Hunter Biden and Addiction

I have a personal rule that I do not openly share my political opinions, particularly on social media. I believe my work involving the treatment of substance use and mental health disorders supersedes any benefit that might come from my public discussion of politics. So it is with considerable hesitation that approach this topic. I also want to be clear that the following is not intended to support any political perspective and what I have outlined below is solely my opinion and not that of my employer.

With the trial and now conviction of Hunter Biden for lying on a federal document while purchasing a firearm, there is renewed discussion of addiction. Because of who he is, Hunter Biden’s addiction is being framed from the perspective of left/right politics. Those on the political right want to dismiss Hunter’s addiction as nothing more than a convenient excuse while those on the left want to consider him blameless in light of his past. Neither perspective is correct and neither perspective is helpful to changing the stigma that surrounds addicted individuals.

The car accident that killed Hunter’s mother and sister when he was not quite 3 years old left him severely injured including with a traumatic brain injury. Although he grew up with the privilege afforded to the children of a prominent U.S. Senator, it stands to reason that having a father like Joe Biden was not easy and did not result in a nurturing environment that children require for healthy development. The added pressure to succeed in a family such as the Bidens must have been tremendous. During my 16 years as a treatment professional, a history involving the trauma of losing a parent, coupled with a brain injury and a chaotic and pressure-filled childhood with a largely absent father are the precise conditions that are common to most individuals who develop an addiction to substances. Some will counter that his brother Beau, who shared the exact same conditions, did not become addicted to crack cocaine or other substances. While this may be true, addiction is no different than other medical or psychiatric disorders that only afflict particular members of a given family. To put it more simply, some people are more susceptible to addiction than others, similar to how soldiers might experience the exact same combat conditions but only some develop PTSD.

Now, I do not know Hunter Biden personally and what I do know about him comes from what are likely biased news sources. But with that said, he is not someone who has lived an exemplary life and I would not be pleased if my children conducted themselves in a similar manner. The fact is that addicted people do terrible things. Their behavior creates a wake of pain and destruction that is unmatched by any other disorder. However, the research is clear that addiction impairs the part of the brain that is responsible for judgement, decision-making, and impulse control while the area of the brain responsible for motivation gets directed almost entirely to substance use. This insidious combination creates the situation where individuals will continue drinking alcohol until they die or others might use puddle water to inject fentanyl knowing they risk serious harm and death. These are not people who are uniquely bad. Rather, they are people whose brains are not functioning properly. With the right treatment and support, addiction can be put into remission and the impaired brain functionality can mostly be reversed. It needs to be acknowledged that this process is very difficult, time consuming, and expensive, and individuals remain at risk for relapse for the foreseeable future.

If the Hunter Biden case is an example of anything, it is that our country still does not have a rational approach to address addiction. We have mainly consigned this to law enforcement hoping we can arrest and imprison our way out of this problem. But this approach has only resulted in 110,000 annual overdose deaths and an illicit drug market that promotes crime and destroys communities. Addicted individuals should be held accountable when they break the law, but that accountability must take into consideration the brain impairments at the time of the crime and should include a long-term process that supports abstinence from substance use. Shifting accountability from mainly punitive to one that encourages healing will be better for these individuals and our society as a whole.

Regardless of how I might feel about Hunter Biden as a person and regardless of whatever political advantage might be gleaned from his trial, my hope for him is this: That he is given the grace and the support to make changes in his life such that he ends the pattern of creating pain in the world and he is able to be a loving and present influence for his entire family. ?Only then will he be living life as it was intended, and only then will he be a true example for the healing that our country desperately needs.