>seems like a debate about semantics.
a slim majority of the panelists, including Murphy, did not want to emphasize the word "disease," because it implies that chemical dependence is primarily a function of pathology, when in fact environmental factors (dysfunction at home, stress at work), learned behavioral patterns (binge drinking, for instance), and economic disparities have been shown to play a significant causal role. Clearly, the debate was not just semantic.
here we go
dis-ease: not being easy, uncomfortable, sickness
> (pathology) An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired.
There is no debate to be had at all. I get where this comes from, the scientific definition is more involved, but then addiction is just a symptom, while the damage, eg. to the nervous system, is material. Would ignorance count as disease?