...that, “Drugs are bad for you,” time and time again. When you are a kid you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your elders regardless. I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day. But when I got older I realized that people would still use drugs even though it’s illegal. I could never understand why someone would go against the law and risk there future just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking about is marijuana, and surprisingly it is all around us. Marijuana is even referred to in today’s media Mainstream media sources that people enjoy, like music, movies, and TV shows, do not even bother to leave the drug out of their system. Now being a young adult and having my own personal experience with the drug and knowing its effects on others, I wonder why it’s not legal. Why is it that this drug has become illegal all over the world? The debate to legalize marijuana in the United States of America has been fought over nonstop since the existence of the drug and its effects. Marijuana has been tested and proven to provide a very positive impact on the American society for many reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy, health and even crime. These reasons could very well help America thrive in the future and that is why Marijuana should be legalized in the United States of America. This naturally found plant known as marijuana is recognized all around the world. This plant is known to be a drug that...
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...DRUG ABUSE IN AMERICA Drug Abuse in America Everett Burton Central Carolina Technical College Abstract Since the 19th century when Americans first discovered new wonder drugs like morphine, heroin, and cocaine, our society has confronted the problem of drug abuse and addiction. The United States--grappling with its first drug epidemic in the early 20th century--gradually instituted effective restrictions: at home through domestic law enforcement and overseas by spearheading a world movement to limit opium and coca crops. By World War II, American drug use had become so rare, it was seen as a marginal social problem. The first epidemic was forgotten. During the 1960s, drugs like marijuana, amphetamines, and psychedelics came on the scene, and a new generation embraced drugs. Today with the drug culture exploding, our government has developed new laws and agencies to address the problem. Drug Abuse in America` A major problem that exists within American society is the abuse of mind-altering substances. Such narcotics cause not only health problems, but also violent and potentially criminal acts. A mind-altering narcotic can be defined as both the legal and illegal type. The four main categories of drugs are: narcotics, CNS depressants, CNS stimulants, and hallucinogens. Most of these drugs are highly addictive and are usually obtained by prescription or are considered a banned substance and must be purchased illegally. ...
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...Anthony Peebles HIST 1302 Jared Ingram Never Ending War The United States has been involved in several wars and have declared itself the winner in most. There has been civil wars and world wars that have taken troops around the globe to defend democracy and freedom. America has stood up for those whose human and civil rights were threatened, we have supplied small armies with the funds, equipment, and intelligence needed to defeat the enemy. America has a great track record at defeating its enemy and making sure they don’t show their heads anymore, but since being declared an enemy publicly in 1971 this enemy continues to deliver major blows to America and its citizens. This enemy is not a nation of communist, an insane dictator, or a group of extremist, this enemy is drugs. The war on drugs has been the biggest and longest war in my lifetime. Although Richard Nixon is known for launching what we consider the modern day war on drugs, this war was started several years prior to Nixon becoming President of the United States. Some local laws against drugs where established as early as 1860. The first national law was the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914. This act was to provide registration to all that dealt in the services of opium and coca leaves. Coca leaves once extracted provides the bases for cocaine. In this time cocaine was not illegal and was often prescribed by doctors to patients for ailments such as common headaches or colds. Unknowingly those patients became addicted...
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...original use for medicine which were use to heal the body. Not all people know the full background of narcotics. Narcotics have a huge impact in America society such as, addictions, crime, and death. Narcotics are a billion dollar underground industry of drug trafficking. Drugs journeyed from being a medical cure for many ailments to a highly dangerous and often abused substance today. Narcotics play a major role in many aspects of this country. The word "narcotic," arrives from the Greek word for stupor, which means to dull the senses and relieve pain (Hanson, 252). There is a long line in history where narcotics were developed (History of Opiates). The first document written of Opiates came from third-century B.C. Greek culture (History of Opiates). Now, people learned to dry Papaver somniferum plants to create stronger forms of Narcotics, which is strongly abused in America (America’s Drug Abuse Profile). Most narcotics, such as heroin, are developed from a beautiful, one to two feet, five to six leaf plant called the Papaver somniferum, known as the “Poppy plant” (poppies.org). The Poppy plant’s main purpose was medicine; use to help humans relieve their pain and suffering (Plants cultures- western medicine). In the United States, "narcotics" is a word often used incorrectly to describe any illegal drug, such as, heroin, morphine, Codeine, Oxycodone, Vicodin, cocaine, and marijuana (treatment4addiction, Overview: type of narcotics). These different types of drugs all dominated...
