Drugs And Alcohol Essays (Examples)

Drug and alcohol abuse is a serious problem among many young people for a variety of reasons. First, statistics show that drugs and alcohol are being abused by a large segment of the teen and young adult population, which can greatly increase their likelihood of a premature death. Secondly, many things can happen to young adults that do not lead to death, but can ruin their lives. Finally, drug and alcohol abuse can have a serious impact on relationships with friends and family.

According to the National Drug Statistics Summary, approximately 14 million Americans used illegal drugs in 2000. Among the teenagers interviewed for the survey, nearly ten percent had used drugs in the month before the interview. The findings for alcohol abuse were even higher. Nearly half of Americans over the age of twelve reported that they drank alcoholic beverages. This is a serious issue. First, the drugs in…

References

Hafetz, David. Jacqueline and Amadeo: Chasing Hope. Austin American Statesman. 2002 May. February 13, 2010. < http://www.helpjacqui.com/pdf/jacqui.pdf>

National Drug Statistics Summary. Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base. 2007. February 13, 2010.

Substance use is frequently associated with child abuse and domestic violence. It also is a leading contributor to marital dissatisfaction, family breakups and rejection of family members. The importance of the family in understanding alcohol and drug use and abuse is underlined by these highly destructive consequences of alcohol and drug dependency on the abuser and the family. (Lala; Straussner; Fewell, 17)

Peer Group plays an important part in resolving the problem as they are able to take the drug or alcohol abuser more into confidence compared to others since most people associate themselves with their respective peer group in terms of habits, tastes and concerns. It has been demonstrated that a drug abuser will definitely abide by a member of the peer group to which he belongs and obey requests of abstinence more than anyone else. Educational system also plays an important role in tackling the prevalence of the…

References

Ammerman, Robert T; Ammerman, Peggy J. Ott; Tarter, Ralph E. (1999) "Prevention and Societal Impact of Drug and Alcohol Abuse" Routledge.

Lala, Shulamith; Straussner, Ashenberg; Fewell, Christine Huff. (2006) "Impact of Substance

Abuse on Children and Families: Research" Haworth Press.

Laufer, William S. The Legacy of Anomie Theory: Advances in Criminological Theory.

And they can often escape into substance abuse and addiction" (Study reveals rise in drug, alcohol abuse during economic downturn).

One of the most important ways in which an increasing rate of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction affects the economy is the spiraling cost of healthcare and rehabilitation. The increase in addictions also creates a gap between the need for treatment and rehabilitation and available resources. This in turn places economic pressure on state and local government. This is especially difficult to maintain in a recessionary economic climate. "States, local governments, and non-profits are all facing tremendous budget shortfalls -- and they are cutting the resources to help this growing group of addicts in trouble, just when they need it the most" (Study reveals rise in drug, alcohol abuse during economic downturn).

The following illustrations provide a clear indication of the amounts that have been spent on alcohol and…

References

Allen J. ( 2006) Drugs a Factor in Many Sexual Assaults, Study Says. Retrieved September 27, 2009, from  http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/501383/drugs_a_factor_in_many_sexual_assaults_study_says/ 

Bennet W. (1999) the Index of Leading Cultural Indicators. New York: Broadway

Books.

Drug addiction. Retrieved September 27, 2009, from http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Drug:addiction.htm

Alcohol and substance abuse is a prevalent problem among youth. Effects of alcohol and substance abuse range from mental health problems like depression and suicide ideation to dating violence, to poor academic performance (adliff, Wheaton, obinson, & Morris, 2012). Early exposure to substance and alcohol abuse in the home may lead to an earlier instance of drug and alcohol abuse. This is because of the higher degree of availability and potential lack of parental involvement. This research paper aims to highlight the various ways in which drug and alcohol abuse affect youth from within and outside the home.

Effects of alcohol and substance abuse on high school youth

Academic failure can be one effect of substance and alcohol abuse. One study notes the lack of school commitment from youth experimenting with drugs and alcohol (Kelly et al., 2015, p. 627). The study examined gender, and substance/alcohol abuse in a 30-day…

References

Benjet, C., Borges, G., Medina-Mora, M., & Mendez, E. (2013). Chronic childhood adversity and stages of substance use involvement in adolescents. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 131(1-2), 85-91.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.12.002 

Epstein-Ngo, Q., Cunningham, R., Whiteside, L., Chermack, S., Booth, B., Zimmerman, M., & Walton, M. (2013). A daily calendar analysis of substance use and dating violence among high risk urban youth. Drug And Alcohol Dependence, 130(1-3), 194-200.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.11.006 

Gauffin, K., Vinnerljung, B., Fridell, M., Hesse, M., & Hjern, A. (2013). Childhood socio-economic status, school failure and drug abuse: a Swedish national cohort study. Addiction, 108(8), 1441-1449.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.12169 

Ivanov, I., Liu, X., Shulz, K., Fan, J., London, E., & Friston, K. et al. (2012). Parental substance abuse and function of the motivation and behavioral inhibition systems in drug-naive youth. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 201(2), 128-135.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.004

Army Substance Abuse Program, in terms of the program's history, its employment requirements, and the rationale behind them. It looks at various jobs within the hierarchy of this program, from the commanders responsible for implementing the program on the level of installations or garrisons, to the trained personnel taking urine samples. By way of demonstrating the utility of the continued education requirement even for the personnel collecting urine, the paper notes the existence of such widespread willingness to deceive testing, and then reviews recent peer-reviewed studies with potential relevance for successful implementation of Army Substance Abuse Program theories, curricula, and policies.

Introduction

The Army Center for Substance Abuse Programs was first established in 1971 in response to a law requiring the Secretary of Defense to identify, treat, and rehabilitate members of the U.S. military determined to be dependent upon alcohol or illicit drugs; similar legislation followed to require the same…

References

Lande, R.G.; Marin, B. (2009) Biomarker characteristics of alcohol use in the U.S. Army. J Addict Diseases 28: 158-163. DOI:10.1080/10550880902772506

Larson, M.J.; Wooten, N.R.; Adams, R.S.; et al. (2012). Military combat deployments and substance use: Review and future directions. J Soc Work Pract Addict 12: 6-27. doi: 10.1080/1533256X.2012.647586

McFarling, L.; D'Angelo, M.; Drain, M.; et al. (2011). Stigma as a barrier to substance abuse and mental health treatment. Military Psychology 23: 1-5  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2011.534397 

Milliken, C.S.; Auchterlonie, J.L.; Hoge, C.W. (2007). Longitudinal assessment of mental health problems among active and reserve component soldiers returning from the Iraq War. JAMA 298: 2141-2148 doi:10.1001/jama.298.18.2141

Combat and Substance Abuse

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a consequence of combat experience, is believed to be a significant risk factor for substance abuse. This theory has been undermined to some extent by recent findings which suggest mental illness, apart from PTSD, may be a stronger predictor. Although combat-related PTSD may significantly contribute to the prevalence of substance abuse among veterans, the dominant substance abuse risks are the same for both civilians and combat veterans. This conclusion suggests than combat may represent a minor risk factor for substance abuse.

