UnitedIssues U.S. Political Debates - Debate

"How do you justify drug possession arrests?"

Original Opinion by Gaelin (136)

I know that many of you are very anti drug. But how can you justify the fact that every year thousands of Americans are locked up in prison for the crime of marijuana possession. how is it justified to lock up thousands of people who are only potentially hurting themselves by exercising their personal choice to smoke pot? Crimes should be based on harm done to others, and ours are except for drug crimes, where the only one who is Hirt by drug use are the users themselves. this is tantamount to a person being arrested for assault for hitting their own head against a wall.

Responses

"." by Stogie (7)

In most scenarios, imprisoning someone for drugs is based on "intent to sell" which is based on the amount of possession by the defendant. Aka, harming others.

"I can't" by FreeRoamer (42)

Actually in response to Stogie, a large majority of marijuana arrests are for simple possession, not selling.

Let me be clear, I have never and will never even think of using hard drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine, crystalmeth, you name it - but I think it is unjust to lock someone in jail for participating in an action that only harms themselves. As tragic as I think drug use is and as much as I think it is a bad decision, I do not see how throwing someone in jail for being addicted to drugs helps someone. I think the Drug War is often masked as a ways of protecting citizens from themselves when in reality, it is just a sadistic means of morally condemning those who do something that others see in a vice.

If you look at drug addiction from a medical standpoint, prevention would be educating our youth (with the truth, not DARE and Above the Influence bogus, etc) and stopping drug addiction before it happens, and cure would be to send users to rehab. Imprisonment neither prevents drug addiction nor cures it.

"flawed" by DashingAmerican (7)

"Crimes should be based on harm done to others, and ours are except for drug crimes"

That's actually a flawed statement. Considering that suicide is still technically against the law. Of course, the law doesn't effect the dead but it does their families.

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_legislation

"One exception does not negate a rule." by Gaelin (136)

Legislating based on morality, on trying to get others to do what you think you know is best for them, is wrong. And in suicide cases those attempting suicide are rarely jailed; they are given treatment and counciling. because they need help, not to be locked up.