Glossary of Terms
Addiction – Compulsive physiologic need for and use of a habit–forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; use despite physical, psychological or socially harmful events.
Dependence – a physiological reliance on a substance in order to feel normal. Some people who are dependent on a drug are addicted, such as a heroin user. Others are dependent, but lack the compulsive drug-seeking behavior that defines addiction, such as someone with end-stage cancer who is dependent on pain medications.
Disease – A disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infections, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity or unfavorable environmental factors; illness, sickness, ailment. Addiction is a brain disease.
Medication-assisted treatment – Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is pharmacotherapy relating to substance misuse. It combines pharmacological intervention with counseling and behavioral therapies. Methadone is a well-known MAT for opioid depedence, as is suboxone/buprenorphine. Naltrexone, Antabuse, ReVia, and Campral are all MATs used with alcohol dependence.
Recovery – Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness and quality of life.
Relapse – re-emergence of symptoms requiring treatment. As understood by treatment providers, relapse is not just the moment when someone drinks again, or uses a drug, after a period of abstinence. Instead, it is the process that occurs before, when a person begins to let down her guard, test the rules and structure, and create pockets of vulnerability that allow the actual use to occur.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) –includes misuse, dependence, and addiction to alcohol and/or legal or illegal drugs. The term is helpful because it encompasses a range of severity levels, from problem use to dependence and addiction.
Substance User (more accurate than Substance Abuser) In place of substance abuser; the person who is addicted to a drug and or alcohol. The person who is addicted does not abuse their substance – they tend to take better care of their drug than they do of themselves.
Commonly used acronyms
AOD - Alcohol and Other Drugs
AOD Provider – Alcohol and other drug treatment provider licensed by OASAS
LOCADTR – Level of Care for Alcohol and Drug Treatment Referral, a tool that determines the appropriate level of care for alcohol and substance abuse treatment
MMTP – Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program
OASAS – NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
QHP - Qualified Health Professional (as defined by statute)
SA – Substance Abuse
SUD – Substance Use Disorder
