When asking Americans if it would be okay to excuse criminals for their actions while they were intoxicated or under the influence, we can assume that many would say being under the influence of drugs or alcohol is not a legitimate excuse for criminal action. The scenario of criminals being under the influence has been argued in court cases for years. Defendants of addictions have pleaded that they were addicted to drugs or alcohol and that their chemical dependency for the substance is a disease. They try to say their actions were unstoppable and simply effects of their terrible disease. Most criminals really only have an addiction that they brought on themselves. It is awful to see that criminals are abusing the justice system by claiming they have a disease. Specifically, there is medical proof to support the claim that alcoholism is not a disease. If people would not consider alcoholism as a disease and understand that alcoholism is a behavioral disorder, it would help with treatment of their addiction. I strongly believe that alcoholism should not be considered a disease because of the research done to prove that it is a behavioral disorder. Various medical professionals have done research to prove that alcoholism is not a disease and not genetically inherited either. Research done on alcoholics and their children by University of Minnesota research psychologist, Matt McGue, found no evidence to support the claim that alcoholism can be genetically inherited. Other researchers claim to have found a gene that was linked to alcoholism, but unfortunately the results of finding this gene could not be reproduced by any other researchers (Kohn 46). Researchers have found a gene that could lead to a predisposition of alcoholism; however, even if a person has a predisposition to alcoholism they will not automatically become addicted to alcohol. A person must make the choice to drink heavily and consistently for him or her to become addicted to alcohol. Researchers have found that for the genetic factor to appear to be associated with the development of alcoholism, and to activate the onset of the disorder, there has to be multiple environmental factors that contribute to the addiction of alcohol (Schaler 41). An example of an environmental factor is that an alcoholic must choose to drink heavily, which could then create the onset of the behavioral disorder alcoholism. There are other issues and environmental f