Jonah Lehrer over at Frontal Cortex has a post (hat tip: Corrections Sentencing) that says in pertinent part:

What does this have to do with neuroscience? I think neuroscience is our last, best, and only hope of actually dealing with the drug problem. While addiction is an extremely complicated phenomenon, we now know that the brain utilizes a single chemical mechanism - the dopamine reward pathway - for everything from heroin to gambling to cigarettes. Of course, the molecular details differ in each context, but the general principle is the same. If science can find a way to selectively block the addictive properties of dopamine - without inducing a terrible range of side-effects - the societal payoff would be immense. Of course, nobody is sure that such a pharmaceutical is even possible, but even if scientists can engineer a mildly effective treatment that only works for specific substances, I think it would dramatically change the way we approach the War on Drugs.

This is an attractive and seductive idea. With all of the advances in neuroscience and addictions it's easy to believe that biological science will give us a cure for a phenomenon that is principally biochemically based. Yet it's also quite simplistic and ignores the graveyard of promising addiction treatments of the past that led us down the road of disappointment. The dopamine system is terribly complex. It is globally involved with brain function to the point of ubiquity. Thus, it is associated with a plethora of behaviors so that it is at least nominally linked to all of them. The idea that our understanding of a common dopamine pathway surrounding addictions is tantamount to a molecular key which unlocks the proverbial sobriety door belies the vast territory of the brain that remains a mystery. Our understanding is simply not that great; in many respects the field of neuroscience remains in its infancy. This is not to discount the discoveries of the field; indeed neuroscience has made tremendous discoveries about the brain that should be celebrated. Moreover, there are many promising novel pharmaceutically-based treatments for addictions deserving of our attention. But it's false hope to think that any of these current or foreseeable treatments will lead to a paradigm shift in how we deal with addictions. Ultimately, internal motivation is the key factor for long-term sobriety. For all of the methadone, buprenorphine, and varenicline, the divide between those who succeed and those who fail with sobriety lies mainly outside of biology and chemistry.