The Association between Combat and Substance Abuse

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are faced with many of the same problems that previous combat veterans have had to face, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). While most veterans suffering from these conditions will successfully cope with the challenges they face through treatment and social…

References

Adamou, Marios C. And Hale, Anthony S. (2003). PTSD and the law of psychiatric injury and England and Wales: Finally coming closer? Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law, 31, 327-332.

Bagalman, Erin. (2011). Suicide, PTSD, and substance use among OEF/OIF veterans using VA Health Care: Facts and figures. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 10 Jan. 2013 from  http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41921.pdf .

National Center for PTSD. (2011). PTSD and substance abuse in veterans. PTSD.VA.gov. Retrieved 10 Jan. 2013 from  http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/ptsd_substance_abuse_veterans.asp .

Nooner, Kate B., Linares, L. Oriana., Batinjane, Jessica, Kramer, Rachel A., Silva, Raul., and Cloitre, Marylene. (2012). Factors related to posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 13(3), 153-166.

S. provide funds for staff development on drug use and alcohol use by school-age children. But only 26% of elementary school classes and required middle school and high school health education courses had a teacher that had received "staff development on alcohol or other drug-use prevention" (SHIPPS). Still, SHIPPS reports that 91.4% of high schools and 80.4% of middle schools surveyed teach the "benefits of not using alcohol" and 90.3% of high schools and 79.4% of middle schools teach the "benefits of not using illegal drugs." These data are based on schools that have "required instruction" in those areas of health education.

An article in the Journal of School Health (Summerlin-Long, 2008) details "tobacco-free school" (TFS) policies; the article references "positive reports" from "key informants" in 46 school districts in North Carolina that had passed TFS policies between December 2001 and August 2005. This article is particularly pertinent because of…

Works Cited

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly. (2002). Teenagers abusing cough syrup. Retrieved March 1, 2009, at  http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2173465_ITM .

Brooks, Ashley, Gaier Larkin, Elizabeth M., Kishore, Sonal, & Frank, Scott. (2008).

Cigars, Cigarettes, and Adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 32(6),

Bryant, Alison L. (2003). How Academic Achievement, Attitudes, and Behaviors Relate

Drug addiction is not merely a failure of will or weakness in character, however having this 'brain disease' does not absolve the addict of responsibility for his or her behavior, but it does explain why an addict feels compelled to continue using drugs (Leshner 2001). Environmental cues that surround an individual's initial drug use and development of the addiction, actually become "conditioned" to the drug use and thus are critical to the problem of addiction (Leshner 2001).

Therefore, when those cues are present at a later time, "they elicit anticipation of a drug experience and thus generate tremendous drug craving" (Leshner 2001). This type of cue-induces craving is one of the most frequent causes of drug use relapses, independently of whether drugs are available and even after years of abstinence (Leshner 2001).

In March 2006, it was reported that researchers from Liverpool, England discovered a gene that directly affects the…

Works Cited

Changeux, Jean-Pierre. (1998 March 22). Drug use and abuse. Daedalus. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Eaves, Lindon J. (2005 July 01). Familial influences on alcohol use in adolescent female twins: testing for genetic and environmental interactions. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Goldman, Erik. (2005 July 01). Genetic tests could improve future drug abuse treatment. Family Practice News. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Heroin Addiction Cuts Across All Social Boundaries, Caron Foundation Study Reports.

What further makes interpretation of results difficult to precisely define quantify is that the amount of drug stores depends on the nature of the drug itself, the duration of the ingestion of the drug, and the composition of the tissue holding the drug and the frequency of use. The greater the incidence of drug use the more permanent the level of toxins and chemicals in tissues throughout the body, and therefore the greater the probability of catching chronic drug users in drug testing. Thea difficult part of using drug tests periodically is the longitudinally there may be peaks and valleys to the incidence of drug abuse. Companies have begun surprise inspections of their workers in the most potentially dangerous occupations including forklift workers, construction workers, airline pilots, and heavy equipment workers.

Despite these shortcomings of tests, the advances made in drug testing technologies are gradually overcoming these obstacles related to…

References

Alleyne, B.C., P. Stuart, and R. Copes. (1991) Alcohol and other drug use in occupational fatalities. Journal of occupational medicine (Baltimore) 33(4):496-500, 1991.

Gerber, J.K. And G.S. Yacoubian, Jr. (2002). An assessment of drug testing within the construction industry. Gerber, J.K. And G.S. Yacoubian, Jr. J Drug Education 32(1):53-68

Koch, K. (1998). "Drug Testing." November 20, 1998

Kelly, T.H., R.W. Foltin, and M.W. Fischman. (1991) Effects of alcohol on human behavior: implications for the workplace. Drugs in the workplace: research and evaluation data. Vol. 11, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Rockville, Maryland 1991. pp. 129-146.

Drug Control

"Prevention is better than cure" is an age-old and time-tested maxim. It has been proved correct in many different situations. None more so than in the area of drug abuse: it being far easier and more cost effective to prevent drug use than drug treatment. This essay explains why drug treatment is far more expensive than drug prevention.

A study by the Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. was $245.7 billion for 1992. ("NIDA InfoFacts" 2005) This includes productivity losses (losses from premature death, drug abuse-related illnesses), health costs, and other, primarily crime-related, costs such as losses due to incarceration and criminal careers. If we consider a hypothetical case in which we prevent all alcohol and drug abuse in the United States, we would theoretically save $245.6 billion.

On the other hand,…

References

"Alcohol and Drug Services Study (ADSS) Cost Study." (2004). The DASIS Report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on August 27, 2005 from  http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/costs/costs.htm 

'NIDA InfoFacts: Costs to Society." (2005) National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved on August 27, 2005 from  http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/costs.html 

Keen, Judy. "Bush Plans Hit on Drug Abuse" (2002). USA Today. Retrieved on August 27, 2005 from  http://www.usatoday.com/educate/ondcp/lessons/Activity5.pdf 

The 1992 cost estimate had increased 50% over the cost estimate from 1985; hence the current economic cost due to drug abuse must be much higher.

Economists are concerned with the impact that the sale of drugs has on both individual and economic freedoms and frame their argument from this perspective. Others argue that reliance on the criminal justice system has not produced significant results and that it is time to reframe the argument to focus on the education, prevention, and treatment of drugs.

From the economic perspective, there are apparent differences between government prohibition and legalization of drugs. It has been estimated that total government expenditures devoted to the enforcement of drug laws is well in excess of $26 billion. These figures are also significant in state and local law enforcement agencies with drug related incidents making up one fifth of the total investigative resources and drug enforcement activities. Approximately 25% of the total prison population, municipal, state and federal, is made up of drug law violators. In fact, ten percent of all arrests are…

References

Millhorn, M., Monoghan, M., Montero, D., Reyes, M., Roman, T., Tollasken, R., & Walls, B. (2009). North Americans' attitudes toward illegal drugs. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 19(2), 125-141.

Miron, J.A. (2001). The economics of drug prohibition and drug legalization. Social Research, 68(3), 835-855.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (1998). The economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the United States. National Institute of Health Publication, 98-4327.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009, April). National household survey on drug abuse main findings, 1998.

" American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 21(1), 111-35. A research team led by Dr. Michael French gathered to estimate the costs and benefits of residential and publically funded treatment programs for addiction issues. The team was derived from the University of Miami. Program and the client related economic cost estimates were obtained using data collected at the site with the drug abuse treatment cost analysis program (DATCAP). It was concluded that the economic benefit to society was almost four times what the cost of treating residential clients. Short-term follow-up treatment was also beneficial and the economic benefit was even higher.

