old "over the counter" and those legally available only by prescription), illicit drugs and inhalants, and so-called performance-enhancing sports drugs as defined by the International Olympics Committee ("Canada's Drug Strategy, 1998, p. 2). The strategy statement noted that "Although the use of tobacco is not discussed specifically in this framework, most prevention initiatives consider the use of tobacco along with other substances" ("Canada's Drug Strategy," 1998, p. 2).
Surveys taken in Ontario indicated that 80 percent of survey respondents consumed alcohol, while 8.6 percent had used cannabis and 4.6 percent had used cocaine in the previous year. Fewer than one percent reported having used opiates. However, a report of these surveys (undated, but from its internal references apparently released in about 2000), noted that the surveys depended on self-reports by respondents, and were thus liable to understate the extent of usage (Macdonald et al., no date, p. 1). On the other hand, substances reported in the surveys, such as cannabis and (in most cases) alcohol, are not necessarily addictive in the pharmacological sense, and the report did not distinguish between heavy or compulsive use and more casual, sporadic usage.
What is an addiction? In the strictest technical sense it is a chemical dependency produced by a drug, resulting in an intense craving. If the drug is withheld from an addict, the addict undergoes physiological withdrawal symptoms, such as profuse sweating, jittery nervous responses, even convulsions.
Only a relatively few substances are chemically addictive in this strict sense. Opium, and its refined derivatives such as heroin, is the classical example of an addictive substance.
...