The relationship between drugs and crime has been the subject of psychological research for several decades. It is not a crime to have a drug addiction, however it is a crime to use, manufacture or distribute drugs. Drug addiction and crime are linked due to the effects they have on the user's behavior which pushes them to commit crimes and violent activities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Addiction is defined as a behavior over which an individual has impaired control with harmful consequences. The main types of addiction are associated with alcohol, drugs, gambling and nicotine. Someone who is addicted to drugs will focus intensely on the drug they use and let it take over their life. Someone who is addicted to drugs may have a substance use disorder that causes distorted thoughts, behaviors, and bodily functions. Drug cravings are caused by changes in someone's brain wiring that make it difficult to stop using. Drug use is higher than expected with approximately one third (34.2%) of adults aged sixteen to fifty-nine having taken drugs at some point in their lives. Impact Pathways (2020) shows that at least one in eight arrestees are estimated to be heroin or crack users. 81% of those arrested who used heroin or crack said they had committed a crime in the past 12 months. There are three groups that can explain the causes of drug addiction and crime. Direct causality explains that drug use causes crime either because of the need to finance drug use out of economic necessity or because of psychopharmacological changes precipitated by drug ingestion. Reverse causality explains that involvement in crime leads to drug use, if there is an opportunity for someone to use drugs, they are more likely to be involved in criminal behavior. The confounding explains that drug use and crime use share a set of causes and there is no direct relationship between the two, but they occur due to a common cause or set of causes. When an individual becomes addicted to drugs, they will neglect important things in their life like family and work responsibilities as they only think about drugs. Some individuals even engage in criminal activities to fuel their drug addiction, which proves that there is a link between drug addiction and crime. Drug addiction and crime are linked because drug users are willing to commit any type of crime to get money to buy drugs. Users can commit crimes such as shoplifting and fraud to obtain money to buy drugs. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (1994) conducted research in the United States and found that drug use and crime are related and that continued use of these drugs will lead to more violent crimes. However, drug addiction and crime can be considered to be exaggerated because many drug addicts who commit crimes were committing crimes before they started taking any drugs, suggesting that drug use may not be the cause of the crime. Drug addiction and crime are considered exaggerated because there are other factors that can lead someone to commit a crime such as social, cultural and psychological factors. Eliminating drugs from someone's daily life would not end the individual's commission of crimes. One of the factors that can lead to addiction are genetic factors, if parents have a drug addiction it is possible.