Downey's Downfall

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But even when an addict has been clean for a long time, says Leshner, the addictive brain has been permanently primed for relapse. One common trigger for returning to drugs is stress, which can send the recovering addict back to a proven stress reliever. Another is contact with people, places and things associated with drugs--cues that bring up dormant memory circuits laid down during active addiction and thus reawaken craving.

Since addiction is caused by drug exposure, Leshner believes, anyone who takes drugs long enough will become an addict. But "long enough" can vary dramatically from one person to the next. In Downey's case, it can't have helped that when he was six, he was given a joint by his filmmaker father (Downey Sr. has since expressed regret for that action). But without an understanding of individual biological differences, which scientists have yet to unravel, nobody can say whether those experiences turned Downey into an addict right from the start or whether repeated drug use over many years finally etched the circuits of self-destruction into his brain.

The good news, say experts, is that recovery is still possible after multiple relapses, although whether or not serving jail time has a beneficial effect is hotly contested. "Addiction," says Leshner, "is a chronic illness, just like high blood pressure. We can't cure it, but we're getting better at managing it all the time." So while Downey's situation looks very bad at the moment and for the immediate future, it may not be entirely hopeless.