You may be hooked emotionally and psychologically. You may have a physical dependence, too. If you have a drug addiction, you have intense cravings for the drug. You want to use it again and again. When you stop taking it, you may have unpleasant physical reactions.
While not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted, many people do. Drug addiction involves compulsively seeking to use a substance, regardless of the potentially negative social, psychological and physical consequences. Certain drugs are more likely to cause physical dependence than are others.
Drug dependence is characterized by impaired control over the drug, preoccupation with use, continued use despite negative consequence, and sometimes evidence of physical dependence on the drug. Various factors, such as your personality, your genetic makeup and peer pressure, affect your likelihood of becoming addicted to a drug. In addition, some drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, more quickly produce a physical addiction than other drugs do for many people.
