The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice

"…the solution lies in prevention, which in turn is largely a matter of education and enforcement, which aims at keeping drug pushers away from children and teenagers." It's because I agree with the DEA that I affirm the resolution, "RESOLVED: The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice." Definitions: Public Health: The Southcentral foundation (http://www.scf.cc...) an Alaskan native owned healthcare organization) defines public health as, "Discusses and acts on issues that affect the general health of a community. Often involves issues such as water safety, sanitation, immunizations, housing, infectious diseases and illness prevention." Value: Societal Welfare The resolution frames the area of concern in the round, which is societal welfare. This is because society suffers when its members have poor health outcomes, such as the negative consequences associated with drug use. Criterion: Consequentialism Consequentialism is defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy as "whether an act is morally right depends only on consequences." This means the only way we can determine the morality or justification of any act is through a Consequentialist framework. The resolution frames the area of concern for the round, being that of looking at the consequences, positive or negative, of both the criminal justice system and the public health approach when deciding how to treat the matter of abuse of illegal drugs. Thus, we default to the Criterion of consequentialism, because we must look at the harms and benefits associated with these two systems. Observation: The resolution does not imply any specific actor because the resolution is used in a passive voice. In any statement using a passive voice, the subject receives the action. This means the Affirmative is not shackled by the massive burden of defending a specific actor. Contention 1: The public health approach prevents harmful consequences by preventing drug abuse. •Subpoint A: The public health approach uses preventative measures to control and mitigate drug use. NIDA '09 ... prevention research has led to improved understanding of addiction and has to build upon solid epidemiological findings and new insights from genetics and neuroscience. Findings have revealed the myriad contributors to addiction… research strives to identify the factors that put people at risk of drug abuse or protect them from it. Results lead to more effective strategies to prevent people from ever using drugs in the first place. •Subpoint B: The public health approach minimizes the spread of HIV/AIDS through drug use. NIDA '09 Drug abuse continues to be a major vector for the spread of HIV/AIDS through its connection with other risky behaviors… research advances the less acknowledged link between drug abuse… and HIV transmission. This highlights the… plan to continue to support… the most effective HIV risk-reduction interventions for different populations… This includes seeking out the best ways to incorporate HIV education, testing, counseling, and referral and supporting research to identify and overcome stigma and HIV and drug abuse. NIDA also sponsors research to learn more about the multiple interactions that occur with neurological complications of HIV, substance abuse, other comorbid disorders. This knowledge can inform the development of more responsive interventions. •Subpoint C: The public health approach targets the underlying causes of drug use with preventative measures. NIDA '09 Given the complex interactions of biological, social, environmental, and developmental factors… NIDA acknowledges the need to take a "whole systems" approach... well positioned to capitalize on recent discoveries that have uncovered an expanded range of… key contributors to addiction and relapse… comprehensive research will push effective… approaches that consider genetic variation, comorbid and the addicted person's changing needs over time… to counteract drug-induced changes in the brain… Contention 2: The criminal justice system just covers up the problem of criminal behavior, without actually fixing it. •Subpoint A: Increased rates of incarceration only leads to a vicious, vacuous circle of committing crimes. The criminal justice system ignores the factors that account for recidivism. van Dam 2005 after their release from their juvenile detention center, a sample of adolescent male offenders… was interviewed on their living circumstances. Occurrence and severity of recidivism were measured by self-report and official criminal records. Cluster analyses revealed that highest recidivism rates were found in a type with a high amount of risk factors, a low amount of protective factors… The least severe recidivists were characterized by low amounts of risk, high amounts of protective factors… Regression analysis reveals that occurrence of self-report recidivism is strongly predicted by… the amount of risk factors. It is concluded that… environmental factors are important in explaining recidivism… •Subpoint B: Increased rates of incarceration leads to overcrowding in prisons. Haney 2008 ... there is little reason to doubt the empirical consensus that crowding significantly worsens the quality of institutional life and increases the destructive potential of imprisonment… we know prison overcrowding increases negative affect among prisoners, elevates their blood pressure, and leads to greater numbers of prisoner illness complaints… exposure to "long-term, intense, inescapable crowding" of the sort that… characterizes many prison environments results in high levels of stress that "can lead to physical and psychological impairment."… overcrowding has been associated with higher rates of disciplinary infractions… one study concluded that in prisons "where crowded conditions are chronic rather than temporary… there is a clear association between restrictions on personal space and the occurrence of disciplinary violations."