What term describes the difficulty or impossibility of controlling drug use following consumption?

The term that best describes the difficulty or impossibility of controlling drug use following consumption is dependency. Dependency develops when an individual becomes reliant on a substance to function normally, leading to a compulsion to continue using it despite negative consequences. This compulsion is often accompanied by a physical or psychological need for the drug, making it challenging for the individual to stop using it even if they wish to do so.

Dependency can manifest in various forms, including physical dependence, where the body adapts to the presence of the drug, and psychological dependence, which involves an emotional or mental craving for the substance. This inability to control use is a core aspect of what characterizes dependency in substance use disorders.

Tolerance, on the other hand, refers to the body's adaptation to a drug, requiring larger doses to achieve the same effect. Cross dependence involves the ability of one drug to satisfy the withdrawal symptoms of another, while withdrawal refers to the physical and mental symptoms that occur when a dependent person reduces or stops using a substance. These terms are related but do not specifically address the loss of control over substance use like dependency does.