Hanlon, T.E., Kinlock, T.W., Nurco, D.N. (1991). "Recent research on the relationship between illicit use and crime." Behavioral Sciences & the aw, 9(3), 221-242.

The study reviews previous research on the correlation of drug use and criminal behavior resulting in arrest since 1980. Advances were noted in crime…

Lennings, C.J., Copeland, J., Howard J. (2003). "Substance use patterns of young offenders and violent crime." Aggressive Behavior. 29(5), 414-422. This study's hypothesis was that alcohol use is a significant predictor of violent crime in committed by the youth. Researchers studied 300 juveniles that had been incarcerated in the prison system of New South Wales. Of the 300, more than 70% admitted to having committed violent crimes. Most correlated with the onset of violent crimes was alcohol use followed by cocaine use. The findings accounted for the correlation that exists between the use of substabce and aggressive, violent crime and so, further supported the "Goldstein hypothesis" which believes that substance abuse facilitates violent behavior directly.

White, H.R., Widom, C.S. (1997). "Problem behaviours in abused and neglected children grown up: prevalence and co-occurrence of substance abuse, crime and violence." Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 7(4), 287-310. The report discussed the correlation of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, non-violent crime and violence concerning children who were abused and neglected during the course of their development through childhood. The study was longitudinal (the subjects were studied over time into adulthood). It was found that abused and neglected females and males have a higher correlation in substance abuse and non-violent arrest. Abused and neglected females were found to be at a higher risk for both drug abuse or dependency diagnosis as well as arrests for violent crime.

Zarkin, G.A., Dunlap, L.J., Hicks, K., Mamo, D. (2005). "Benefits and costs of methadone treatment: results from a lifetime simulation model." Health Economics. 14(11) 1133-1150. Research examined prior studies that included the cost and benefits of methadone abuse treatment. These papers have often been written on single case studies. While valuable to society, the sample size limitation also limits the research because they view heightened problems as being able to be treated in one incident of treatment. A simulation model was created to embody the longitudinal study of the heroine use, criminal behavior, health care and employment of a population between the ages of 18-60. It was found that the model (which takes into account the dynamics of heroine use and views it as a, acute and reoccurring circumstance) finds that the benefits of treatment using this model far outweigh those produced by static models.

In most cases, recreational drug use is seen as a victimless crime and a harmless activity. This attitude changes in the workplace if the drug use impairs performance to the detriment of other workers or if the work involves public safety, in which case tolerance for drug use drops significantly. Another reason why tolerance for some drug use is so high is because the attitude is a reaction to the apocalyptic warnings emanating from law enforcement and government, given that people know that mild marijuana use, for instance, is not the mind- and life-bending experience often claimed. Many do not see the problem as being as dire as it is made out to be, and so they do not see it in the way earlier generations did.

Casey J. Dickinson notes the increasing use of pre-testing for applicants as a way not assuring that the person hired does not use…

Works Cited

Dickinson, Casey J. "New Vision Gets Results Before Employers Hire." The Central New York Businesss Journal (10 Dec 2004), 5.

Finkel, Kevin W. "Water Intoxication Presenting as a Suspected Contaminated Urine Sample for Drug Testing." Southern Medical Journal, Volume 97, Number 6 (June 2004), 611-613.

Fitzpatrick, Jr., John J. "State Labor Legislation Enacted in 2006: Minimum Wages, Workplace Security, Prevailing Wages, Equal Employment Opportunity, Wages Paid, Time off, Drug and Alcohol Testing, Child Labor, Human Trafficking, and Immigrant Protections Were among the Most Active Areas in Which Legislation Was Enacted or Revised during the Year." Monthly Labor Review, Volume 130, Issue 1 (2007). March 16, 2008.  

The benefits of ending the cycle of drug and alcohol abuse far outweigh the pain and hard work involved. Living a clean and sober lifestyle allows people to make their own decisions, not decisions based on their physical need for drugs or alcohol. They will regain their self-respect, and find happiness in the things they were neglecting during their use and abuse. Finally, their body will be free of the physical tolls of alcohol and drugs.

For someone like Jared, working to end his alcohol abuse will improve his life in many ways. First, working toward change will show his wife, his mother, and the rest of the people who love him that he does not want to hurt them and wants to change. While other problems may exist in Jared's marriage and life, he owes it to himself and those that he loves to try. He might spend more…

Drug Trafficking

The author of this report is to answer a few questions relating to drug trafficking. The primary focus of the questions and answers will be on two sources in particular, those being the movie Traffic and the class text authored by Thio, Calhoun and Conyers. The questions include references to the links between drugs and crime, the roles and events surrounding certain people in Traffic and so forth. There will be references other than the two mentioned above throughout the answers, as is required by the parameters of the assignment. While many depict drug use as a victimless crime, this is far from being true and the scope of the people that can be affected by drug use, drug dealing and drug trafficking literally knows no bounds or limits.

Analysis

There is a heavy amount of examples of how drug use and crime are related, but the author…

References

Abbey, Antonia. 2011. 'Alcohol's Role In Sexual Violence Perpetration: Theoretical Explanations, Existing Evidence And Future Directions'. Drug and Alcohol Review 30(5):481-489.

Helfand, Ezra. 2015. 'U.S. Says Drug Abuse Needs Treatment, Not Just Jail'. NCADD. Retrieved October 16, 2015 (https://ncadd.org/in-the-news/358-us-says-drug-abuse-needs-treatment-not-just-jail).

IMDB,. 2015. 'Traffic (2000)'. IMDb. Retrieved October 16, 2015 ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 ).

Thio, Alex, Thomas C Calhoun, and Addrain Conyers. 2013. Deviance Today. Boston: Pearson.

drug use and abuse in the United States and presents differing approaches that are used (or proposed) to get a handle on the problem. There is no doubt that the drug abuse issue is not new and it is not being reduced by any significant amount. This paper presents statistics and scholarly research articles that delve into various aspects of the drug abuse issue in the United States, with particular emphasis on drugs that are abused in eastern Kentucky and generally in the Appalachian communities.

History of Drug Use & Availability

The history of illegal drug use in the United States goes back to the 19th Century, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The DEA has a Museum in Arlington, Virginia, that illustrates the history of drug discoveries, drug use, and drug abuse through the years. The DEA reports that morphine, heroin, and cocaine were "discovered" in the…

Works Cited

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2008). Drugs and Crime Facts / Drug Use / Youth. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from http://bjs.ojp.usdog.gov.

Drug Enforcement Agency. (2012). Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from  http://www.deamuseum.org .

Grant, Judith. (2007). Rural women's stories of recovery from addition. Addiction Research and Theory, 15(5), 521-541.

Havens, Jennifer R., Oser, Carrie B., and Leukefeld, Carl G. (2011). Injection risk behaviors

To begin with, once the drugs have already been taken and an addiction problem has already developed, the best strategy is treatment (Marlatt & Donovan, 2005). Because these two substances, drugs and alcohol, are so damaging to the body, the best initial treatment would be to detox. This allows for the body to get used to the idea of not having any stimulant or depressant to regulate emotions and gives the individual the opportunity to start from scratch (Botvin & Griffin, 2005). Being completely free of the substance will also allow for a more thorough treatment to be implemented without the fear of a relapse.

