Sunday, November 05, 2006

Connecticut in many ways was not adequately prepared to deal with the domino
effects that problem and pathological gambling have on society. Not only
does this disorder adversely impact the individual gambler, but family
members, businesses and the entire community are impacted as well. It is a
unique disorder because it does not have the same noticeable characteristics
of taste and smell associated with alcohol and other abusive substances. The
financial costs to society are enormous in terms of mental health and
addiction treatment, physical stress disorders, welfare, homelessness and
involvement in the criminal justice system. Today's guest speakers provided
many new ideas and suggestions for Connecticut to consider as we attempt to
determine if pathological gambling belongs to the family of addictions,
impulse control disorders or compulsions. We also were provided with
information on Louisiana's successful diversionary gambling program designed
to provide assessment and treatment services for non-violent first- and
second-time offenders whose crimes are directly related to gambling
addiction. This program is somewhat similar to the diversionary programs we
have for alcohol and substance abuse and should be looked into by the
Connecticut Judicial Department because the rate of gambling related crimes
increases in our state. I constantly think about how problem gambling
continues to increase among our teens and college students. The most
poignant moment for me today was when The Rev. Greg Hogan of Barberton,
Ohio, shared with us his family's pain regarding the incarceration of his
college student son, convicted for robbing a bank in order to settle his
gambling debts. We need to realize gambling is not a risk-free form of
entertainment and if we gamble, we should gamble responsibly. We should also
be aware there is treatment available for problem gambling, not only for the
gambler, but for family members as well.