On 2017 Oct 27, Serge Ahmed commented:

A good place to start if you need a confirmation is the following Review Article by Gene Heyman: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23330937

On 2017 Mar 21, Wenwen Shen commented:

As I am curious about the prevalence and natural course of addiction, I read the article with great interest. In the article, in the 2nd paragraph, the author claims 'the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism demonstrate that addiction, as defined by the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence, peaks in adolescence and early adulthood, but, in the majority of cases, has resolved permanently, without clinical intervention, by the late twenties or early thirties (Anthony and Heltzer 1991; Compton et al. 2007; Kessler et al. 2005a; 2005b; Stinson et al. 2005; Warner et al. 1995).' I searched the references. I haven't got access to the first ref. But the rest of them are all available. It turns out that the refs are telling a different story (for example,see Compton 2007 http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/482282). They are talking about the 12-month prevalence and lifetime prevalence, and the onset age of the disorders. It seems to me that the conclusion Pickard made comes from her misinterpretation of the chart of onset age.There is no evidence in these refs showing '(drug problems) resolved by the late twenties...' Tell me if I were wrong. I just eager to read any statistics about the lifetime course of addiction.

On 2017 Mar 21, Wenwen Shen commented:

As I am curious about the prevalence and natural course of addiction, I read the article with great interest. In the article, in the 2nd paragraph, the author claims 'the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism demonstrate that addiction, as defined by the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence, peaks in adolescence and early adulthood, but, in the majority of cases, has resolved permanently, without clinical intervention, by the late twenties or early thirties (Anthony and Heltzer 1991; Compton et al. 2007; Kessler et al. 2005a; 2005b; Stinson et al. 2005; Warner et al. 1995).' I searched the references. I haven't got access to the first ref. But the rest of them are all available. It turns out that the refs are telling a different story (for example,see Compton 2007 http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/482282). They are talking about the 12-month prevalence and lifetime prevalence, and the onset age of the disorders. It seems to me that the conclusion Pickard made comes from her misinterpretation of the chart of onset age.There is no evidence in these refs showing '(drug problems) resolved by the late twenties...' Tell me if I were wrong. I just eager to read any statistics about the lifetime course of addiction.