I think "dependence" as described above is a softer way to address addictions. I'm guessing people use it to avoid the stigma of addiction & because so many def

I think "dependence" as described above is a softer way to address addictions. I'm guessing people use it to avoid the stigma of addiction & because so many definitions of addiction (including the one in the DSM) only address drugs/alcohol. I think that's kind of what the article's looking to address is we need to broaden the definition of addiction. I don't think what he's saying is meant to be applicable to people who suffer from chronic pain from irreparable/incurable afflictions & so are physically dependent on drugs to alleviate their pain. I do think there's harm in prescribing drugs to alleviate chronic pain in sufferers whose pain was triggered by something long since treated & now persists as a learned pattern in their mind. Treating that condition with drugs instead of mental techniques to unlearn the pattern is like putting Neosporin on an open wound that won't heal shut without stitches.