--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Addiction is a brain disease. This is not…" description: "\"Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing. This is not about bad people who are choosing to continue to use drugs because they lack wil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg" --- # Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing… ![“Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing. This is not about bad people who are choosing to continue to use drugs because they lack willpower.” quote by Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg) > “Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing. This is not about bad people who are choosing to continue to use drugs because they lack willpower.” [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Addiction should be treated as a medical condition rather than a moral flaw, emphasizing that it stems from brain changes, not lack of willpower. **In simple terms:** Addiction is a brain disease, not a moral issue. Key Takeaway Treat addiction with medical support. Themes healthcare stigma policy Mood serious hopeful Type medical advocacy When to use this quote - rehab programs - education campaigns - policy reform Key Concepts neuroscience public health Questions to Reflect On - What policies best support treatment? - How can stigma be reduced? A Different Perspective Some argue personal responsibility also plays a role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Addiction Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction-brain-3045876/) [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Disease Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease-moral-3047580/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-failing-1178653/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Willpower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willpower/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [“Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experience. A hurt is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/not-all-addictions-are-rooted-in-abuse-or-trauma-but-i-do-believe/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Nature reacts not only to physical disease, but also to moral weakness; when the danger increases; she gives us greater courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nature-reacts-not-only-to-physical-disease-but-also-to-moral-weakness/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“After a lie truth bursts out, and it is no longer the radiant and serene goddess knew or hoped for—it is a disease, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/after-a-lie-truth-bursts-out-and-it-is-no-longer-the-radiant-and/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors. . . . The wound may not be as deep and the ache not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/a-hurt-is-at-the-center-of-all-addictive-behaviors-the-wound-may-not/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Addiction is a brain disease - this isn't a moral failing - and we have got to stop looking at it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perri-peltz/addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-isn-t-a-moral-failing-and-we-have/) [Perri Peltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perri-peltz/) > [“Around 8 percent of American gamers between ages eight and eighteen seem to meet psychiatry’s diagnostic criteria for addiction; brain studies reveal changes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/around-8-percent-of-american-gamers-between-ages-eight-and-eighteen/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“So, what do you do when you're too big, in a world where bigness is cast not only as aesthetically objectionable, but also as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-west/so-what-do-you-do-when-you-re-too-big-in-a-world-where-bigness-is/) [Lindy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-west/) > [If somebody has an extreme amount of wealth and is not using it for some good purpose, only for their own enjoyment or satisfaction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-somebody-has-an-extreme-amount-of-wealth-and-is-not-using-it-for/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Like so many of his successors in the language-crank world today, though, (Jonathan) Swift not only loathes (the) banal and common change (language); he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/like-so-many-of-his-successors-in-the-language-crank-world-today/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [The greatest moral failing is to condemn something as a moral failing: no vice is worse than being judgmental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/the-greatest-moral-failing-is-to-condemn-something-as-a-moral-failing/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [ “…Boredom \[is\] a moral failing, the mark of a mind insufficiently stocked to occupy itself.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/boredom-is-a-moral-failing-the-mark-of-a-mind-insufficiently-stocked/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [“So, what do you do when you’re too big, in a world where bigness is cast not only as aesthetically objectionable, but also as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-west/so-what-do-you-do-when-you-re-too-big-in-a-world-where-bigness-is-2/) [Lindy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-west/) > [“Few things are more shameful than insolvency in a country where poverty is a moral failing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caite-dolan-leach/few-things-are-more-shameful-than-insolvency-in-a-country-where/) [Caite Dolan-Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caite-dolan-leach/) > [Addiction is such an isolating incident in your life. You feel alone. And when you admit, when you come into a fellowship and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-such-an-isolating-incident-in-your-life-you-feel-alone/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [If I, in some small way can help people to see that there is this huge, incredible life on the other side of addiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/if-i-in-some-small-way-can-help-people-to-see-that-there-is-this-huge/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) ## More by Michael Botticelli > [Blunt force didn't knock out the drug epidemic. 21 million Americans are addicted to drugs or alcohol. And half of all federal inmates are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/blunt-force-didn-t-knock-out-the-drug-epidemic-21-million-americans/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [One of the drivers of heroin has been the misuse of pain medication. If we're gonna deal with heroin and heroin use in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/one-of-the-drivers-of-heroin-has-been-the-misuse-of-pain-medication/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [Prescription drugs and heroin act in very similar ways on the brain. And, unfortunately, heroin, because of its widespread availability is a lot cheaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/prescription-drugs-and-heroin-act-in-very-similar-ways-on-the-brain/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [If I, in some small way can help people to see that there is this huge, incredible life on the other side of addiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/if-i-in-some-small-way-can-help-people-to-see-that-there-is-this-huge/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [Addiction is such an isolating incident in your life. You feel alone. And when you admit, when you come into a fellowship and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-such-an-isolating-incident-in-your-life-you-feel-alone/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [I think it's overly simplistic to say that any one single strategy is going to really change the focus and change the trajectory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/i-think-it-s-overly-simplistic-to-say-that-any-one-single-strategy-is/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [People drink and do drugs for a reason. Cause it makes them feel good - until it doesn't anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/people-drink-and-do-drugs-for-a-reason-cause-it-makes-them-feel-good/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [We can't arrest and incarcerate addiction out of people. Not only do I think it's really inhumane, but it's ineffective and it cost us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/we-can-t-arrest-and-incarcerate-addiction-out-of-people-not-only-do-i/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [I would say that I probably had an unhealthy love affair with drinking. I grew up as this kind of insecure kid, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/i-would-say-that-i-probably-had-an-unhealthy-love-affair-with/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [I'm one of 23 million Americans in recovery who have gone on to live productive lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/i-m-one-of-23-million-americans-in-recovery-who-have-gone-on-to-live/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) > [The hallmark of addiction is that it changes your brain chemistry. It actually affects that part of your brain that's responsible for judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/the-hallmark-of-addiction-is-that-it-changes-your-brain-chemistry-it/) [Michael Botticelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) [Explore all 12 Michael Botticelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/) ## More Addiction quotes > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) [Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction; it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-irsay/i-really-think-the-disease-aspect-gets-lost-when-you-re-talking-about/) [Jim Irsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-irsay/) > [I had an addiction to artificial points of success. Like being able to run for this or run for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/i-had-an-addiction-to-artificial-points-of-success-like-being-able-to/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [“Addictions are just symptoms of underlying issues, and in my view Nikki self-medicated the emotional pain of his childhood, and being away from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/addictions-are-just-symptoms-of-underlying-issues-and-in-my-view/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Addictions - Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/addictions-run-to-jesus-instead-of-running-to-your-addiction/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/music-is-my-personal-addiction-so-much-of-everything-i-ve-done-has/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [Cold sweats, hallucinations I wanna speed to stop. The hell I'm going through The addiction's taking you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bullet-for-my-valentine/cold-sweats-hallucinations-i-wanna-speed-to-stop-the-hell-i-m-going/) [Bullet For My Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bullet-for-my-valentine/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 2,134 Addiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing. This is not about bad people who are choosing to continue to use drugs because they lack willpower.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Botticelli" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not-a-moral-failing-this-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Addiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not-a-moral-failing-this-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f7/michael-botticelli-37766_addiction_addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not_324078.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Addiction is a brain disease. This is not a moral failing. This is not about bad people who are choosing to…” — Michael Botticelli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Botticelli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-botticelli/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Addiction is a brain disease. This...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not-a-moral-failing-this-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-botticelli/addiction-is-a-brain-disease-this-is-not-a-moral-failing-this-is-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```