Most Doctors are very intelligent and truly care about the well being of their patients, however most of society is unaware that doctors go to medical school for 8-12 years and never study, learn, or take classes on the addiction model. Doctors, with the best of intentions try to use their intellect and experience to treat addiction with medications and give 
recommendations to a psychiatrist who will just prescribe medications and never get to the root of the problem like a treatment center can. Most people do not know that doctors do not spend much time being educated about various medications, what the medications do, side effects, etc. Almost all knowledge of prescription medications for doctors comes from trends in the medical community, trial and error and pharmaceutical representatives. The fact is, if medications could fix addiction than we would just refer every person to their family doctor or local psychiatrist and they would get well. We need to get people off of alcohol and drugs and teach them how to cope with life on life’s terms, not just re-medicate them with FDA approved drugs because a doctor said so. Doctors are best at helping people in their field of expertise, and for most, that field is not addiction. Any time a family calls to tell us about the visit to the doctor in regards to treating the addiction we are told the addict or alcoholic was given medications and now the family is going to see how that works. Every time without fail after only a week or two that person is never any better, in fact they are worse because now they are almost always mixing the drugs or alcohol with the medication prescribed by the doctor and the medications are just masking symptoms instead of providing solutions. If in fact your loved one is ever in any medical danger you should always dial 911.
Addiction and Doctors
Doctors that you find in actual treatment centers that have a good understanding of addiction because it is their expertise are far more helpful than your family physician will be. Even doctors in treatment centers who lack knowledge on the addiction model can be quick to prescribe medications that are not necessary. For many doctors and psychiatrist their main objective is to prescribe medications to treat sickness and disease instead of focusing on short or long term solutions. For some doctors and treatment centers, there is no money in cure and there is only money in sickness and returning clients. Continuing to provide medications over time to mask and treat symptoms is far more profitable for them than working towards a cure and getting to the underlying issue of addiction. That may seem like a harsh thing to say, however for many doctors they have almost become licensed drug dealers. Almost anyone can walk into a local hospital or doctors office and within enough time walk out with just about any medication they need or ask for. Now, not all doctors are like this and many doctors provide much needed quality health care, it is just that more and more frequently we see so many people being put on medications they do not necessarily need and are being diagnosed for problems they truly don’t have. It is almost impossible to watch television anymore without having some pharmaceutical company try to convince you that you need their pill. Not that these medication can’t help a very few people who seriously can use them, it is just a constant sales tactic to convince everyone that they have some issue or disorder their medicine can fix. Consulting your doctor for physical ailments related to the addiction is the best thing anyone can do, however unless your doctor is telling your loved one to go to a treatment center where they can get help for the mental part of their addiction you should probably consult a real addiction professional for a second opinion. Most doctors are good people they just lack the background and education required to address and treat addiction and mental health issues.