For my first interview I chose to interview Dr Sharon Bullock.

She has earned her PhD in

Molecular and Cellular Pathology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in
Zoology at North Carolina State University. She currently teaches in the biology department at
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

1) There is a wide debate of "nature versus nurture" when discussing topics like addiction, do
you believe that there is one correct side or is it a blend of both? Why?
Blend, yes there are gene that predispose people to addictive behaviors. Looking at this topic in
wide ranges. Both sides have argument the model is typically twins that are separated at birth.
You can then pinpoint the difference. In these studies there is a genetic factor to the addiction
phenotype. Both twins often would have an addiction even if they aren't together. Also
connection with cancer oncogenes, but without the factors to trigger the gene you will not be
affected.

2) While studying the human genome, scientists have found very subtle variations in each
person's genome that are referred to as single-nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs and within the
population of addicts there are more SNPs than in the general population. How could one single
and subtle change affect a person's susceptibility to a disease?
One change could affect the function of a protein related to the metabolism of a drug or alcohol,
now that one change can change the function. The SNP could relate to an enzyme and then affect
the processing of a drug.

3) Substance addictions create both a physical and mental dependence in the person, but in other
addictions, such as gambling and pornography, there is no physical addiction. Would you
personally classify these addictions the same generally category of addiction or is there a
spectrum of addiction?
I believe there is a spectrum. I think that addiction phenotype has both a physical and mental
component. Like in pornagraphy there is both a mental and physical aspects. Mental effects in
the nervous systems due to drugs, and the whole behavior set pattern control the addiction as
well. Creating patterns in their life, rehabs pull addicts out of their environment and they dont
know how to act when they go back.

4) Epigenetics is a relatively new field of biology being studied. Some scientist have found that
substance addiction causes genes to coil around histones, if this is true how could we change the
current treatment plans to better address addiction? Or could we?
Yes they are looking at the difference. They are looking for the addiction genes they are
currently looking at a population with phenotype and the people that looking for the people who
dont show vs the people who do. The differences are being identified and trying to be used. The
treatments are looking towards look for the biochemical pathway that causes the epigenetic
change. Could we block it? Or could we reduce it?
5) Have you known someone in your life who struggled with addiction? If so how has it changed
your preconceived opinions about addiction and the current treatment options? If not how would
you describe your feelings on addicts and the current treatment options?
We can all say we know people with addictions. My own preconceived opinion was that it was
devastating. I stayed clear of it, I dont smoke because I saw my mother smokes. She had to stop
due to an allergy to smoke she had to stop because of a health issue. My first grade teacher
would smoke while we worked on papers. Trying or risk it with social risk. Its bad , dont do it.
People who see it can either be propelled towards or completely against it. We could do more for
addicts through support early on. Education could be better for the younger generation, more
variety on plans for education. Kids dont listen to adults in a lecture setting. Supporting all
aspects of addiction, the family including. The research is not nearly finished yet. More research
is needed.

For my second interview I talked to my mother, Nancie Mandeville. She lost her 23 year old
stepson to an opioid overdose in November of 2016. She raised Shane from when he was 15
years old to 23 and he became addicted to opioids at age 18.

1) There is a wide debate of "nature versus nurture" when discussing topics like addiction, do
you believe that there is one correct side or is it a blend of both? Why?
I believe it to be a blend of both "nature versus nurture". Chemical dependency appears to have
a predisposition in some families, but I often wonder how much of that is actually more
environmentally related (my father was a drunk, his father etc) because families have grown up
with the expectation of facing these problems rather than a true biological alteration. I also see
traumatic experiences as "tipping points" for those who face addiction. Children may be raised
in families that have generations of addicts without becoming addicted themselves, rather
choosing to use their exposure as a momentum to avoid addiction. Others may experience a
deep trauma that pushes them into addictive behaviors as they simply do not have the coping
mechanisms for dealing with their trauma.

2) Did you have any preconceived notions of addiction? How did knowing someone with an
addiction change your opinions?
Yes like most people who have only a light acquaintance with addiction I always thought it
would be "those people", troubled families, degenerate types that battled addiction. My own
personal exposure to addiction was with alcoholic grandparents and I saw their poverty and lack
of education as the reason for their drinking. Later in life I learned that my grandfather has
suffered from PTSD from serving in WWII and used alcohol as a means of coping. I think my
grandmother found drinking with him easier than being sober around someone suffering from
PTSD. When I married my husband and became the stepmother to a teenage son battling drug
addiction I fell into the roll of thinking.. "those people" again. It was easier to blame the choices
of his Mother's lifestyle, her erratic and often violent outburst personality, as well as my own
husband's inability to "see" his son's addiction as the causes of our son's addiction. In truth it
was most likely a combination of generationally being raised around addiction (multiple family
members on both sides battled alcohol addiction and drug addiction) which lent to his being
desensitized (perception of normal behavior) and a traumatic experience (my husband's
diagnosis as terminal) that triggered his initial addiction issues. The years we had Shane in our
life gave me the gift of seeing addicts as people. Viewing lives that have been broken, but are
still beautiful. I will always be thankful for this gift because I can now see the potential in those
that I meet who are fighting addiction, see them as who they were, who they are and who they
can be. I hope that in time our family will find some way to help individuals and their families
who are battling addiction

3) Do you believe addiction is preventable? Why?

Yes but it will require work at the foundational level of our society where we work to instill
family values again. Where we raise children who learn how to cope with life when it gives
presents traumatic experiences or even what used to be everyday experiences that we no longer
seem capable of dealing with. We need to support the family at it's core, provide resources that
build strong marriages, parenting skills things that have been lost in our society. This is a long
term means of preventing addiction. Get down to the roots of why we choose behaviors that
eliminate our pain.. teach our youth that life will always have challenge some far worse than
what we can imagine but there is always a way to get through without numbing ourselves to the
pain.

4) How could we improve the current treatment plans in America?

Stop band-aiding addicts. Look at what programs are having true success. Faith based
programs and programs that teach true life skills, survival type programs that have a
disciplinary approach. Learning how to equip people with structure so that they can live in the
world without falling back into what has become their only means of coping. The majority of
addiction programs out there today are nothing more than income generators for
pharmaceutical industries, health insurance companies and the big businesses that have
developed out of this crisis (rehab centers and sober living homes). They are nothing more than
a revolving door that perpetuates the cycle of addiction in order to continue the revenue stream
created by "treating" addiction.

5) Substance addictions create both a physical and mental dependence in the person, but in other
addictions, such as addictions and pornography, there is no physical addiction. Would you
personally classify these addictions the same generally category of addiction or is there a
spectrum of addiction?
I would completely disagree with the statement that pornography doesn't create a physical
addiction. All addiction is the choice of a substance or stimulus that creates a reaction within
the addict. They are either numbing or stimulating in effect. Pornography creates a physical
addiction that results in the addict being unable to experience sexual intimacy without
pornography being involved. Their body becomes desensitized to normal physical stimulus and
is unable to respond appropriately without the exposure to the visual addiction. I believe all
addiction has a physical and mental component whether it be from a substance or behavior.
What I have been learning is that opioid addiction however is something that physically is nearly
impossible to break within the human body according what I have read in the medical field.
That said I am skeptical as is it just another means to create revenue with the creation of
synthetic substitutes such as suboxone? I personally have become jaded by what we walked
through with our son Shane and realizing just how big the business of "treating" addiction has
become.