One of the most serious aspects of addiction is the loss of self-control. Individuals who become addicted become less able to govern their choices and behaviors. In this condition they can no longer be relied upon to act in their own best interest, much less the interest of others.

     We hear of mothers who inject their own children with narcotics so they can get the children to beg or steal to get money to sustain their mother's habit. We hear of young men and women, in the bloom of their youth, stealing wiring from houses, robbing banks and other high risk activities to feed their drug habits.

     Embezzlement and child neglect are common behaviors associated with gambling addictions.

     I have a friend who, as a prosecuting attorney for the county in which he lives, estimated that above 90% of all criminal activity he delt with was associated with substance abuse.

    The question we must ask ourselves is, What is there about addictions that lead people to engage in criminal and other dysfunctional and self-defeating behaviors? The answer lies in the physical and mental dependences people form when they become addidted.

     Addiction robs them of the capacity to choose for themselves. Having  made the initial choice to engage in a potentially addictive behavior, they did become addicted and in the process lost perhaps the most important capacities humans possess; the ability to make other choices essential to their well-being.

     Having formed an physical and psychological dependence on an addictive substance or behavior, individuals in this condition feel literally compelled to do what ever they feel they must to feed the addiction. As a result, they may become irresponsible, unreliable, untrustworthy, even dangerous.

     Simply said, addictions can alter one's character so adversely as to  rob the individual of all capacity to live a productive, useful and happy life. The best antidote for this tragic situation is to provide our youth with the developmental tools; the understanding and inner reserves necessary to completely avoid becoming engaged in behaviors that are potentially addictive.

     So, helping young people develop their thinking skills and helping them understand the causes and consequences of addictive behaviors is a basic requirement of any truly helpful character education program.