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...In order to understand this complicated web of drug policy in America, there must be quite a bit of backstory provided. This can be traced as far back as 3,400 BC with the usage of opiates in China. Fast forward a couple thousand years to the 1820s in America, thus we can see that opiates came along with the migration of Chinese men. These men were coming for better opportunities, work, and freedom. By 1898, opium usage had become an integral part of society wherein people smoked opium in opium dens. White men were not allowed to the Chinese opium dens and vice versa. Then came along the development of heroin, to help curb morphine addiction, synthesized from the opium poppy, by Bayer. This plan backfired and had extensive unfavorable consequences....
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...Should Marijuana really be illegal in America? Marijuana, also known as cannabis, has been around for ages. The earliest known use of cannabis dates back to the Stone Age in Asia. During the Neolithic Era, when the development of agriculture came about, the ancient Asian nomads discovered how to grow the plant and began to harvest it. It became much more common to people once they started farming because it grew wildly. “…some 10,000 years ago, nomadic groups scavenged, hunted, fished, and gathered plants in an unending search for food. The search ended when they learned to plant the native grains (grasses) and developed agriculture. Agriculture requires a commitment to the land and grants a steady food supply which enables people to form permanent settlements. Cannabis and Neolithic bands probably came in contact often as plants invaded the fertile clearings — the campsites, roadsides, fields and garbage heaps — that occur wherever people live.”(Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal) It was primarily used for the production of hemp. Hemp is a fabric made of the fibers that separate from the stem of the cannabis plant when it decays. Hemp fabric is extremely strong and durable, especially when compared to cotton fabric. The ancient Asians used hemp to make their clothes, fish nets and ropes. Hemp eventually became so popular that it clothed the majority of the people during the time period. “As their culture advanced, these prehistoric people replaced their animal skins with...
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...and Current Drug Trends in America Sarah Pierce PSY425 October 25, 2010 Scharlene De Horney Past and Current Drug Trends in America Drugs come in many forms and from many places. Drugs have been around since the beginning of time and people have been using them since they discovered them. Drug use began thousands if not a hundred thousand years ago as humans started exploring their environment. People would see a new plant or observe an animal’s behavior after consuming the plant, and out of curiosity, they would experiment with it or taste it. This is how some of the drugs we know today came about. Cocaine, opium, LSD, peyote, and marijuana all come from plants that primitive people discovered while tasting the environment around them. This paper will identify the past and current trends in the use and abuse of substances (drugs) in the United States. It will also discuss when it is viewed appropriate to use illicit drugs. Moreover, this paper will analyze the health and social problems in the United States that occur due to drug abuse and addiction. Trends American views on drugs have gone from one extreme to the opposite over a period of about 200 years. In the late 1700s through the 1800s, everyday Americans legally used substances like opium, cocaine, and marijuana for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational uses. At the beginning of the 1900s, the American view on drugs began its dramatic change. As of 1971, America is in an outright “war on drugs”. Past The...
