Complexities of Driving Under the Influence: Drug Abuse and Public Safety

The Devastating Impact of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

After reading Coffman’s argument on stopping drug abuse and gun violence, I can agree to a great extent. I personally would like to bring an end to drug abuse and gun violence because of what horrific damage these items can do. Coffman’s argument is also trying to make the companies that support drugs and guns make up for what they’ve caused others, in a range from putting them into the hospital to diseases and even death. These medical problems with drugs and gun violence have been going on for a while.

Addressing Alcohol-Related Deaths and Drunk Driving Incidents

Throughout the generations, there have been many deaths caused by the consumption of alcohol. The percentage of deaths caused by alcohol is 88,0008, which is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Many deaths are caused by drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and becoming addicted to alcohol (becoming an alcoholic). Drunk driving can cause death to the driver or even the one who the driver crashes into.

Driving while under the influence of alcohol is, of course, illegal, but there are massive amounts of people who still drive drunk. Many have lost their families to drunk drivers, which is quite disrespectful and shameful. Driving drunk can also cause serious injuries; a family friend was driving drunk one time, and he had gotten into a really bad car accident. He then was walking around and was said to have a broken neck and a concussion. Luckily for him, he was so drunk he didn’t even feel what happened to him. However, he did hurt himself, and that comes to show how dangerous alcohol can be to the body.

While lots of people do drink and cause damage to others, they also damage themselves by smoking cigarettes, or any other type of smoking for that matter. Most commonly, cigarettes can lead to very tragic illness and even death. Smoking has been known to cause several different types of medical problems in the past and still causes medical and personal problems to this day. The damage smoking can cause could be lung cancer, heart disease, and strokes. There are many other damaging causes smoking can do to the human body, but those are just the most common diseases or problems in general caused by smoking.

The Escalating Problem of Gun Violence

Personal Loss and Tragic Consequences of Gun Violence

Although consuming alcohol and drug usage is a major problem in our society today, so are shootings and gun violence in general. I have personally lost a loved one to a gun. His name was Christian Rosales; it was New Year’s Day when he was shot and killed trying to save his friends from a man who was trying to steal from them. Christian’s death was very tragic, but many people considered his actions ‘heroic’ in a way because he had saved his friends. I would love to have guns band for good.

I mean, sure, yeah, many people have them to protect themselves from harm, but others take them and use them to their advantage. Moving on from Christian’s death, there have been several other deaths caused by guns, including self-harm, school shootings, and shootings in the streets (such as drive-bys or theft). The percentage of school shootings has gone up since 2002, with a total of 10 school shootings per year until about 2014-2018, with a rate of 15 shootings. Approximately 60% of most adults with firearms die by suicide; 61% percent more die by homicide.

To sum up, what Coffman’s argument was about was to hopefully slowly put an end to consuming alcohol, usage of drugs, and, of course, to put an end to gun violence. Personally, I can agree with Coffman’s argument because I have had personal experiences. Hopefully, the reader can agree and maybe even spread awareness of the dangers drugs, alcohol, and guns can bring.

References:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI). URL: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/spanish/ARDI/index.html
2. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose. URL: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-dangers-alcohol-overdose
3. American Cancer Society. Health Risks of Smoking Tobacco. URL: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer/prevention-and-early-detection/what-is-cervical-cancer.html
4. Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. School Shootings: By the Numbers. URL: https://www.bradyunited.org/key-gun-violence-statistics
5. Everytown for Gun Safety. Gun Violence Statistics. URL: https://everytownresearch.org/school-shootings/