After the initial detoxification stage, psychological treatment needs to be provided to these individuals as their body is going to go through a complete physiological change that is inevitably going to unbalance their emotions. Aside from the physical addiction that individuals go through when attempting…

References:

Allen, M., Donohue, W.A., Griffin, a., Ryan, D., & Turner, M.M.M. (2003). Comparing the Influence of Parents and Peers on the Choice to Use Drugs a Meta-Analytic Summary of the Literature. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 30(2), 163-186

Botvin, G.J., & Griffin, K.W. (2005). Prevention science, drug abuse prevention, and life skills training: Comments on the state of the science. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1(1), 63-78.

Marlatt, G.A., & Donovan, D.M. (Eds.). (2005). Relapse prevention: Maintenance strategies in the treatment of addictive behaviors. The Guilford Press.

Miller, H.V. (2010). Acculturation, social context, and drug use: Findings from a sample of Hispanic adolescents. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 93-105. doi: 10.1007/s12103-010-9086-y

The user's mouth feels dry, and he or she may suddenly become very hungry and thirsty. His or her hands may tremble and grow cold. The euphoria passes after awhile, and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic http://www.starliterecovery.com/marijuana.asp.

Marijuana use impairs a person's ability to form memories, recall events (see Marijuana, Memory, and the Hippocampus), and shift attention from one thing to another. THC also disrupts coordination and balance by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture, coordination of movement, and reaction time.11 Through its effects on the brain and body, marijuana intoxication can cause accidents. Studies show that approximately 6 to 11% of fatal accident victims test positive for THC. In many of these cases, alcohol is detected as well http://www.starliterecovery.com/marijuana.asp.

"An interesting study was done with airline…

REFERENCES

Aukerman, Melissa. Alcohol on trial: the evidence.(Featured CME Topic: Alcohol)

Southern Medical Journal; 1/1/2005; Epidemiological Considerations of Alcohol Consumption

Herrman, Judith. . The teen brain as a work in progress: implications for pediatric nurses.(Updates & Kidbits). Pediatric Nursing; 3/1/2005;

Amodios, Joseph. Why pot's not cool: how marijuana messes with your brain and body.(DRUGS & ALCOHOL). Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication; 3/1/2005;

Drug and Alcohol Abuse on Families and Community

Drug and alcohol abuse are found to have devastating impact on families of addicts and their larger community. These addictions can destroy family dynamics and relationships thereby giving birth to extreme stress, resentment, behavioral disorders and disintegration within the family. When a member of the family is diagnosed with alcohol or drug addiction, others members are likely to become extremely involved in the situation that adds to stress and tension eventually giving birth to a dysfunctional family unit. Involvement, whether physical, emotional or simply psychological, is bound to leave a deep impression on the behavior of families, often resulting in development of deviant behavior in other family members. This is a negative though natural response to the stressful situation. Milhorn Jr. (1994) in his guide for families with drug addicts contends:

The effects of drug addiction on the user's family are profound.…

References

Bekir, P., McLellan, T., Childress, A.R. And Gariti, P. (1993) Role reversals in families of substance misusers: A transgenerational phenomenon. International Journal of the Addictions. 28, 613-630

Culvert, Edward R. (2001) Another Angle: Families Of Drug Addicts; (Second in a Series of Articles on Drug Addiction) New York Voice Inc./Harlem USA; 11th July.

Dore, M.M., Kauffman, E., Nelson-Zlupko, L. And Granfort, E. (1996) Psychosocial Functioning and Treatment Needs of Latency-Age Children from Drug-Involved Families. Families in Society 77, 595-603.

Milhorn Jr. Thomas. (1994) Drug and Alcohol Abuse: The Authoritative Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Counselors. Perseus Books (Current Publisher: Perseus Publishing) Cambridge, MA.

health related risks in association with addiction, the two greatest risks for Heroin Injectors is the risk of acquiring HIV or any number of the deadly and permanent Hepatitis viruses. The risks associated with addiction, poor nutrition, dehydration, reduced kidney and liver function as well as a few others increases the risk of an individual acquiring, nearly any communicable disease, yet those who are injecting Heroin also repeatedly directly open their circulatory system to massive deadly diseases like HIV and Hepatitis. ("The Menace of Heroin," 1999, p. 2)

In many places needle sharing has been decreased with awareness and availability campaigns yet it is clear that the sharing of needles still occurs, as the reduced mental functioning of the user, at the height of addictive need and in the throws of the high have a reduced sense of judgment, just as can be said about any mind altering drug. Yet.…

References

Brown, B.S. & Beschner, G.M. (Eds.). (1993). Handbook on Risk of AIDS: Injection Drug Users and Sexual Partners. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

The Menace of Heroin in the U.S. . (1999, September 5). The Washington Times, p. 2. Retrieved October 25, 2004, from Questia database,  http://www.questia.com .

Riley, E.D., Wu, A.W., Junge, B., Marx, M., Strathdee, S.A., & Vlahov, D. (2002).

Health Services Utilization by Injection Drug Users Participating in a Needle

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth

Clinical Psychology

The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among policymakes and clinicians alike that moe needs to be done to addess this public health theat. The pupose of this study was to examine the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish college students in the United States. The study daws on attachment theoy, social leaning theoy, and a paenting style model as the main theoetical famewoks to evaluate the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish adolescents to develop infomed answes to the study's thee guiding eseach questions concening the elationship between peceived paenting style and excess alcohol use of male, Jewish, college students aged 18-26 yeas, the elationship between academic achievement and the alcohol use fequency of male Jewish…

references to gender.

Scoring: The PAQ is scored easily by summing the individual items to comprise the subscale scores. Scores on each subscale range from 10 to 50.

Author: Dr. John R. Buri, Department of Psychology, University of St. Thomas, 2115

Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.

Source: Buri, J.R. (1991). Parental Authority Questionnaire, Journal of Personality and Social Assessment, 57, 110-119

Paenting Style Influence on Excess Alcohol Intake Among Jewish Youth

Clinical Psychology

The health hazads that ae associated with adolescent alcohol use ae well documented, and thee is gowing ecognition among policymakes and clinicians alike that moe needs to be done to addess this public health theat. The pupose of this study was to examine the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish college students in the United States. The study daws on attachment theoy, social leaning theoy, and a paenting style model as the main theoetical famewoks to evaluate the effects of diffeent paenting styles on alcohol consumption levels among Jewish adolescents to develop infomed answes to the study's thee guiding eseach questions concening the elationship between peceived paenting style and excess alcohol use of male, Jewish, college students aged 18-26 yeas, the elationship between academic achievement and the alcohol use fequency of male Jewish…

references to gender.

Scoring: The PAQ is scored easily by summing the individual items to comprise the subscale scores. Scores on each subscale range from 10 to 50.

Author: Dr. John R. Buri, Department of Psychology, University of St. Thomas, 2115

Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105.

Source: Buri, J.R. (1991). Parental Authority Questionnaire, Journal of Personality and Social Assessment, 57, 110-119

Alcohol, Drugs, And Domestic Violence

Family violence - or male aggression against women in a relationship setting - also known as domestic violence (DV) is most certainly a devastating social and moral problem in our society; but it is also a serious police problem, and an expensive health problem. In fact, the annual health care cost associated with the manifestations of DV is estimated to run as high as $857 million in the United States (odiguez, et al., 2001). But moreover, DV takes a toll on American families that is much greater than any dollar amount could ever reflect - and, in addition, DV is a social blemish on the face of America that seems to be getting worse, not better. The "causes" of violence in the family - why men act aggressively against their wives and girlfriends and even their children - are varied and complicated; but in too…

References

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly (2003). Alcohol use may increase the likelihood of domestic violence. 15 p7.

Brain, Paul F. (1986). Alcohol and Aggression. London: Croom Helm.

Brookoff, Daniel, M.D., Ph.D. (1997). Drugs, Alcohol, and Domestic Violence

In Memphis: Research in Progress Seminar Series. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Drug Overdoes

Ecstasy vs. Heroin overdoses -- treatment and diagnosis

For many EMTs, depending on the city and time they are stationed in, one of the most common problems they will have to cope with is dealing with a drug overdose. However, although all drug overdoses are dangerous, not all illegal drug overdoses are the same, symptomatically or in their treatment. A great deal of misinformation exists regarding drug overdoses and their treatment in popular culture -- even the popular film "Pulp Fiction" which depicts a 'successful' treatment of snorted heroin is in fact inaccurate -- ephedrine to the heart would not have saved a victim of a heroin overdose in real life. (Kuhn, 2003)

hen dealing with any suspected drug overdose, the first thing to determine is in fact the victim's symptoms are indeed due to the ingestion of a drug, rather than of alternate cause. This is especially…

Works Cited

Ecstasy Overdose." (2004) Drug Overdose.Com. Retrieved on June 17, 2004 at  http://www.drug-overdose.com/heroin.htm 

Heroin Overdose." (2004) Drug Overdose.Com Retrieved on June 17, 2004 at  http://www.drug-overdose.com/ecstasy.htm 

Kuhn, Cynthia, et al. (2003) Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. Second Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Drug Profile

Drug addiction is a human issue that cultivates biological, psychological, and social consequences, among others. The manifestation of addiction itself is characterized by physical dependence, and is defined by the uncontrollable, compulsive urge to seek and use drugs despite harmful repercussions (Fernandez, odriguez & Villa, 2011). Philologically, drug use affects the reward center, where dopamine receptors are over-stimulated. Ultimately, the repetition of drug use is encouraged to achieve the same, heightened, pleasure response (U.S. DHHS, 2007). Psychological responses to drug use may reflect motivations caused by positive pleasure, anxiety, or protection. The bodily effects of drugs often reflect the drug's class: stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogen, and cannabis. Each class represents various drugs and causes distinct biochemical responses. In addition to illicit drugs, prescription drugs are also highly abused and are categorized within the drug classes. Drug addiction does not discriminate between gender, race, sexual orientation or creed, and…

References

Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (CDMHAS). (n.d.). Drugs with addictive potential. Retrieved 08 March 2012 from:  http://www.ctclearinghouse.org/topics/customer-files/Drugs-with-Addictive-Potential-071105.pdf 

Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. (2009). Psychology: A journey. (1st ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Fernandez, G., Rodriguez, O., & Villa, R. (2011). Neuropsychology and drug addiction. Papeles del Psicologo, 32(2), 159-165.

Hyman, S., & Malenka, R. (2001). Addiction and the brain: The neurobiology of compulsion and its persistence. Neuroscience, 2, 695-703.

Drug Crime

Does research evidence suggest that current policies on drugs and crime are still appropriate?

While "tough" policies designed to curb drug use and distribution are attractive politically, and look good on paper, research shows that such policies are no longer appropriate. Instead of responding to drug use as a public health problem, governments like that of the United States and the United Kingdom still regards criminalization as "the sine qua non-of responsible policy-making," (Downes and Morgan, 2007, p. 212). Unfortunately, the criminalization approach happens to also be irresponsible policy making based on emotion rather than fact. Governments with criminalization policies like the United States and Great Britain show a disturbing "state of denial" about the way criminalization creates and enhances organized crime, and may have even exacerbated some types of substance abuse (Downes and Morgan, 2007, p. 212).

Drug use patterns have also changed dramatically, requiring an intelligent…

References

Downes, D. And Morgan, R. (1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007) in M. Maguire, M. Morgan and R. Reiner (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

South, N. (2007) 'Drugs, Alcohol and Crime' in M. Maguire, R. Morgan, and R. Reiner (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (4th edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

"As a case in point we may take the known fact of the prevalence of reefer and dope addiction in Negro areas. This is essentially explained in terms of poverty, slum living, and broken families, yet it would be easy to show the lack of drug addiction among other ethnic groups where the same conditions apply." Inciardi 248()

Socio-economic effects

Legalizing drugs has been deemed to have many socio-economic effects. A study that was conducted by Jeffrey a. Miron, who was a Harvard economist estimated that by legalizing drugs, this would inject about $76.8 billion in to the U.S. every year. 44.1 billion dollars would come from savings made from the law enforcement measures and 32.7 billion would be from tax revenue. This revenue can be thought to be broken down as follows: 6.7 billion dollars from marijuana, 22.5 billion from heroin and cocaine and the rest from the other…

References

Blumenson, Eric, and Eva S. Nilsen. How to Construct an Underclass, or How the War on Drugs Became a War on Education. Massachusetts: Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, 2002. Print.

Campos, Isaac. "Degeneration and the Origins of Mexico's War on Drugs." Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 26.2 (2010): 379-408. Print.

Chabat, Jorge. "Mexico's War on Drugs: No Margin for Maneuver." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 582.ArticleType: research-article / Issue Title: Cross-National Drug Policy / Full publication date: Jul., 2002 / Copyright © 2002 American Academy of Political and Social Science (2002): 134-48. Print.

Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "Low Taxation Perpetuates Insecurity in Central America." 2011. May 5th 2012. .

Drug Tests and Government Benefits

Recently, there has been discussion regarding government benefits, such as unemployment. This discussion has focused on a new, potential requirement to receive benefits such as welfare: drug testing. People who are applying for benefits like welfare or unemployment would have to be tested for illegal drugs (Alcindor, 2012). If they were found to use drugs, they could be denied benefits. This would seen to make sense, because those who are out of work and needing government assistance should not be spending the money they do receive on illegal drugs or other nefarious activities. However, the American taxpayers are concerned about where the money for the drug tests will come from, and the federal government is already stating that states which pass this drug testing law for benefits will be in violation of federal law. That means these states could lose out on millions of dollars…

Works Cited

Adams, Brooke. (26 March 2012). Guv signs off on welfare recipient drug-screening program. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from  http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53795131-90/cash-continue-drug-guv.html.csp 

Alcindor, Yamiche (29 February 2012). States consider drug testing welfare recipients. USA Today. Retrieved from  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-17/welfare-food-stamps-drug-testing-laws/53306804/1 

Hoover, Tim. (29 March 2012). Bill to drug test welfare recipients dies in Colorado House in second reading. Denver Post. Retrieved from  http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20283105/drug-test-welfare-bill-dies-colorado-house-second?source=rss 

Rivas, Jorge. (25 August 2011). 96% of Florida welfare applicants pass drug test, discredit Tea Party gov. ColorLines. Retrieved from  http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/08/98_of_florida_welfare_applicants_pass_newly_implemented_drug_tests_discrediting_governor.html

Drugs and Pregnancy

The habit of taking drugs continually well into the pregnancy stages of a woman has been associated with several effects that the drugs may have on the fetus. There have been several arguments posited by various groups depending on their standpoint about the issue of drug abuse and pregnancy. There have also been attempts, as seen in this session, to classify the drugs into those that do not arm the fetus and those that can in some way hurt the fetus. Having gone through the entire course and getting exposed to numerous materials, there is one thing that stands out clear and I came to understand with insurmountable evidence, the fetus is adversely affected by the drugs that the mother takes. This is true bearing that the fetus depends on the mother for entirely everything for its survival.

