Drug addictions are not unique to humans. Some wallabies in Tasmania love to sneak into poppy fields used to grow medicinal opium and eat the poppy straw and sap. Then, once drugged, flail around in circles, damaging the crops. Next, they often pass-out and have to be carried away by people the next morning.
On the Caribbean island of St. Kitts there are drunken monkeys that are notorious for running off with guests’ daiquiris when they are not looking.
Addicted rats, like humans use more drugs when stressed by pain, when overcrowding occurs, or when they are in a subordinate social position. Some rats ignore their children while addicted to drugs.
Drugs tell the user they have performed an important fitness-enhancing task even when they have not because brain receptors do not know if the opioid molecule came from hash pipe or having a conversation with a trusted friend.
Addictions to things a person does as opposed to a substance he or she takes are not fully understood.
Substance addiction and behavior addiction are linked because shared neurocircuitry rewards fitness-promoting behaviors.
Examples of most-often-treated behavioral addictions include sex, binge eating, exercise, and working.
An example of a new kind of addiction seen today is the addiction to technology. Like a drug, technological addictions provide the user with a hit without the work. We get a dopamine squirt without seeking a tangible resource and a feeling of belonging without actually having the inconvenience of having your mates there with you.
One way very powerful way of treating addiction in human populations is by delaying the age of first use or to not expose the person to the addictive substance at all. The younger a person is when they first try a drug, the more likely they are to become addicted to it and, once addicted, it can be very difficult to overcome.
Addictions as severe as what is seen in humans are rarely found in nature due to environmental factors. However, because of what we know about how addictions affect animals we can have a better understanding of what causes them and what can be done about them.
The tendency to become addicted to a substance or activity do, indeed, have a genetic basis in animals and humans alike, but there are some things that we can do to fight them. One can fight addiction by replacing addictive behaviors with activities which encourage a natural high such as the endorphin release experienced during physical work and exercise, the adrenaline rush of competition and risk in games or business, and the opioid rush of being part of an actual flesh and blood social network.