Addiction is not sudden, although some people are more susceptible than others and so their timescale will be quicker, there are so many roads that lead to addiction, and everyone is different, therefore, there is no definitive span of time that can be pointed to. There are, however, four main stages of drug and alcohol addiction and these are experimentation, regular use, high-risk use, and addiction. Let’s have a look at these stages and try to understand the differences between them and how one can lead on to the next.