10 Times Star Trek Depicted Addiction

Originally airing in 2004, in the midst of the American opioid crisis, the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Damage depicts T'Pol's struggle with trellium-D addiction.

Just as opioids are used in pain management, trellium-D is used as insulation against the spatial anomalies in the Delphic Expanse. As useful as opioids are at easing pain, they are also highly addictive. Overuse can lead to opioid use disorder (OUD). 

Similarly, trellium-D is a deadly neurotoxin in Vulcans that gradually breaks down their neural pathways. An initial loss of emotional inhibitions eventually gives way to hallucinations, violent rages, and potentially irreversible neurological damage leading to death.

After being exposed to trellium-D when the Enterprise passed through an asteroid field, T'Pol began craving the release from emotional control caused by the mineral and started injecting small amounts directly into her bloodstream.

According to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, one symptom of OUD is the continued use of opioids despite risks to health, relationships, and safety. Likewise, when T'Pol is cut off from her supply of trellium-D during an emergency, she risks her life to retrieve some from a storage bay only accessible from the outside.

Although Dr. Phlox helps T'Pol overcome her addiction, her ability to fully control her emotions is permanently damaged in much the same way that recovering opioid addicts face both short and long-term health effects. These include GI problems, respiratory issues, and cardiovascular conditions, among other risks.