I need one more contention. I have :
ROAD MAP: I'm going to begin today's debate by stating a quote, definitions, the value and criterion, and beginning with my contentions.
"More than 26,000 lives may be lost to the effects of drug abuse this year. This tragic impact is felt in communities across this great nation. Sadly many of these deaths occur among our young people." - Elijah Cummings.
Because I agree with this position stated by Elijah Cummings, fellow Congressmen, I uphold the resolution that the abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice.
Definitions:
Abuse - mistreat: treat badly. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Illegal- prohibited by law or by official. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Public Health- the health or physical well being of a whole community. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Criminal Justice- the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and immigrating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehab efforts. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
The affirmative will advocate the values of societal good - when you do a good dead that helps the community around you and yourself, as well as the value of security.
In order to support the values of safety and of societal good, I offer the criterion of Maslows hierarchy of needs.
Abraham Maslow was a professor of psychology at Brandeis University who founded human psychology. The feeling of safety is the fourth biggest need of an average human being.
Observation: (I still need one...)
Contention one - Drug addicts are spending too much money on drugs, and the money spent on drugs could be going towards taxes.
According to whitehousedrugpolicy.gov, from 1989-1998 drug abusers spent $39 billion to $77 billion yearly on cocaine and $10 billion to $22 billion on heroin. This money could be spent on taxes, increasing our economy. If, for example, we put drug addicts into a rehabilitation center they cannot get out of once put in, they will be cured of their addiction. Assuming they get a job that requires paying taxes to the government, and they fulfill the law that states you must pay taxes, our economy will boost. You may think that running a rehabilitation center costs too much money, you are somewhat right, a rehab center costs $75,000 a year to run, but it's for a better purpose and the money will be returned in the form of taxes. (Drug alcohol rehab.org, sacbee.org)
Contention 2: Safety is a big issue, illegal drug abuse is a big hazard.
With some drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, the addicts and users lose motor control, have defective mental ability, and disorted perception, keep in mind these are only some affects (americanheart.org, alcoholism.org.) Now, imagine if we have drug abusers, as we already do, running around in vehicles while under the influence, with distorted seeing, and they 'just so happen' to run off-road and hurt a civilian, that's endangering the civilians safety, going against Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As I stated in my earlier example, we put all the drug abusers into rehab centers, before they go overboard, this problem would not occur and we will fulfill the fourth need of the hierarchy.
Some people may say that putting a drug addict in jail, as you may think is constitutionally correct, is a better idea, but is it really? Go ahead and put a drug addict in jail, watch them rot. It currently costs around 45k a year to house just ONE inmate according to sacbee.com. An inmate isn't doing anything to better our economy or for themselves by sitting in a jail for months or even years. We are waisting our money by keeping inmates in jail for abusing drugs. These inmates could be bettering their lives and the U.S. economy, not sitting in a jail, rotting. If an inmate gets out of a jail early for good behavior we don't know if they have learned not to abuse drugs. An inmate could go lollygagging around and destruct possessions. Once the drug addicts are prepared to leave the rehab centers, however, I'm assuming their views on drugs and life will have changed, they will most likely have a better prespective of life and want to do something with their lives, get a job, boost our economy, and help the United States.
ROAD MAP: I'm going to begin today's debate by stating a quote, definitions, the value and criterion, and beginning with my contentions.
"More than 26,000 lives may be lost to the effects of drug abuse this year. This tragic impact is felt in communities across this great nation. Sadly many of these deaths occur among our young people." - Elijah Cummings.
Because I agree with this position stated by Elijah Cummings, fellow Congressmen, I uphold the resolution that the abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice.
Definitions:
Abuse - mistreat: treat badly. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Illegal- prohibited by law or by official. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Public Health- the health or physical well being of a whole community. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
Criminal Justice- the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and immigrating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehab efforts. (Wordnetweb.princeton.edu)
The affirmative will advocate the values of societal good - when you do a good dead that helps the community around you and yourself, as well as the value of security.
In order to support the values of safety and of societal good, I offer the criterion of Maslows hierarchy of needs.
Abraham Maslow was a professor of psychology at Brandeis University who founded human psychology. The feeling of safety is the fourth biggest need of an average human being.
Observation: (I still need one...)
Contention one - Drug addicts are spending too much money on drugs, and the money spent on drugs could be going towards taxes.
According to whitehousedrugpolicy.gov, from 1989-1998 drug abusers spent $39 billion to $77 billion yearly on cocaine and $10 billion to $22 billion on heroin. This money could be spent on taxes, increasing our economy. If, for example, we put drug addicts into a rehabilitation center they cannot get out of once put in, they will be cured of their addiction. Assuming they get a job that requires paying taxes to the government, and they fulfill the law that states you must pay taxes, our economy will boost. You may think that running a rehabilitation center costs too much money, you are somewhat right, a rehab center costs $75,000 a year to run, but it's for a better purpose and the money will be returned in the form of taxes. (Drug alcohol rehab.org, sacbee.org)
Contention 2: Safety is a big issue, illegal drug abuse is a big hazard.
With some drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, the addicts and users lose motor control, have defective mental ability, and disorted perception, keep in mind these are only some affects (americanheart.org, alcoholism.org.) Now, imagine if we have drug abusers, as we already do, running around in vehicles while under the influence, with distorted seeing, and they 'just so happen' to run off-road and hurt a civilian, that's endangering the civilians safety, going against Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As I stated in my earlier example, we put all the drug abusers into rehab centers, before they go overboard, this problem would not occur and we will fulfill the fourth need of the hierarchy.
Some people may say that putting a drug addict in jail, as you may think is constitutionally correct, is a better idea, but is it really? Go ahead and put a drug addict in jail, watch them rot. It currently costs around 45k a year to house just ONE inmate according to sacbee.com. An inmate isn't doing anything to better our economy or for themselves by sitting in a jail for months or even years. We are waisting our money by keeping inmates in jail for abusing drugs. These inmates could be bettering their lives and the U.S. economy, not sitting in a jail, rotting. If an inmate gets out of a jail early for good behavior we don't know if they have learned not to abuse drugs. An inmate could go lollygagging around and destruct possessions. Once the drug addicts are prepared to leave the rehab centers, however, I'm assuming their views on drugs and life will have changed, they will most likely have a better prespective of life and want to do something with their lives, get a job, boost our economy, and help the United States.