Commenting on Classmate's Editorial

In one of my classmate's blog posts titled "Drug Offenders Need Rehabilitation, Not Punishment,"  Nicolette Loisel wrote about the treatments that drug addicts should get instead of punishments, like going to jail. Although I see very clearly her point that giving treatments is effective and also less costly, I will take a different stance on this topic and say that drug offenders should get punished.

Firstly, many drugs like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine are illegal in many states. However, they are commonly used by many people who do not have rights to possess them. The majority of those people are addicted to drugs, meaning that they violated the law and shouldn't even own them in the first place. Saying that the government should give treatment to drug offenders rather than punishment, I think, is not very effective, because then, the people who do illegal drugs would not get any punishment for breaking the law. Also, if the government provides treatment, people will not stop using drugs, because they know that they won't get in any kind of trouble even if they do drugs. Additionally, I personally believe that people who are addicted to drugs are at their own fault, and should have some consequences for doing something that they shouldn't have done in the first place. The majority of the people know that drugs are not good for one's health, and that you should not use it. If the people take that risk and still use them, I think that they deserve some kind of punishment.

If the government gives out treatments, it may save government funding and save the drug addicts' lives, but many people may think that they won't get any form of punishment even if they violate the law, and more people could use drugs. Although being addicted to drugs may not be what drug addicts want, but I still believe that they should get some kind of punishment for breaking the law. One solution to this issue could be getting treatment in jail, so that they receive proper treatment while still being punished. However, this may be challenging, since the government may not have that much money to spend.

I think that there are possible solutions out there on this issue, and despite the fact that Nicolette has some really good points and evidence, I still believe that drug offenders need to get some form of punishment.