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...The Drug War: Will It Ever Stop? INTRODUCTION The United States and Mexico share a border that stretches 2,000 miles. The border is a product of the clash of the British and Spanish Empires. It is a place of lawlessness and violence. Drug cartels have used the border to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States for years. The United States market for drugs is a multibillion dollar a year industry. 90% of the illegal drugs that are smuggled into America come through our southern borders. As a nation we consume over 50% of the worlds illegal drugs, which exemplify the problem that America has with drug consumption. The demand for illegal drugs in the US allows drug cartels in Mexico to make billions of dollars by smuggling Marijuana, and Methamphetamines through the US/Mexican Border. Efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US have been unsuccessful. Drug Cartels use various methods in the transportation of their merchandise. Such methods include using underground tunnels, semi trucks, automobiles, and humans to transport these illegal drugs. Only 3 to 8 percent of the drugs that are smuggled from Latin America into the United States is confiscated, which is a very discouraging number. Our border patrol and DEA need to do a better job securing our borders and preventing the flow of such harmful drugs into America. There are a reported 7 cartels that operate in Mexico; the biggest players in the drug trade between Mexico and the US are the Tijuana, Juarez, Sinaloa...
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...There is a drug crisis in America, but it is not the only crisis America is facing. I would say that there is a health crisis in America more so than a drug crisis. Even though the number of drug related deaths is quite high, there are still more health related deaths. In 2013, Heart Disease caused more than 600,000 deaths alone (Center for Disease Control, 2013) That being said, I do not think that drugs alone are killing America and that is the most serious issue we face. I still agree that drug use and abuse is a problem in America, and that this issue does need to be dealt with, but it is not our only problem. If America is going to focus on this drug issue, then it must recognize all drugs. Society is constantly placing the blame solely...
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...Substance Abuse Prevention Programs: Operation, Funding, and Effectiveness. Candace Taylor Grand Canyon University Author Note All correspondence to this research should be forwarded to Candace Taylor. Substance abuse has become a serious issue in America. More and more of America’s youth are starting to use drugs than usual. To prevent this, there are many substance abuse prevention programs that are in place to try and prevent this before it even begins. Three programs were examined for this research paper. Those programs are DARE, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and SADD. In this paper, the mission, funding and effectiveness of each program will be discussed. DARE DARE, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is a program created to bring awareness of drug abuse with youth in communities. The mission of this program is to teach kids how to make the right decisions and live a drug free, healthy life. “D.A.R.E. is the national symbol for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program which, in partnership with police officers, parents and schools is in use throughout the United States.”(DARE.org). The DARE program is funded by federal government resources and private contributors. A few studies were conducted on the effectiveness of this program. Dr. Ismail Sahin conducted an effective DARE program. “This study has showed that while some research studies found a positive effect of the DARE program, some studies found no significant impact at all” (Sahin 2014). There were several...
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...Danil Arefiev ENG-152-003 When kids are growing up they are always told that “drugs are bad for you,” time and time again. Now as a kid, you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your elders regardless. When I was little, I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day I am still being told that “drugs are bad for you.” But growing up, I realized that people would still use these drugs even though it’s illegal. Though its not something anyone could ever understand, why do these people go against the law and jeopardize their life just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking in this essay about is marijuana, and it may be surprising to some but it is all around us. Marijuana is even being referred to in today’s media. The way that they are doing this is through the mainstream media sources that people prefer; like music, movies, and TV shows. Now being a 20 year old adult and having my own personal experience with Marijuana and knowing its effects on others, and myself. I always ask why it’s not legal. Why is it that this drug has become illegal all over the world, but they allow cigarettes, alcohol, and prescription medication. The war to legalize marijuana in the United States of America has been and is now being fought nonstop since the existence of the drug itself. Marijuana has been tested and proven to have a very positive impact on the American society for multiple reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy...
