I read far enough into this study to see that they were including alcohol as a drug before I decided to quote this:
How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction
Throughout much of the last century, scientists studying drug abuse labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When science began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower. Those views shaped society's responses to drug abuse, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on punitive rather than preventative and therapeutic actions. Today, thanks to science, our views and our responses to drug abuse have changed dramatically. Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction, enabling us to respond effectively to the problem.
There are some folks out there, even alcoholics in recovery that still feel that alcoholism and drug addiction are both the results of weak will power or morale flaws. All of the scientific proof that it is a disease is simply poo-pooed/ignored. I often wonder if they also beleive we never went to the moon and TV is all magic!!!
What I do find interesting is that so far all though there is no cure provided by science for alcoholism or drug addiction, the best long term solution for the majority of drug addicts and alcoholics has proven so far to be a spiritual solution.