How does drug addiction work in Torn, and how long do the addiction debuffs last?

Every drug adds hidden addiction points (Xanax adds 35), and the battle stat debuff lasts as long as you hold addiction. The sources give it no timer. Natural decay removes 20 points per day at 3:30am TCT, and rehab in Switzerland removes more^[1][2][3].

How addiction builds

Addiction is a hidden stat raised by using drugs^[4]. Each drug gives a different amount, and every drug adds some, even before the brain icon appears, except while reading the Hot Turkey book^[3]. Xanax adds 35 points and Ecstasy 20^[1][5]. A 2025 player guide gives LSD as 20 and Shrooms as 6, and says an overdose adds a lot more (50 for Shrooms)^[6].

An officer stated in 2023 that drug use builds no tolerance. A drug always gives the same effects and addiction points unless you overdose, and only rehab loses effectiveness over time^[7].

The debuffs

• Addiction effects apply while you hold a level of addiction, not only during a drug cooldown. Addiction and the battle stats debuff are not the same thing^[3].
• At a certain level a brain icon shows the battle stats debuff, and it turns redder as addiction rises^[3].
• Company effectiveness drops from the first drug (not for directors)^[3].
• You are kicked from education at around a 6-7% battle stats debuff with maximum Toleration, occasionally as low as 5%. A 10* Nightclub mitigates this^[3].
• At very high addiction you lose gym access: visiting sends you to hospital unless under the influence of drugs^[4].
• These passive modifiers are separate from Xanax's own -35% to all battle stats^[4].

How long they last

No source gives a timer for the addiction debuff. It persists while you hold addiction and shrinks as points fall^[3]. The debuff percentage per addiction point is not documented in the sources.

Worked example (arithmetic from the 35 points in^[1] and the 20 per day in^[2]): one Xanax's 35 points would take about 1.75 days of natural decay to clear, ignoring other sources and any overdose.

• Natural decay: 20 points per day at 3:30am TCT^[2].
• Rehab in Switzerland: $250,000 per visit in the December 2023 wiki capture. It needs some addiction present^[8]. A rehab session refills happy but does not clear drug or overdose aftereffects^[8].
• Job point specials (R and R, Herbal Cleansing, Suppression) remove 1 point per job point, and the Milk Yourself Sober book also removes addiction^[2].
• A White Easter Egg halves current addiction but does not appear to halve the rehab expense^[2].

Rehab cost

A 2016 player post says rehab effectiveness depends on how many times you have rehabbed^[9]. The 2023 officer statement agrees that rehab loses effectiveness over time^[7]. So many $250,000 sessions can be needed to clear a large addiction^[8]. One player reported in 2020 a bill of about $4M per trip^[10]. Another reported in 2018 5-7.5m per day as a heavy Xanax user^[11]. These are single player posts, and no source documents a formula change.

Reducing gain and cost

• Toleration faction special: a 2019 player test used 15%, so about 30 points per Xanax in that test instead of 35^[12][13]. A 2020 player guide describes it as 50%. The figures differ and are dated player reports; current values are not confirmed here.
• Hot Turkey book: no addiction gain while reading it^[3]. The findings give it as lasting 31 days, but no source in this pack supports that duration.
• Addiction Mitigation cuts addiction effects by up to 50% (30% Side Effects faction special, 20% merit upgrade)^[4]. It raises the addiction needed for each debuff level; the education and gym thresholds were unconfirmed after the 2024 update^[4].
• Excursion faction upgrades cut rehab cost by 2% each, up to 20%^[14].
• Rehab is unavailable below level 15, per a 2025 player guide^[6].

Dated caveat: 2017 wiki notes describing a flat 20% addiction negation and a 40% Xanax negation were superseded. The same note says the effect is scaled by how addicted you are, and that the 40% is no longer true^[15].