cannabis is the most prevalent among the youths as per to this article. The article focuses on the factors that influence one to use drugs. The article concludes that drug addiction is indeed a choice and not a disease. I will mostly rely on this article in my research.
Heyman Gene. Addiction: A Disorder of Choice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. 6-12. Print.
This book by Gene Heyman tries to examine the issue of whether drug addiction is a disorder or a choice. It is a choice and not a disorder as put clearly in the book that addiction is a choice and not genetic. The book gives a step by step analysis that convinces the reader that drug addiction is indeed a choice. The book also views addiction to be destructive and self induced. The author incorporates a lot of outside study on top of his own research, and this makes his book ideal for my study.
Leshner, Albert. "Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters." Science 45.3 (1997): 45-56. Print.
In this article, Leshner Albert gives an analysis of various drug addicts in a bid to establish a connection between drug addiction and brain disease. The author tries to convince that addiction is a disease that affects the brain from the effects of drug abuse over a long period of time. The author tries to convince the reader that taking a drug addict to court does very little in stopping the behavior since this is a problem that goes beyond the desire to commit a crime. The actions of an addict are not normally intended but due to the drugs used. The research is however not comprehensive since it examines only one side of the debate.
McClellan, Triza and McKay, John. "Reconsidering the evaluation of addiction treatment: From retrospective follow-up to concurrent recovery monitoring." Addiction 100.3 (2011): 447–458. Print.
In this article by McClellan and McKay, they take a close look at the cases of relapse after treatment for addiction. The article concludes that...