The central issues identified during the entire session include…

References

Reuter (1994).Setting priorities: budget and program choices for drug control. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, pp. 14S 173.

National Institute on Drug Abuse, (2011). Drug Abuse among Pregnant Women in the U.S.

Retrieved June 2, 2013 from  http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/topics-in-brief/prenatal-exposure-to-drugs-abuse

Drug Abuse in Long Island, New York

With more than seven and a half million residents, Long Island, New York is a major center of commerce and education, but like many other densely populated large urban centers, this city also has a significant drug abuse problem. To determine the facts about the problem, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide epidemiological evidence concerning the incidence of drug abuse in Long Island, and what community-based resources are available to its resident. Finally, a review of a recent research study article concerning these issues is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning drug abuse in Long Island in the conclusion.

eview and Analysis

Epidemiological evidence concerning drug abuse in Long Island

Like many other major American urban centers, all types of drugs are abuse in Long Island, but heroin abuse in particular has become a serious problem…

References

About Long Island Addiction Resources. (2017). Long Island Addiction Resources. Retrieved from http://liaddictionresources.com/.

About Long Island Center for Recovery. (2017). Long Island Center for Recovery. Retrieved from  http://www.longislandcenterrecovery.com/ .

About Outreach House. (2017). Outreach House. Retrieved from  http://www.opiny.org/  outreach-treatment/adolescent-residential-svcs/brentwood-long-island.

About Seafield Center Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment. (2017). Seafield Center Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment. Retrieved from http://www.seafieldcenter.com/ about_us.

Drug Education

he DARE program, whose short form is derived from "Drug Abuse Resistance Education," has developed so quickly, from the time since its commencement 18 years ago, that it is at the present being educated in 75% of school districts all over the country, as well as in 54 other countries. Particularly, in the lives of elementary school students, skilled and qualified police officers who educate and lecture the program have turned out to be vital figures; in addition to that, in thousands of communities, the program's red symbol has taken on symbolic status on -shirts and bumper stickers (1).

Is D.A.R.E. Effective?

If the evaluation and measurement for the accomplishment of D.A.R.E. is fame and recognition amongst the masses, then yes: D.A.R.E. has been extremely successful in magnetizing extensive admiration, as well as monetary support. Furthermore, D.A.R.E. has accomplished a point of observation unmatched and unequalled by any…

The writer highlights that in spite of vast promises, in the past two decades statistics have pointed to a sharp augment in the use of drugs in the United States.

5). Stewart I. Donaldson. 1996. Drug Abuse Prevention Programming, Do we know what content works? Journal of American Behavioral Scientist. (June). Vol 39, no. 7. Pgs. 245-261.

The highlights that if $700 million a year and twenty thousand specifically trained police officers do not effect in the lessening of drug used amid minors, besides giving police something to do, what does it accomplish?

Alcohol is classified as a depressant because it slows down the release of neurochemicals that inhibit certain behaviors. The subjective feelings associated with alcohol intoxication are due to its effects on the brain and central nervous system but that system also controls our behaviors. The depression of certain neurotransmitters often reduces reflex time and reduces general inhibitions.

The digestive system is also strongly affected by alcohol consumption. Alcohol is absorbed almost entirely by the small intestine, from where the alcohol seeps into the blood. The liver is strongly affected by the absorption of alcohol and is in fact the main organ responsible for metabolizing alcohol. hen too much alcohol is consumed, the liver becomes overtaxed and cannot filter the toxins from the body as fast as it normally can. Over the long-term, the liver can become permanently damaged from too much alcohol consumption.

The heart and circulatory system are also…

Works Cited

Alcohol Absorption, Distribution, and Elimination." California DUI Help. Retrieved Feb 23, 2008 at http://www.californiaduihelp.com/dui_investigation/alcohol.asp

Boggan, Bill. "Alcohol Chemistry and You." Kennesaw State University, 2003.

In jails, not one of the violent criminals was under the influence of heroin at the time their crime was committed. Twenty-one percent of state inmates incarcerated for violent crime were under the influence of alcohol alone at the time they committed their crime. The number of those under the influence of marijuana alone was too small to be recorded statistically. (National 1998) These facts indicate that it is not the drug users that are committing the crimes, but the people who deal with drugs. If there was no money to be gained from dealing with drugs, these criminals would have to find legitimate jobs and the police would only have to worry about traffic.

The efforts to target youth with drug education in the ar on Drugs has fallen far short of its original goals. The ONDCP is budgeting less than 12% of the $100 million it was planning…

Works Cited

Drug Enforcement Division. City of Orlando Police Investigations, Orlando Police Department Website. 6 November, 2006 http://www.cityoforlando.net/police/investigations/ded.htm

Madigan, Lisa, "Strategies for Fighting Meth: Law Enforcement Strategies." Illinois Attorney General. 6 November, 2006  http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/methnet/fightmeth/law.html#content 

National Center on Addition and substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) Behind Bars: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population. New York: Columbia University, 1998.

McCaffrey, Barry R.. The National Drug Control Strategy, 1998: A Ten-Year Plan. Washington, DC: Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1998. p. 58.

One example of the kind of policy change that is being suggested by some in the particular war on Meth is the reduction of the ability of meth makers, especially large scale makers to realize the supplies of a small number of raw materials used to make the drug pseudoephedrine is quaaludes, as this drug was successfully removed from the radar screen by the banning of the chemicals used to make it, and this may be an option for all synthetic drugs.

Reurer 170)

orks Cited

Boulard, Garry. "The Meth Menace: Battling the Fast-Paced Spread of Methamphetamine May Mean Attacking It from Several Fronts." State Legislatures May 2005: 14.

Boyum, David, and Mark A.R. Kleiman. "Breaking the Drug-Crime Link." Public Interest Summer 2003: 19.

Organized Crime." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004.

Hanson, Gayle M.B. "Drug Crime Doesn't Pay, or Does It?." Insight on the News 19 June 1995: 16.…

Works Cited

Boulard, Garry. "The Meth Menace: Battling the Fast-Paced Spread of Methamphetamine May Mean Attacking It from Several Fronts." State Legislatures May 2005: 14.

Boyum, David, and Mark A.R. Kleiman. "Breaking the Drug-Crime Link." Public Interest Summer 2003: 19.

Organized Crime." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004.

Hanson, Gayle M.B. "Drug Crime Doesn't Pay, or Does It?." Insight on the News 19 June 1995: 16.

