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Most mildly addictive drugs don't have that many negative effects.

It can be a negative effect like "I decided to skip work to do the drug instead and lost my job"

I dunno how else to say that not having negative effects doesn't mean one isn't addicted to something. It simply isn't a requirement.

> It simply isn't a requirement.

A third of the diagnostic criteria for substance addiction are about negative effects in the person's life. Perhaps it's not strictly a requirement but often it's only a question of time.

I don’t think that’s correct.

Others have linked to various respectable dictionaries that support my definition.