Predisposed to addiction? You decide and discuss!

I myself have wondered the genetic factor in drug addiction for a long time...As a recovered opiate addict of 2 1/2 years; I have noticed in the coarse of treatment that most addicts come from a family of addicts. Using myself as an example, I am the oldest of 6 children (4 of those 6 are old enough to have used drugs--the other 2 are still young children)...of the 4 of us, 3 of us have had bad addictions (myself being the only one to have recovered);and the only 1 of us 4 that is not an addict is because she was so scared of becoming one, that she NEVER tried any substance (won't even use prescriptions for pain after surgery!). In addition, my father has substance abuse issues; as well as my uncle (father's brother).

So, this brings a question up for debate...is there a predisposal to drug abuse that runs in families? And if so, then is the predisposition because of our genetics (something we are gentically lacking or a gentic defect of the brain, etc.) or is the predisposition because of how we are raised (being exposed to watching family members use causes us to be descensitized to the thought of using ourselves)?

SO, to everyone on this forum I pose the question to you all...Are there pre-determining factors that run in families with regards to drug addiction? And if so, is it nature or nurture? Tweet