Human behaviors and their deviations often have social significance, which influences definition of deviant forms. In particular, when such significance is codified in a legal system, as is the division into licit and illicit substance use, the terminology is frequently value-laden and fraught with stigmatization. This is illustrated, for instance, by a discussion of choice between “addiction” and “dependence” (Erickson and Wilcox, 2006; O'Brien et al., 2006), in which the proponents of each term refer to stigmatization as a main shortcoming of the alternative label. It is, however, hardly possible to find a term for an illicit behavior that is independent of societal norms and devoid of emotional content. Any newly introduced label will likely acquire the same negative connotations as the currently used ones, because illicit behaviors evoke negative reactions from a large proportion of the population. Even though addiction is a medical/psychiatric disorder, it results from voluntary norm-violating behaviors and thus is subject to moral judgment regardless of the term used. Whereas an addict may have lost some control over his behavior, becoming slave to a habit, this
