Are drug addicts criminals?

Bre (No)

Viewing drug addicts as criminals promotes a system that exploits the vulnerable for profit while offering little realistic means to them learning any alternative behavior. Illicit drugs and the behavior associated with them are technically criminal. Still, the origin of these patterns and the altered brain structure they create are deeper than an individual’s choice to engage in crime.

Addiction is a mental health condition, and the disorder requires treatment, not punishment. When addicts have access to effective therapies for recovery, prevention and treatment are shown to be more impactful and beneficial than criminalization and imprisonment. Drugs affect more than the user; the effects extend to families, communities, and public systems. Properly treating this disease is in everyone’s best interest.

Countless prominent figures suffer from addiction, and drug dependence does not discriminate. The war on drugs, however, very apparently does, and certain populations are shown to be at far greater risk of drug use, incarceration, and returning to “criminal” behavior. Arrest rates for drugs are extremely inequitable, revealing the results of the war on drugs to be deeply racist and counterproductive to its intention.

Imprisoning addicts is shown time and time again to worsen the condition. Prison is linked to increased criminality and overdose rates. Drug use in prison is four times the unincarcerated average. Harsh minimum sentences ignore circumstances, forcing addicts to enter an environment that amplifies unwanted behaviors.

A research-based approach is long overdue, as the growing population afflicted with addiction is transformed at an unmanageable rate into helpless victims trapped in a worsening cycle. The evidence shows criminalizing addicts creates more damaging outcomes for all. 

Elliot (Yes)

Drug addicts are criminals by definition because illegal drugs are just that—illegal. We can classify mental addiction as a disorder, but there’s no getting around the fact that drugs are illegal. When someone is using illegal drugs, they are committing crimes. While some people argue that these laws should be changed, the legislation, as it is currently written, clearly indicates that the possession and use of prohibited substances are illegal. Drug addicts also play a vital role in the drug trade, giving violent drug dealers and dangerous cross-border drug trafficking a reason to exist. Without a market of drug dealers to sell to, dealers would not roam the streets, committing acts of violence and competing with various gangs and criminal organizations. 

Drug addicts also commit criminal acts because they actively draw other innocent people into their downward spiral. Drug addicts hate being alone, so they encourage others to share in their misery. This might be a best friend or a romantic partner—someone who suddenly finds themselves addicted to drugs simply because they spent time with addicts. The existence of drug users, who are often open to exposure on the street where they are around others to share in their addiction, puts people at risk. 

Drug addicts often engage in other criminal acts to fuel their addictions. Some commit robbery or fraud to fund their drug purchases. Others neglect their own children, preferring to get high rather than act as responsible parents. Many pharmacies have been robbed at gunpoint by people addicted to opioids like Oxycontin. The existence of drug addicts fuels violent, desperate behaviors that sober people would never attempt.