I Need a Vice!

Recently, I overheard a prisoner who was only two days from going home talking about how he can't wait to get out and smoke a cigarette. The way he was going on and on about how much he was looking forward to his girlfriend bringing cigarettes when she came to pick him up made me a little curious. So, I asked him, "Why would you want to go back to smoking cigarettes after being forced to quit when you came to prison? It's an expensive and unhealthy habit." His response surprised me even more than his obsession with smoking. He replied, "I NEED a vice! If I don't have a vice, I'm going to do something stupid, I just know it!" Another prisoner nearby nodded vigorously, mimicking the motions of dragging long and hard on a cigarette.

Certainly, smoking cigarettes is not one of the seven capital vices (or deadly sins if you prefer), but it is a vice. Health risks and wasting money aside, in was particularly intrigued with the attitude this prisoner had that he could divert his propensity for stupid behavior into a cigarette. Freud called this introjection, which means turning our aggressive behavior back onto ourselves in a self-destructive way. It is a hopeless mindset that since one is powerless to change his aggressive behavior, he must turn it on himself to avoid hurting others. 

This propensity towards introjection might explain why so many prisoners have (or have had) substance abuse problems. The rate of substance abuse history among prisoners is astonishingly high. The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) recognizes that this is a problem, so many prisoners are required to take a substance abuse class before paroling. The problem is that while many men come to prison with substance abuse problems, they do not get help for these problems until a few months before discharging. That means that in some cases these men remain in an addict's mindset for years before being forced to take a class where they might learn how to overcome their addiction. But of course, they must want to overcome their addiction first. 

Addictions of any sort are powerful, and while some people may think that giving in to addiction is a way to manage other problems (like aggressive tendencies or depression), addictions instead simply become another unmanageable problem in the person's life. For those prisoners who want something different from their lives, they must take the initiative to address their addictions on their own. They can sign up for Narcotics, Alcoholics, or Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings (which are voluntary, but not always offered). They can write the national organizations for NA, AA, or SAA and request a sponsor by mail. They can also self-study literature about addictions and begin to deal with the underlying problems that are feeding their addictive habits. Yes, the MDOC ought to address the addiction issues of prisoners much earlier in their prison terms, but ultimately it is the responsibility of each prisoner to seek help for their addictions on their own. If prisoners are to truly change their lives, they cannot keep their bad behavior at bay with a vice. It simply won't work.