Jennifer Scott, an employee of the Roper Hospital System in Charleston, South Carolina, admitted in December 2009 to diverting the controlled substances Darvocet and Lortab from the hospital for his personal use. . She was diagnosed with opioid and alcohol abuse and addiction and completed the Cornerstone of Recovery program on April 29, 2010. Her nursing license was placed on probation for at least one year and open for reinstatement provided that it agrees to comply with the following conditions. : the Council must approve the place where she continues to practice; she must remain under the supervision of a registered nurse at all times; she will not have access to any controlled substances for at least one year after her reinstatement; his colleagues must each submit four written reports to the Council for at least one year regarding his professional ethics and compliance with said guidelines; she must remain completely free of drugs, including alcohol, unless these are prescribed for a serious medical reason; she will have to take random blood or urine tests; she must have proof of a written contract with the Professional Program in Recovery; she must pay a fine of $500 to the Régie; and she must regularly complete courses approved by the Council on Ethics and Medication Administration. Addiction to an illegal substance is not so much a social or moral problem as it is a disease of the brain that causes changes in its structure and function. Over time, changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person's self-control and ability to make sound decisions, while creating an intense impulse to take drugs. The cause of these intense changes is that neurotransmitters are negatively affected. The main route involved the...... middle of paper ......10.3109/00048670903270449Kalant, H. (2008). Addiction: concepts and definitions. In P. Korsmeyer & H. R. Kranzler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of drugs, alcohol, and addictive behaviors, Vol. 1. (3rd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved November 27, 2012 from the Nursing Resource Center via Gale: http://0-find.galegroup.com.library.lander.edu/nrcx/start.do?prodId=NRC Lawrence, R., Smith, M., & Saisan, J. (2013). Drug abuse and dependence. HELPGUIDE.org. Accessed November 24, 2013, from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm. Sternberg, B., Willingham, E., Asenjo, B., Wells, K. and Alic, M. (2011). . Dependence. In L. J. Fundukian (Ed.), Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, Vol. 1. (4th ed.). Detroit: gale. Retrieved November 24, 2013 from NRCX via Gale: http://0-find.galegroup.comlibrary.lander.edu/nrcx/start.do?prodId=NRC