Addiction is a disease and should only be a health issue and not a criminal issue.

(First off, please allow me to fix a mistake in the rules. BOTH Pro and Con will give chief arguments this round. Then BOTH Pro and Con will give rebuttals next round. Sorry for the confusion!)The line we draw between what's disease and what's criminal behavior has shifted throughout history. What moves that line? The two key factors are fear and ignorance.When we fear the ravages of a disease, and we're ignorant of its causes and qualities, we are likely to condemn the sufferers of that disease. "In the England of the Middle Ages, Christianity, with its roots in the biblical Old Testament, saw disease as the worldly manifestation of sin. Ill-health represented "badness" and at least part of the explanation for the bubonic plague that visited England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was provided by a belief that God was punishing sin [...] If illness and disease were sin, then "health" was good and consequently an essential moral value." [1] I argue we punish addicts because we're afraid and we're ignorant of addiction.So what changed about the bubonic plague and other contagious diseases? Why did people stop blaming the sick, and start caring for the sick? What happened is we discovered in the 19th century that plagues and contagious disease weren't caused by bad behavior. Robert Koch is the first person to discover the link between bacteria and disease. [2] "The bacteriological revolution had the effect of "depersonalizing" disease. Under the microscope, disease could no longer possess the same "moral valence" that they had maintained in the past. This offered the possibility of disconnecting disease from its historical associations with sin, moral turpitude, and idleness." [3] I argue that it's time we disconnect addiction from its historical association with criminality because we now understand addiction.What about the choice to use drugs and alcohol? Aren't addicts deserving of criminal punishment simply because they make bad choices? I offer evidence from a recent BBC documentary called Russell Brand - Addiction to Recovery and its study that found that 10% of people are addicts and are more vulnerable to drugs and alcohol than other people. [4] This is our new understanding. It should change our attitude.Also, addiction is a disease because it has risk factors and is diagnosed with these risk factors. The #1 factor from Mayo Clinic reads: "Drug addiction is more common in some families and likely involves genetic predisposition. If you have a blood relative, such as a parent or sibling, with alcohol or drug problems, you're at greater risk of developing a drug addiction." [5] See also: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. [6]Of course, all people can become addicted. But there are people that are especially suseptable to addiction. And that's their unfortunate disease. Just because you aren't vulnerable, please don't assume everyone is like you.Addiction has effects that are best managed with health care. "While the specific physical and psychological effects of drug abuse and addiction tend to vary based on the particular substance involved, the general effects of abuse or addiction to any drug can be devastating." [7] Criminal punishment is not medicine.SOURCES:[1] Duncan, Peter. "Values and Ethics in Health Care: Historical Perspectives." Values, Ethics and Health Care. 1st ed. Vol. 1. London: SAGE Publications, 2010. 34-36. Print.[2] http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk...[3] Brandt, Allan M., and Paul Rozin. "Behavior, Disease, and Health in the Twentieth-Century United States." Morality and Health. New York, NY: Routledge, 1997. 56. Print.[4] http://youtu.be... (watch for 3.5 min.)[5] http://www.mayoclinic.org...[6] http://www.drugabuse.gov...[7] http://www.medicinenet.com....