The Honour Roll: The best, brightest and bravest Atlantic Canadians of 2014
Herald Magazine's Honour Roll also includes a gay rights activist who showed us what forgiveness really means, an actor who knows the true meaning of courage and a victim of horrific abuse who demonstrated persistance and patience. They all … Read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca (registration)

Why 20 year drop in crime is more impressive than it seems
All this doesn't mean the gains against crime will continue uninterrupted – or that prisons aren't important for reducing crime. The FBI figures show some up years for violent-crime rates (as recently as 2012) as well … Dr. Petersilia's view, argued … Read more on Christian Science Monitor

Le'Veon Bell Could Enter Drug Program Over Marijuana Use
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell agreed on Wednesday to enter a program for first-time offenders and it could mean a suspension from the NFL is on the way. Le'Veon Bell's entrance in the first-time offender program stems from a … Bell is … Read more on FanSided

Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Addiction as a disease
Nonprofit organization Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center (DARC) founder Tsuneo Kondo says in a book he co-authored with well-known TV producer Dave Spector, "Even if a person (with alcoholism) refrains from drinking for 20 years, once he drinks, … Read more on Mainichi Daily News

Number of drug addicts increasing in KP
Social Welfare department was working in five districts of KP including Peshawar, Kohat, Swat, Dir Lower and Dera Ismail Khan, adding they have rehabilitated 1250 drug addicts only in Peshawar. He said that they have detoxification center in Peshawar … Read more on Business Recorder

Drugs for treating heroin users: a new abuse problem in the making?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had hoped to create thousands of stories like Goldfinger's when, more than a decade ago, it partnered with a British company to develop Suboxone, a new treatment for addiction to opioids. But that effort has … Read more on Christian Science Monitor

Alcohol dependency in Japan
An estimated 6.45 million people in Japan suffer from alcohol-related problems. Among them are 800,000 people who suffer from alcohol dependency severe enough to require medical treatment, yet only 40,000 of them receive such treatment each year, … Read more on The Japan Times

Elizabeth Vargas acknowledges alcoholism, gets treatment
"Even to admit it to myself was admitting, I thought, that I was a failure," said Vargas, who noted that she had reported several "20/20" specials on drinking yet couldn't acknowledge her own alcohol dependency. She said she had suffered panic attacks … Read more on Christian Science Monitor

Feature: Deconstructing 'NIMBY'
According to the Oxford English Dictionary it first appeared in print in 1980, in a Christian Science Monitor story about toxic waste. In 1988, The New York Times ran a story titled "Coping in the Age of 'Nimby'" in which business … You try to open … Read more on Pacific Sun

Enterprise FFA spreads Christmas cheer
Enterprise High School FFA officers deliver fruit baskets to residents of the Enterprise Health and Rehabilitation Center during their Christmas vacation. From left … They donated the last of the citrus boxes to the local Christian Mission Food Bank … Read more on The Southeast Sun

2013 Year In Review: Part Two
Tyler Summers spent 94 days in hospitals, including Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and Mary Free Bed, a rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids. (Aug. 8) Staff and residents at the Grayling Nursing and Rehabilitation Community …. Robbin Meyer … Read more on Crawford county avalanche

Club meetings: Jan. 10
Bridge, Palmetto Duplicate Bridge: The Palmetto Duplicate Bridge Club plays at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays in the north wing of Palmetto Nursing & Rehab Center, 926 Haben Blvd., Palmetto. No reservations are necessary but partners are. Information: 941-739 … Read more on Bradenton Herald

Rona Ambrose Announces .5-Million Anti-Pot Program
"He wants to make it available for sale, like alcohol and tobacco. But that would dramatically increase its availability to minors and send the message that recreational drug use is acceptable." But the Liberals, through a battery of ads, maintain Tory … Read more on Huffington Post Canada

DC Week: Senate Passes SGR 'Patch'
The Senate on Wednesday passed a budget that includes a 3-month "patch" to delay a 24% cut to physicians' Medicare payments set to begin Jan. 1 under the … The announcement came in a proposed rule released by the agency and doesn't apply to hand … Read more on MedPage Today

Street Watch: drug MDMA seized
A SECOND man has been charged after hundreds of MDMA tablets and a handgun were allegedly found at a Bringelly property earlier this month. Evan Tompsett, 22, was … Ballard is charged with large scale and commercial drug supply and dealing in the … Read more on NEWS.com.au

Teen marijuana use rises as risk perception wanes
Meanwhile, teens' use of other drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes, continued to decline, according to the National Institutes of Health's 2013 Monitoring the Future Survey, which adds context to its findings with anonymous, written answers from 41 … Read more on Christian Science Monitor

Question by .02 REMAINS: How applicable an argument is the “freedom to choose” to use a substance if the substance is addictive?
To expand on my point, an addictive substance removes the user’s freedom to choose not to use it.

Is it more applicable to describe a “freedom to use, not to abuse” policy towards addictive substances?

At what point does use turn into abuse? To ask another way, at what point does the freedom to choose to use (or not use) no longer exist?

Specifically, I am thinking about alcohol and tobacco, but you may use other examples in your response as well.

Best answer:

Answer by little78lucky
If it is known the said substance is additive and the person still “choose” to use it once knowing they get addicted then any result is their own fault.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Alcohol most common drug in sexual assaults
But the drugs most frequently associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault — known chemically as Rohypnol, gamma hydroxybutyric (GHB) and ketamine — may not be the most common assailant. "Quite honestly, alcohol is the No. 1 date rape drug," said … Read more on WBIR-TV

Teens working to prevent drug and alcohol abuse in Robeson County
LUMBERTON – Students in Robeson County are working to drastically reduce drug abuse among their peers. Robeson County has one of the highest areas of prescription drug abuse in the state, said Dr. Robin Cummings, the deputy secretary of health … Read more on Fayetteville Observer

Does random drug, alcohol testing turn school into prison?
In an effort to battle substance abuse, a suburban Chicago Catholic high school has begun randomly testing its students for evidence of drug or alcohol consumption. The Associated press reports on the testing at Saint Viator High School: Skip to next … Read more on Christian Science Monitor