People with substance use disorders and other mental health issues face greater stigma than those with other illnesses. As the head of the White House Office of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Michael Botticelli, and former Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard Koh, argued in JAMA Viewpoint last month, many of the addiction-related terms widely used in our society—even in the addiction field—retain an implicit moral judgment and subtly frame drug problems as transgressions worthy of punishment. Thus, reexamining how we talk about substance use disorders and those who suffer from them is an important step in overcoming the misconceptions and moralizing that have hindered access to treatment and compassionate recovery supports in our society. Repeated substance use changes key brain circuits in fundamental ways, and people who become addicted often lose their motivation and ability to derive pleasure from natural rewards. They experience distress when not using and diminished ability to resist the drug-seeking urge or follow through with decisions to quit.