The following data table was taken from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The National Institute for Drug Abuse seeks to advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual and public health. The data shows the number of overdose deaths in the United States among all ages from 1999-2018. We can see through the data that as time passes, the overdose deaths keep rising. This data supports my argument because it shows that despite the vast amounts of resources that the United States spends trying to eliminate the supply of drugs, it has not been successful at bringing down the deaths caused by overdoses. If the United States was to decriminalize drug consumption and provide rehabilitation help to those who are at risk of overdosing, that number could be decreasing instead of increasing.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Overdose Death Rates.” NIDA, March 10, 2020. https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates.