Many people unfortunately believe in the negative stereotypes of drug users. Those who are unfamiliar with the true nature of addiction tend to assume that terms such as "addict" or "alcoholic" refer mainly to poor, uneducated members of a minority race. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because addiction is a progressive, physiological condition which tangibly alters a person's brain chemistry, it affects people at every level of society. Different addicts may have different underlying causes for their problems, but a homeless person begging for money is no more likely to be an addict than the wealthy people who walk past him. In order to develop more effective rehabilitation programs and educate a public ignorant regarding many drug abuse issues, we must learn how social status truly affects the patterns of addiction.

Race

A person's race has nothing to do with his or her propensity for drug addiction. However, the social conditions related to race often affect addictive behaviors. For example, a common stereotype of African Americans is that they are more likely than members of other races to abuse illegal drugs. The real issue is that black people in many areas suffer horrible living conditions which are likely to lead anybody, of any race, to use drugs.

Age

Drug addiction seems to affect all age groups equally. For instance, one of the fastest-growing demographics of drug addicts is senior citizens, who often become addicted to alcohol or pharmaceuticals in their efforts to relieve pain. However, the rate of drug addiction in teenagers is also rapidly rising due to the combination of peer pressure and widespread access to illegal and prescription drugs. Finally, inpatient centers across the country generally treat patients ages eighteen through fifty. Those statistics may not be completely accurate, since younger patients often attend specialized therapies, and because older addicts may already be deceased, but drug addiction can clearly afflict people of any age.

Religion

There seems to be little correlation between any one religion, or even religiosity in general, and drug addiction. Since most faiths denounce the use of drugs, religious people who suffer from substance abuse tend to keep their problems to themselves. Rather than asking for help and risking judgment from their congregation, they take even greater risks with continued drug use. The exceptions to this rule are closed-society religions, whose members tend to isolate their communities enough to keep drugs out.

Vocation

People of every job title, career path, and income level can become drug addicts. Wealthy CEOs, bankers, and other executives abuse cocaine as readily as so-called street users. Drug-abusive patients might become addicted to their prescription drugs, but so might the doctors who prescribe them. People may have different jobs, but everyone's brain chemistry is susceptible to addictive behavior patterns.

Education

From high-school dropouts to post-doctoral graduate students, people of every education level are susceptible to drug addiction. A construction worker with a GED, his foreman with a bachelor's degree, and the PhD engineer who designed their project can all become substance abusers. In fact, the only difference a person's education seems to make in matters of addiction is his or her ability to afford treatment.

Overall, addiction is a physiological condition which knows no social bounds. It can happen to anyone, and it is never something to be ashamed of. People's backgrounds, races, religions, and ages have nothing to do with their addictive behaviors. To produce a lasting recovery, addiction must be treated as a clinical disease, not a social abnormality.