Published on: May 19, 2015
Drug abuse is a terrible thing, whether those drugs are legal or not. Alcohol and nicotine, the two most popular legalized drugs for recreational use, are both incredibly addictive and destructive. They’ve ripped families apart and created a large stigma in our country—and these are legal substances!
Amongst the illegal substances, there are so many more problems related to their addiction. However, there’s a bit of hope. If you have an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or some other life threatening addiction, you might qualify for disability benefits.
About Addiction
Addiction is, at its root, a dependence on and continued use of a substance despite its harmful effects. That oversimplifies the condition by a great deal, but nevertheless, it’s a useful definition. Addiction is what keeps the alcoholic drinking or a smoker smoking. The list could go on, but what it comes down to is a mental or physical need for the substance in question to keep going through life.
There is a very severe stigma in the population at large about substance addiction, stemming from movements such as Alcoholics Anonymous and other (very beneficial) groups that promote a message of its complete control of an individual.
What must be understood when considering disability benefits being paid to addicted individuals is that the addiction controls the person for as long as the physical or psychological ties exist. If the dependency is physical, it’s not as easy as putting down the bottle or needle. That’s why the disability listing exists—to assist those whose minds have been destroyed by their addiction. That’s why the Social Security Administration (SSA) lists substance addiction under mental disorders.
What Qualifies You?
This is where things get complicated. Addiction shows itself in many ways, and differently in each person. Different people may suffer different symptoms. The SSA states that, for their purposes, an addiction consists of “behavioral systems of physical changes associated with the regular use of substances that affect the central nervous system.” They go on to list all of the different issues that substance addiction can cause a person:
- Organic mental disorders
- Depressive syndrome
- Anxiety disorders
- Personality disorders
- Peripheral neuropathies
- Liver damage
- Gastritis
- Pancreatitis
- Seizures
These all have their own evaluation criteria that you must meet to qualify for disability.
This means that the SSA has created a bit of a conundrum for those applying for disability: you qualify for disability because of your substance addiction, but you must exhibit all of the symptoms of one of the other disorders due to the addiction—meaning that while it’s listed and legitimate, qualifying for addiction alone requires you to qualify for a different listing, meaning that it doesn’t really exist. However, if the addiction has started these symptoms, you might not recognize it without seeing it here. While the SSA has not been particularly helpful here, their listings do have a point—if a slight one.
Another very important consideration: benefits are not payable if the addiction "is material to the finding of disability." This means that if Social Security finds you to be disabled, it must then determine if the finding would be the same absent the alcohol and/or drug addiction. If it would not, then the case is denied. If it would, the case is approved.
However, this is a moot point. Addiction is serious business. It’s not just for “junkies;” people as high profile as Rush Limbaugh and David Duchovny both have admitted to some form of addiction. This is a problem across the country, and you should be as equipped as possible to deal with addiction.
Your health is consistently at risk if you’re addicted, and it’s shown to cause all of the above disorders. If it has caused one of those disorders in you, be sure to come talk to us about it. We’re knowledgable and willing to help you get done what you need to get done. We’ve been through the process many times with others, and we will do everything we can to get you help for your disorder—whether addiction’s related to it or not.
