A better understanding of addiction is the key to effective treatment – and treatment really isn't very effective right now – so the question is whether the harm from any increased stigma is offset by the benefit of better treatments.

It's always possible to willfully misinterpret Marc Lewis' message as saying that addicts just need to grow a spine, and it's definitely possible that a certain group of people will try to appropriate him to that end, but the interview itself is very nuanced.