Drugs should be allowed in the United States

Yoshi! Since my lovely opponent has not specified any rules, I am free to post this for this round. First, let's start off with the rebuttals. My opponent generally values the right of autonomy. She believes that if someone wants to do something wrong, they should be allowed to since in the long run, it affects them and only them. Now, I will explain how that is not the case; and even if it was, how it would be illogical for using illegal drugs to go unpunished. If drugs were allowed, people would be able to access said drugs more easily since obtaining drugs would no longer be illegal. So, this means that the amount of drugs bought and sold couldn't really be regulated. This would lead to massive over doses which would harm the person doing said drugs. Humanity has a history of punishing behaviors that are thought of as wrong such as rape. Drugs can not only cause death for the individuals doing it; it harms people near the person taking said drugs. Taking drugs can affect the people around you in many ways. One way would be driving while under the influence. You could injure or kill a sober person who didn't even take a snort of the cocaine offered to them at the party last night. You could rape a man/woman while on drugs since a lot of drugs impair your judgement. You could accidentally escalate a fight that led to a murder. Not to mention, the emotional toll it will ensue for people close to said druggie having to watch their loved one go down the drain and eventually die. While on drugs, one can't perform cognitive tasks as well as a sober person. Imagine trying to type a thesis on the downsides of human cloning while high on meth. Let's look at some statistics. "Those with a drug use dependency are more likely to be arrested for acquisitive crimes such as burglary or shop theft, or for robbery and handling stolen goods -- crimes often related to "feeding the habit." For example, in 2004, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. There are also close links between drug use and women, men and children who are involved in, or exploited by, the sex trade, many of whom are caught up in the criminal justice system. However, there is evidence that drug use is both a pre-determining factor in such sexual exploitation and a means of coping with it." Doing drugs can lead to an individual performing crimes to get money for the habit. This is a good reason why drugs shouldn't be allowed. If drugs were allowed, crimes like these would sky rocket! (1) "In 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately one in eight weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs. Moreover, approximately one in eight high school seniors responding to a 2010 study reported driving after smoking marijuana within two weeks prior to the survey interview." " Drug-related homicides YearNumber of homicidesPercent drug related 198717,9634.9% 198817,9715.6 198918,9547.4 199020,2736.7 199121,6766.2 199222,7165.7 199323,1805.5 199422,0845.6 199520,2325.1 199616,9675.0 199715,8375.1 199814,2764.8 199913,0114.5 200013,2304.5 200114,0614.1 200214,2634.7 200314,4654.7 200414,2103.9 200514,9654.0 200615.0875.3 200714,8313.9" "In 2004, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. These percentages represent a slight increase for federal prisoners (16% in 1997) and a slight decrease for state prisoners (19% in 1997)." "In 2002 about a quarter of convicted property and drug offenders in local jails had committed their crimes to get money for drugs, compared to 5% of violent and public order offenders. Among state prisoners in 2004 the pattern was similar, with property (30%) and drug offenders (26%) more likely to commit their crimes for drug money than violent (10%) and public-order offenders (7%). In federal prisons property offenders (11%) were less than half as likely as drug offenders (25%) to report drug money as a motive in their offenses." (2) " " It is estimated that globally there were 183,000 (range: 95,000-226,000) drug-related deaths (mostly overdoses) in 2012, with opioid overdose the largest category. Source: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2014 World Drug Report. " Drug overdose was responsible for 41,340 deaths in the US in 2011. US overdose deaths have increased for 12 successive years. In 2011, and for the fourth year in a row, the number of US citizens whose deaths were drug-related exceeded the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents (33,561). Almost five people per hour died of overdose in the US in 2011. More information here." (3) As you can see, the issue of illegal substance abuse clearly affects more than just the person smoking that crack cocaine. It affects the people around them as well. In conclusion: Humanity punishes bad behaviors in order to correct said actions; make the act less accessible, and deter more people from doing it. Drugs not only cause harm and death for the user, but also the people around him/her. Drugs cause people to do many criminal acts. Arigatou! I look forward to your reply! Oyasuminasai! 1. https://ncadd.org... 2. http://www.bjs.gov... 3. http://www.overdoseday.com...