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...America makes up five percent of the world’s population but 25% percent of the prison’s population. This is cause mandatory minimum sentencings, which means a person convicted of a crime must be imprisoned for a least amount of time, as opposed to leaving the length of punishment up to judges. This sentencing is mostly used for drug offense but if the offense is non violent the time in prison is usually a decade. Mandatory minimum contributes to the fact that America has a systematic problem of increase of mass incarceration, and that men of color are being deprived of things because of criminal records . Even though some believe that it prevents drug use. Overall nonviolent drug offense should be prosecuted but mandatory minimum sentencing should be eradicated. Mass incarceration refers to the unique way the United States had locked up a tremendous population in federal, state prisons, and local jails. In the text “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness” by Dr. J. Carl Gregg , it states “ In 1972, fewer than 350,000 people were being held in jails and prisons nationwide, compared with more than 2 million...
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...over chapters 9, 10 and 11. Password is “fireengine”. 3. Study guides for Chapters 9, 10 and 11 as well as 12 and 13 must be completed. They will both be collected on Friday May 2nd. 4. If study guides are completed, students should read and answer the Review Questions for Chapter 12 on page 203 and Chapter 13 on page 218 of their textbook. These assignments will be collected. 5. If time allows, students may begin to review all study guides in preparation for upcoming final exam. In order to grasp the ramifications of illegal drug use by public service employees and the necessity of screening for the abuse of such substances by these individuals, it is necessary to have an understanding of how illegal drugs first became a problem in the United States. While substance abuse has challenged society for centuries, the abuse of illegal drugs in the United States dates back to relatively recent history. In America, drug addiction was a problem as far back in time as the original colonies when narcotic and opiate elixirs and treatments were being exported from England. Without any form of government regulation, let alone the medical knowledge necessary to understand the true nature of these substances, it is easy to understand how addiction became a widespread but misunderstood problem. The Revolutionary War brought an abrupt end to the importation of these substances and almost immediately American entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to establish some of the very...
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...From an Economic Standpoint 12/2/2012 The Legalization of Marijuana in America ID: 1175376 Introduction After the recent 2012 United States Presidential Election, whereupon Colorado and Washington passed the policy to legalize marijuana for “adult purposes,” government officials faced conflict as to whether to legalize the drug on a federal level or not (Smith 1). There is a battle between the Supreme Court and federal government regarding enforcement as state law allows production and consumption of the drug while the federal law prohibits such activities. When a state officer finds marijuana on the persons of a Colorado resident, there is no charge; however, when a federal officer finds marijuana on the persons of a Colorado resident the extent of the penalty could be arrest and incarceration. Due to conflicting enforcement policies, America is forced to examine the issue and come to a consensus between the policies to ensure homogeneity between the two lawmaking bodies. One means of analyzing the issue is through an economic perspective. As economics is the study of “how society manages its scarce resources” and the manner in which a society makes decisions, the economics behind a controversial policy can help determine acceptance or rejection of the proposed law (Mankiw 1-1). Based on fundamental economic concepts, historical evidence, global data, and future forecasts, the effects of legalizing marijuana will be analyzed. After analyzing the economics of the legalization...
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...a disorder use of substances especially drugs or alcohol that is associated with significant problems. Substance abuse is a disease that commonly appears among adolescents. According to Kerby Anderson1, “93% percent of all teenagers have some experience with alcohol by the end of their senior year of high school. Almost two-thirds of all American young people try illicit drugs before they finish high school.” If substance abuse is left untreated, it will cause violence in streets, such as crimes, kidnaping. Also, it will cause domestic violence. For example, many babies are born with drug dependency. There are many basic factors that lead to the use of control substances among American adolescents, how these factors affect our community, and what are the methods used to minimize them. Adolescence is a sensitive period for young people. They are encountered by many basic factors. First of all, family factors, which have the strongest impact on adolescent development, play a part in the influence to try control substances. For example, parents who provide low levels of support, or are not as close to their children, and use bad parenting judgment have children who are more likely to be drug abusers. “The parents are the biggest factor in the choice to drink or drug” (Stephen Artrburn24). Other factors are the social pressure, such as friends and school these significant effects on adolescent. If they have friends or classmates in school using drugs, then they...
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