Current illegal drugs (besides marihuana) should not be legalized

I would like to address a few quick points before I dive in to the arguments made by pro and make some of my own. Firstly, GSP is not an economic measurement. I assume pro was referring to GDP. Secondly, I would like to address an interesting point: data collection. As illegal drugs are obviously illegal, it is impossible to take a representative sample of drug users. Because of this, drug data tends to be skewed towards those caught, who are often involved in some other crime. Thirdly, an association between two factors doesn't imply one caused the other. [1] Finally, pro's use of sources is extremely confusing. I would encourage him to always indicate where each source is used as I am doing by using numbers. Pro only cites home pages, not specific information. This can be verified by clicking on any of his links. Therefore, as he fails to actually cite relevant information, his entire argument must be considered baseless, with no factual backing whatsoever. With these issues in mind, let's take a critical look at pro's case. Pro claims that "an increased drug rate will lead to an unstable society". He provides no evidence for this. Increased drinking may lead to an unstable society, but I don't see anyone trying to reinstate prohibition. He plagiarizes the DEA without linking a source. In addition, he provides no evidence either that the DEA actually said that or that it is true. It is preposterous to think that banning drugs could stop terrorism. The hijackers seem to have gotten away from drug enforcement just fine. Also, banning the drugs because of terrorists is unfair to peaceful drug users, just as banning Islam because of terrorists is unfair to Muslims. Drugs are related to crime. Why? Because it is illegal to use them. The fact that so much violent crime is occurring despite criminal enforcement of drug laws is a testament to their failure, not success. Next, pro makes one of my own arguments for me. Because of drug laws, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world. [2] Legalizing drugs would allow thousands of peaceful, nonviolent drug users their freedom back and allow them to reintegrate into society as a productive member. If businesses want to test their employees for drugs, I am perfectly fine with that. This is not a legitimate argument against drug legalization because it involves private, voluntary action rather than the coercion of the state. Now, let's look at the ethics surrounding this issue. It is morally wrong to arrest a nonviolent person who wasn't hurting anyone else. Trying to protect people from themselves violates their personal liberties and gives the government complete power over someone's life. It is immoral to ruin someone's life because they did something that harmed absolutely nobody. If someone commits a crime whilst under the influence of drugs, we have laws for that. But ultimately, just like with prohibition, the way to take away the violence and gang wars that come with drugs is to legalize them. The legalization of alcohol stopped organized crime from taking control of the illegal alcohol business. [3] It's time to end our second unsuccessful episode with prohibition. Good luck to pro in future rounds. Sources 1- . http://www.princeton.edu... 2- . http://www.prb.org... 3- . http://www.albany.edu...