The stages of addiction: 1. Binge and intoxication

Although the situation and the reasons vary, substance dependence and addiction involve a transition from casual, impulsive drug use to compulsive drug use.^[1] Compulsion is characterized by repetition of a behaviour despite the adverse consequences of that behaviour.^[2,3]

References:
[1] Sadock BJ, Sadock VA, Ruiz P (eds). Kaplan & Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 10th edition. Wolters Kluwer, 2017.

[2] United States Department of Health & Human Services. Facing Addiction in America. The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. 2016.

[3] American Psychiatric Association (APA). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition. American Psychiatric Association, 2013.