Instead, their main aim is to encourage increased usage of a particular brand by those who already consume alcohol, and to encourage brand loyalty. In other words, the main objective is market share. Advertisers who reach their goals gain market share at the expense of others in the same market, who lose share. The total market for the product is not increased.

Hanson uses a practical example from the United States to illustrate the reasons why advertisers do not focus on increasing the total alcohol market. He notes that the total market value of beer per year in the United States is about $50 billion. If a beer company increases its market share within this market by 1%, this would amount to a $500 million increase in sales. An increase of the total beer market by 1%, on the other hand, would mean an increase of only $50 million in…

References

ABAC (2009). Alcoholic Beverages Advertising (and Packaging) Code. Retrieved from:  http://www.abac.org.au/uploads/File/ABAC%20Code%20 (at%20November%202009).pdf

DSICA (Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia, Inc., 2011). Australian Alcohol Consumption. Retrieved from:  http://www.dsica.com.au/content/detail/australian_alcohol_consumption 

FARE (Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, 2012). Alcohol Advertising. Retrieved from:  http://www.fare.org.au/research-development/community-polling/annual-alcohol-poll-2012/alcohol-advertising/ 

Hanson, D.J. (2012). Alcohol Advertising. Alcohol: Problems and Solutions. Retrieved from:  http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Advertising.html

Alcoholism will be defined, according to the DSM as a "maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12-month period:…a failure to fulfill major role obligations; & #8230;recurrent substance use in situations in which it is physically hazardous; & #8230;recurrent substance-related legal problems;" and "continued substance use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of the substance" (Alcohol abuse diagnosis, 2011, Mental Health Channel).

Operational definition of dependent variables 2: Subjects will be asked to answer a questionnaire on current behaviors, to see if they cohere with the above DSM definition of alcoholism.

Operational definition for the independent variables 2: Losing a spouse will be defined as having lost a partner with whom the individual was either a. legally married to or b. had a significant,…

Reference

Alcohol abuse diagnosis. (2011). Mental Health Channel. Retrieved January 26, 2011 at http://www.mentalhealthchannel.net/alcohol/diagnosis.shtml

Alcohol vs. coffee: Literary reaction

"The sweet Poison of the Treacherous Grape/....Drowning our very Reason and our Souls." The 18th century marked the beginning of what would come to be known as the neoclassical era of art and literature. It was the era of satire, marked by a belief in reason over emotion, an age which prized what was artificial, man-made and constructed over what was natural and instinctive. It was also the era of coffee and the coffee house. In this poem, coffee is celebrated as a beverage that sharpens the intellect, rather than dulls it like alcohol, the 'poison' that drowns reason. Throughout the poem, a dichotomy of coffee vs. alcohol is created. The values of the Age of Enlightenment are exemplified in this contrast, as well as many of the literary features of the era, including rhyming couplets, metrical verse, and poems that 'say' what they mean…

Third interesting fact reported in the reported is that looking into this demographic, it was found out that past month illicit drug abuse occurred most commonly among individuals aged 18- to 20-year-old. Among the underaged (not of legal age) group (12-17 years old), marijuana abuse among females lowered this year, while this figure has increased by 0.7% among males. ithin the 12-year-old or older demographic, American Indians or Alaskan Natives have the highest reported illicit drug abuse in the past month, at 13%. Although there were distinct differences in the profile of drug users in terms of age group, gender, race, and even on the type of drug abuse, there were no distinct differences in the geographical locations of users, scattered among the following counties: large metropolitan, small metropolitan, non-metropolitan urbanized, and non-metropolitan less urbanized areas.

ork cited:

Department of Health and Human Services. September 2008. "Results from the 2007…

Work cited:

Department of Health and Human Services. September 2008. "Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings." Available at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k7nsduh/2k7Results.pdf.

While it is definitely true that these companies spend a great deal of money on research and development, for which they certainly deserve and in fact need to be compensated (not to mention their right to make a profit, and the fact that profit potential is a major driver in innovation), the amount of profit and compensation that comes solely from the United States is inordinate when compared to that provided by other countries. Nearly half of all revenue going to pharmaceutical companies every year comes from United States' consumers (Sawkar, 2005). The argument that drug reimportation would damage companies' innovation and profit potentials implies that it is the United States' sole responsibility to provide funds for these goals; if reimportation were allowed then prices would even out, meaning other countries would start paying a fair share towards research and development costs while the United States would experience a savings.…

References

Choudhry, N.K., & Detsky, A.S. (2005). A perspective on U.S. drug reimportation. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(3). Retrieved from  http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/3/358 

Sawkar, M. (2005, March). High U.S. drug prices: Causes and cures. Paper presented for The Drug Reimportation Debate. Retrieved from www.sawkar.net/blog/high_drug_prices.doc

Wu, M.Y, Kennedy, J., Cohen, L.J., & Wang, C.C. (2009). Coverage of atypical antipsychotics among Medicare drug plans in the state of Washington: Changes between 2007 and 2008. Primary Care Companion Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 11 (6), 316- 321.

Unfortunately, the American government has been looking in the wrong place for these models, especially in Asia and Latin America. For example, the coca plant from which cocaine is derived grows in abundance in many geographical regions of northern South America and in Central America, where growers make huge profits as compared to efforts to force farmers and peasants to grow legal crops which inevitably do not produce enough profits in order to survive.

Of course, over the last twenty years or so, the U.S. federal government has done much and at great expense to attempt to eradicate the growing of coca but these efforts have also failed miserably. As Nadelmann relates, even if foreign supplies of coca and other drugs like heroin could be cut off, "the drug abuse problem in the U.S. would scarcely abate," due to the fact that much if not most of the drugs like…

Bibliography

Nadelmann, Ethan a. (Jan. -- Feb. 1998). Common sense drug policy. Foreign Affairs.

Vol. 77 no. 1, 111-126.

The agents then formalize a data which helps them to stop the drug trafficking in future. By the end of year 1968, America's counter culture movement was at its peak and the trend of illegal drug use for the recreational purposes was rising. That was an alarming situation and then the President Lyndon Johnson introduced a legislation that ultimately combined the BDAC and Bureau of Narcotics into a single entity: Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs under the department of Justice (Kleiman & Hawdon, 2011).

As far as the core mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration is concerned, it is to enforce the laws and regulations regarding the controlled substances and to bring the law breakers to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operations are not only limited to the United States but its jurisdiction is across the world as a…

References

DEA History. (n.d.). DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration. Retrieved May 18, 2013, from http://www.justice.gov/dea/about/history.shtml

DEA Mission Statement. (n.d.). DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration. Retrieved May 18, 2013, from http://www.justice.gov/dea/about/mission.shtml

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). (2013). In Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Kleiman, M.A., & Hawdon, J.E. (2011). Encyclopedia of Drug Policy, Volume 1. USA: SAGE.

Therefore, a closer look at what is needed is in order.

Needed Changes, Stakeholders and Barriers to Change

The decades that followed ockefeller and Felony Offender made it clear that these laws were in dire need of change for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most importantly among the reasons for a need for change was the fact that many of those in need of recovery from drug addiction were instead being locked away in prison, burdening the justice system, breaking up families and torturing people with a definite disease. On the other side of the argument, however, barriers to change in these policies was led by staunch conservatives who, not realizing the many facets of drug addiction, were too fast to dismiss addicts as criminals who were only getting what some felt they deserved (nysda.org). In reality, however, there are effective solutions to the debate.

