Is addiction a brain disease? Should an addict’s relapse be punished with a criminal sanction?

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ highest court, Julie Eldred is challenging a condition of her probation.  Are sanctions for positive drug tests a cruel and unusual punishment for a person with a substance abuse disorder?

Jan Hoffman wrote a piece in the NY Times, She Went to Jail for a Drug Relapse. Tough Love or Too Harsh that reviews this pivotal case.