Answer of the Day

The concept of cross-addiction suggests that a person addicted to one reinforcing substance is at a higher risk for addiction to other reinforcing substances. This concept is based on the fact that a person who takes an intoxicant is presumably less able to resist other temptations. The neurobiologic changes that occur with addiction appear to be common amongst most reinforcing substances. Unfortunately, there is little data to confirm the concept other than the high prevalence of polysubstance dependence.