Another example of controlled addiction: the “functional drunk,” or for that matter, “the functional junkie,” who is able to nurse a habit while keeping their shit together, that is, while holding down a job, paying their bills, raising a family, etc. Functional = productive member of society; not hustling, stealing, or dealing; not locked up in an asylum. Methadone treatment is another form of controlled addiction: it’s been called a “functional drug” - one that allows the addict to function in society, to be productive (and Eli Lilly makes a lot of money marketing drugs targeted at controlling the self in the interest of social function and productivity). Control, then, while it has something to do with managed uptake (unlike lab rats self-administering cocaine until their hearts stop), is transcribed into categories of social functionality, which are often measured in terms of productivity - that is, the productive relation of the self to the social within established institutions of production and reproduction.

So, coffee addiction is cool, and so were cigarettes until we started looking at the social cost. And methadone’s great because even though it’s an endless deferral of dependency, it gets the addict back in the workforce. Alcohol, pot, coke, junk… all tolerated until the point where “a deterioration of self, health, or mentality” becomes evident, which is usually determined at the point where the addict can no longer function as a productive member of society.