It's a very specific way of saying "addictive," which I appreciate. Different drugs are addictive for different reasons, and redosing is triggered by different physiological inputs.
Compulsive redosing refers to a short-term addictive quality. It feels good so you take more.
Addictive can mean a lot of things. Opiates have agonizing, long-lasting withdrawal effects that can trigger redosing over the course of months or years. That's also a meaning of "addictive" but one that is intentionally not included by the author's wording.
Not the same. A substance that literally travels into your dopamine system and modifies it is going to be more addictive than eating some sugar or playing a slot machine
There are a lot of exotic compounds now, and the law doesn't cover many of them.
However, the human brain has finite known chemistry (if I recall it is under 14 types of possible highs excluding hallucinogens), and note many malformed neurotransmitters from Erythroxylum coca can make people sociopathic or psychotic during the 10 month average withdrawal period.
The schizophrenic symptoms a highly poisonous Datura stramonium family causes has almost no one lining up to ever experience a nightmare trip rolling in their own excrement for 10 days. However, some native tribes still guide young folk through the experience as a rite of passage ceremony.
Addiction is a nuisance by comparison, but some experiences go well beyond synthetic catharsis or a chemical lobotomy. Most drugs are legal in my country now, but it hasn't made people healthier or more responsible.
Most of these plants grow naturally in many areas, and there are worse things around... which is why one should always garden with gloves on, and never burn unknown greenery. =3
like the difference between someone who intended to have 3 drinks, but once they're 2 drinks in it makes them want to have 3 more drinks, and the familiar alcoholic.
Compulsive redosing refers to a short-term addictive quality. It feels good so you take more.
Addictive can mean a lot of things. Opiates have agonizing, long-lasting withdrawal effects that can trigger redosing over the course of months or years. That's also a meaning of "addictive" but one that is intentionally not included by the author's wording.