Well, I feel that it's both a choice and a disease. I just never think it's a good idea to sit on one side of the fence or the other in cases like these because it can lead to close-mindedness and as many of you say these cases vary on the drug and the individual. So no two people are exactly alike nor can they fit under a single label. Getting off the "boat" is important but so is understanding why they get on the boat in the first place. This can bring about preventative actions that help our addict(s) stay in recovery.
I don't dare assume that I know how an addict feels or their motives or what their logic is or what their biological make-up is but as was previously mentioned, we can't be as quick to say it's a disease if we continue to say it's a matter of an addict "choosing" to stop the "behavior". True only a disease of the mind and spirit could drive someone to continue to use to the brink of death or to the point of dying but I think the label disease involves something "involuntary" to which you have absolutely "no control". And yet we all say an addict can and has to choose to end the disease though there is a constant struggle to remain in recovery, the "choice" is always there.
It wasn't my intent to hurt, anger or frustrate any of you but rather I'm just trying to educate myself. I'm trying to understand the unexplainable so that I CAN move on. And thank you all so much for your input because I find it truly useful.