Ooooh, I HATE the way addiction is played in the media. I just read a blog post about the Charlie Sheen spectacle that I loved, suggesting that
what Hollywood does to actors like Sheen and Lohan should be considered criminal in the eyes of the public instead of just fodder to feed the celebrity tabloid machine. See also, Celebrity friggin' Rehab.
I'm also frustrated with the Intervention-type shows that love the spectacle of addiction and redemption, but don't teach us anything about detox or recovery. I know there have to be reasons why they don't, clinical or anonymity-related, but I don't know.
I did find an excellent documentary series from HBO called Addiction that I ordered from Amazon. It was about $20, but had 4 discs worth of the latest research information on the whys and hows of addiction, the brain, recovery, and covered all kinds of ground that was incredibly helpful for me to understand. Why compassionate, science-based information like that isn't on TV on the regular is a mystery to me. It doesn't sell advertising, I guess.