Affirmative

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that treatment works If inmates serve their time and leave prison without being treated for that addiction, we have addressed the symptom, but completely ignored the problem. It is because I agree with ice !resident "oe #iden that I affirm the resolution resolved$ %he abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health& not criminal 'ustice. #y allowing these drug addicts to leave 'ail without treatment, they will continue to pose a threat to the societys welfare. (y value for todays debate will be societal welfare. )ocietal *elfare is the health, happiness, prosperity, and the well+being in general of a society. (y value criterion is increasing treatment of drug addicts. %o clarify any confusion regarding the resolution, I would like to define some key definitions for todays round. ,. -buse$ improper or e.cessive use or treatment /(erriam *ebster 0ictionary1 2. Illegal$ forbidden by law or statute /3andom 4ouse 0ictionary1 5. 6ught$ to indicate duty or obligation /*orld 7nglish 0ictionary1 8. !ublic 4ealth$ the science and practice of protecting and improving the health of a community, as by preventive medicine, health education, control of communicable diseases, application of sanitary measures, and monitoring of environmental hazards /-merican 4eritage 0ictionary1 9. :riminal "ustice$ the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment /3andom 4ouse 0ictionary1

Contention 1: 0rug addiction is a disease& therefore, drug addicts should receive treatment rather than punishment. !utting these people in prison would be like imprisoning the mentally ill. %hese drug addicts, like mentally disturbed people, did not choose to become addicted to drugs. -ccording to the ;ational Institute on 0rug -buse, -ddiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that affects the brain and causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful conse<uences... *hile the path to drug addiction begins with the voluntary act of taking drugs, over time a persons ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised. %his means that the drug addict has no control over their mind, and they cannot stop using drugs even if they wanted to. %he ;ational Institute on 0rug -buse also states that 6ver time, drug abuse can cause changes to the brain that erode a persons self control and ability to make sound decisions. %his fact proves that the crimes committed by a drug addict are not performed intentionally, but because they cannot rationalize between right and wrong. If drug addicts are given treatment instead of punishment, they can fight the addiction and become drug free. %reating this disease will benefit the health of the society, which will in turn benefit societys welfare.

Contention 2: Incarcerating drug abusers does not stop drug use& therefore they should receive treatment rather than punishment. -ccording to the ;ational Institute on 0rug -buse, only = to ,= percent of drug abusers receive treatment while in prison. %his means that most of the >9?,??? people released from 'ail will continue to use drugs. -ccording to the 6ffice of ;ational 0rug :ontrol !olicy, about 5>.= percent of the people who do not get treatment for drug abuse are likely to be rearrested in the first > months after their release. %heir addiction to drugs is so strong that within days or even hours after their release, they will begin using drugs again. Instead of arresting these drug addicts, they can be placed in treatment centers where they will learn to fight their addiction and reduce the likelihood of ending up in prison again. %he 6ffice of ;ational 0rug :ontrol !olicy also states that only 5.5 percent of the treated inmates are likely to be rearrested in the first > months after their release. %his is a significantly less amount of people compared to the 5>.= percent of drug addicts that were rearrested. #oth of these facts confirm that treating drug abusers will reduce the amount of crimes that are committed, therefore improving the welfare of society. Contention 3: 3ehabilitation of drug abusers will increase the number of productive individuals in society. 6nce they stop using drugs, they will be able to logically think about the decisions they make. %hese drug abusers will no longer commit crimes because they are not under the influence of drugs. %hey will become a positive influence on the people around them. 3obert 0owney "r., a famous actor, was arrested several times for abusing drugs. 4e was sent to rehabilitation centers, where he went through a difficult time fighting his addiction. 4e now represents the people that have fought against drug addiction through treatment, and have defeated it. #y receiving treatment, former drug addicts can teach society about the dangers of using drugs, which benefits societal welfare by preventing the amount of people that use drugs. Contention 4: %reating drug abusers will benefit the overall economy of the society& therefore promoting its welfare. -ccording to @) ;o 0rugs, the treatment of all drug addicts will save more than ,9? billion dollars over the ne.t ,9 years. %his is an enormous amount of money that could be spent on benefiting the society instead of incarcerating its drug abusers. @) ;o 0rugs also states that treatment is ,9+,= times more effective than prison, and that treatment would eliminate ,9 crimes for every crime incarceration eliminated. %his will create more space in the prisons for other crimes, and will also reduce the amount of money spent on incarceration. -ccording to the 6ffice of ;ational 0rug :ontrol !olicy, the average cost to incarcerate a drug addict is an estimated 25,??? dollars, while the price of rehabilitation is an appro.imately 2,??? dollars. %his saves about 2,,??? dollars per drug addict. %his money could then be spent on

improving rehabilitation centers, which will then increase the amount of successful treatment while reducing the amount of crimes committed. A vote for the affirmative will guarantee that societal welfare will prosper, and that the amount of drug-related crimes committed will reduce.