The addict, abstinence, and the family.

The drug addict generally has an extremely difficult time terminating drug use and remaining abstinent. A partial explanation can be found in an investigation of the relative meaning of the drug for the addict within his social context rather than viewing the drug simply as a pharmacological agent. The idea that addiction is a social phenomenon within the addicts family suggests a relationship between the functioning of the families of addicts and their inability to tolerate abstinence. Because the abuse of heroin or barbiturates by one family member can result in "rewards" for all family members, the family, in behaving as if the addict cannot control his drug use, functions in such a way as to reinforce the addiction.