Craving

Craving is defined as the desire (of an addict) to experience the effects of a previously experienced psy-choactive substance. This definition was established after much controversy in 1992 by an Expert Committee of the UN International Drug Control Programme and the World Health Organization. Shortly after this definition was agreed upon, it was also recommended that drug craving be recognized as a multidimensional phenomenon that consists of subjective, behavioral, physiological, and neurochemical correlates. Current research demonstrate drug craving to be a physiologic response to the absence of drug(s) in a substance dependent individual. The physiologic response consist of increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, dilation of the pupils, specific electrical changes in the skin, and even an immediate drop in body temperature. These symptoms ...