When I came into recovery, I was given freedom of choice. When I was in active addiction, the choices were made for me by my disease.
The drugs, no matter what substance I used, was an inanimate object until such a time as I chose to pick them up and injest them. They couldn't hurt me, until I made the decision to use and follow that decision with action.
In recovery, I am asked to make a decision to choose a new way of living and follow that decision by working the following Steps.