Narconon Blog

Is a person’s genetic makeup capable of preventing successful drug rehab?

According to reports from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), when there is drug addiction, between 40 and 60 percent of the person’s vulnerability to the condition is genetic. 

The way I see it, we all have genes and we all know that we can’t do squat about what they do when we pass them on to our progeny.  That makes it rather pointless for parents to worry about what part genes play in drug addiction. 

A better question is does such a premise offer anything constructive to an addict trying to kick the habit?  Putting myself in the addict’s place, do I really care whether my genes are causing my craving?  My conclusion is that whether this scientific information is accurate, it is useless.

The concept that genes rule the game has some small advantage if a family wants to blame the fact of addiction in their children on something other than their own example.  I personally grew up in a family where my mother’s father was a drunk, but she never drank, and I don’t think I was exposed to intoxicants until entering that wonderful rebellious culture of teenagedom.  But for the sake of the addicted person, if there is even a smattering of evidence that one’s genes dictate life choices, we are wise to reject this idea.    

And that evidence is abundant.  It has been demonstrated time after time that any individual who sincerely wants to end his cravings for drugs and alcohol can do it with some help.  The Narconon® program has been helping addicts end their cravings for drugs for more than four decades. 

Drugs are seductive and can get a very strong hold on the user that seems to defy any effort to break it.  It can seem inherent in the personality of the addict, something that comes from deep within, immutable.  My advice is to let Narconon do battle with your son or daughter’s drug cravings and your child will be able to leave them behind – genes or no genes. 

Thousands of people have successfully completed Narconon’s drug rehabilitation programs and, unlike many other alcohol and drug treatment methods, the vast majority of graduates go on to live stable, ethical, productive, drug-free lives. The Narconon success rate is four times better than the international averages.