Resolved: The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of crimin

Value: Efficiency. Doing what is the most effective and considering the greator good for todays society. Value criterion: Preserving justice, doing what is efficient and saving lives is the best thing to do, ergo we need to send drug abusers to rehabilitation centers. Observations: Drugs are medicines, which fall under the medical field. The use or abuse of drugs, either legal or illegal, is clearly a medical matter that should be handled by medical professionals, not the justice department. Our Federal Government contains 3 branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Within the executive branch are 15 cabinets, 2 of which are the Department of Justice and the Department of Health & Human Services. Each serves a distinct purpose, independent of the other. When you have a toothache, do you call the dentist or the police department? Definitions: Illegal- Forbidden by law or official rule. Drug- A narcotic, one that is addictive. Public Health- health services to improve and protect an individuals health, esp. sanitation, immunization, and preventive medicine. Ought- Duty or obligation. Abuse- to use improperly; to misuse.ï¿½ Criminal Justice- the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment. Before we begin today's debate I would like to clear some things up. First of all, I am not agreeing that illegal drugs are good, I do agree that the world would be a better place without them, however we are not debating whether or not we should legalize illegal drugs. Were debating whether or not the consequences of illegal drug abuse should be treated as a matter of public health vs. criminal justice. I affirm todays resolution which states "The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice. My first contention is that Rehab would be the the best possible choice not to mention it would be cheaper than sending someone to jail or prison. The average cost to house a healthy prisoner is $32,000 per year. Inmates that require services can be much more expensive. According to NPR, many states are running into the problem of overcrowded prisons and the rising cost of housing prisoners. They are struggling to pay for this. Further, drug abusers and other non-violent criminals are taking up space that is needed for the more hardened criminals. They are between a rock and a hard place because of victim's rights. A more fiscally responsible action would be to go the medical route of rehab. Granted it costs approximately $35,000 for a 6 month stay, however compare that cost with the average prison sentence of 80 months, and we can clearly see that rehab is the way to go.ï¿½ When a prisoner goes to jail for 80 months he comes out the same he started, addicted to the illegal drug he/she uses. The reason for this is because they still have the ability to get these drugs in jail. While, the average person who goes to rehab gets out of rehab almost 99% of the time un-addicted to the illegal or legal drug they were addicted to. Now, wouldn't you think the person would want to be drug free if it were to cause him to live longer and live a better life. Which links back to my value criterion. Everyone has there choice as an individual. My second contention is that because everyone has to choose whether or not they want to do illegal drugs and put whatever they want into there body they need to have a second chance. That is where public health comes in. My value is autonomy, this shows how important and how constitutional it is to allow each individual to have there freedom, and there right to do whatever they want. Whether or not a person wants to put illegal substances inside of there body, that is there choice. If someone were to want to stop doing illegal drugs they would not want to have the option of criminal justice. Addiction is a disease and going to prison is not what they need because the fact is that you can get the drugs he/she is addicted to. My 3rd and final contention is when an addicted person goes to prison he is prone to more violence than ever. If a man who is what you call "high" because of the illegal drug that he so easily got in prison were to be play fighting with another inmate that could easily turn into a massive brawl. As you know, when you are under the influence of illegal drugs you are prone to do something that you would not if you were above the influence, ergo justifying public health for the abuse of illegal drugs is simply the best thing to do.