Effective Solutions to the Debate…

References

Current Developments in the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nysda.org/Hot_Topics/Rockefeller_Drug_Laws/rockefeller_drug_laws.html

The Rockefeller Drug Laws. Retrieved November 30, 2007 from the World Wide Web:  http://www.drugpolicy.org/statebystate/newyork/rockefellerd/index.cfm 

Drug Laws

In the age group of eighteen to twenty-five, over fifty-five percent reported having used drugs sometime in their lives. In terms of drugs of choice for high school seniors, nearly half of all drug users prefer marijuana, although such drugs as amphetamines, hallucinogens and ecstasy all report surprisingly high numbers also.

What can be concluded from this study is that drug use begins at an early age, most often during one's high school years. However, the statistics show, as the number of regular users drops off as they age, the trend is more towards experimentation and not creating a drug-dependent lifestyle.

ibliography

National Drug Threat Assessment: Marijuana Update. August 2002. www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs1/1335

Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2006): "Fact Sheet." Executive Office of the President: Drug Policy Information Clearing House. www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.

Bibliography

National Drug Threat Assessment: Marijuana Update. August 2002. www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs1/1335

Office of National Drug Control Policy. (2006): "Fact Sheet." Executive Office of the President: Drug Policy Information Clearing House. www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.

Drug Law Reform (Pro)

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the United States' policy on illegal drugs is threefold: stopping drug use before it starts, healing the country's drug users, and disrupting the market. The United States' war on drugs has been going on for at least the last three decades. Given the duration of this war, some have questioned the effectiveness of it, wondering if the money spent is really making a difference and bringing about results.

Actually, the effects of this policy on illegal drugs have been mixed. According to a study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) covering current and emerging trends in drug abuse for 21 major U.S. metropolitan areas, some drugs are decreasing in use while others are increasing. For example:

C]rack accounted for a substantially greater percentage of primary admissions than powder cocaine in all [surveyed] sites.…

Bibliography

InfoFacts Nationwide Trends. The National Institute on Drug Abuse. 2003.  http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofax/nationtrends.html .

The Office of National Drug Control Policy. 2003.  http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/index.html .

The strongest argument against the thesis of the experiment relies in the fact that a religious mystical experience is placed on a spiritual rather than medical level and that the spirit is not necessarily determined by the actions of the brain, as a human organ. The spirit includes the way the brain act and the way the heart feels or the behavior of other organs in the body.

For many scientists, including those that have performed the scientific experiment and including people like Tom Roberts, who in his book "Psychedelic Horizons" talks about the benefic effects of drugs on the brain in terms of exploring new states and experience new functions of the body otherwise hidden to the general audience.

For myself and numerous other individuals, the mystical experience cannot be related solely to the functionality of the brain or to the way the entire body is operating. If it…

Bibliography

1. Quantifying a Mystical Experience: Hallucinogenic Research Gets to Grips With Spirituality. July 2006. On the Internet at http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060611022408data_trunc_sys.shtmlLast retrieved on September 26, 2006

2. Mystical experiences. On the Internet at http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mystical_experiences.html.Last retrieved on September 25, 2006

3. Book Review of "Psychedelic Horizons." On the Internet at  http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/reader_blogs/2006/sep/06/book_review_of_psychedelic_horiz.Last  retrieved on September 25, 2006

Quantifying a Mystical Experience: Hallucinogenic Research Gets to Grips With Spirituality. July 2006. On the Internet at http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20060611022408data_trunc_sys.shtmlLast retrieved on September 26, 2006

14). Soon, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which was signed into law in 1937. Like the Harrison Act, the Marijuana Tax Act placed marijuana into the same category as the cocaine and opium drugs. It was now illegal to import marijuana into the United States (McWilliams, 1991). However, this law was ineffective in curbing marijuana use (Brecher, 1986, p. 14).

By the early 1940s narcotic addiction had significantly reduced in the United States (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999). However, this was not the result of legislative initiatives. Instead, it was because World War II was cutting off the "supplies of opium from Asia and interrupt the trafficking routes from Europe" (Inciardi, 1992, p. 24).

Several other legislative efforts in the supply reduction department served to establish more severe penalties for violations of drug laws, and tighten controls and restrictions over legally manufactured narcotic drugs (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999).…

References

1999). Recreational Drug Information. History of Drug Use U.S. Retrieved from the Internet at www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/.

Brecher, E. (1986). Drug Laws and Drug Law Enforcement: A Review and Evaluation Based on 111 Years of Experience,' Drugs and Society 1:1.

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Like alcohol, tobacco use is prohibited by minors but permitted by adults. Also like alcohol, tobacco use is detrimental to the health of the user, except even more so.

Whereas alcohol consumption generally benign and only acutely harmful when it is overused, tobacco use (especially in the form of cigarettes) is extremely dangerous for practically all users. This is simply a function of the fact that "typical" use of tobacco entails physical addiction to nicotine, its primary active ingredient. For this reason, it is very rare for smokers to use tobacco too infrequently to become chronic daily users

In contrast, most alcohol users do not partake so often that it compromises their physical health.

The dramatic long-term medical consequences of long-term tobacco use are universal as well as predictable; in fact, the medical community is united in the position that tobacco use causes more preventable illness and death than all…

References

Brecher, E.M. (1972) Licit and Illicit Drugs: The Consumers Union Report.

Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

Dershowitz, a. (2002) Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age

New York: Little Brown & Co.

Alcohol and usiness Ethics

Introduction moral society is built on the basis of a number of unspoken, but generally agreed upon social issues. A moral society generally applies the maxim "treat others in the way you would like to be treated" and this proverb, although it's heard more frequently in the school play yard than in the corporate boardroom, should affect business decisions which affect the community at large. Some would say that operating a business within legal boundaries is not an accurate measure of an ethical business. Within the past few decades, advertising has become the focus of ethical pressure. The 'Joe Camel' cartoon character developed as a spokesperson - mascot for the camel cigarette was pulled after community outrage that the furry, cute character was likely an attempt by the company to market their addictive and destructive products to children.

A tremendous pressure has been brought to bear…

Bibliography

Carson, S. (1995) The Nature of a Moral Business Person. Review of Business, Vol. 17.

Cappel, J., and Windsor, J. (1999) A Comparative Study of Moral Reasoning. College Student Journal, Vol. 33.

Cummings, Christian. (2001) Alcopops. Fm4.org Accessed 25 March 2004. Available from: (http://fm4.org.at)

Don't join the alcopop generation (2001, May 21) U.S. News & World Report.

Alcohol

How effective has the legal prohibition of alcohol been in controlling crime? A recent Department of Justice Report (U.S. Department of Justice) said that alcohol was a factor in 40% of all violent crimes and accounted for 40.9% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.A. In the last decade. ut these figures were 34% and 29%, respectively, lower than those of the previous decade. The Report further stated that arrests conducted for driving under the influence of alcohol correspondingly declined and attributed this to the establishment of the legal and uniform drinking age in the early 1980s.

Elucidating, the Report said that, approximately 3 million violent crimes occurred each year in that decade where the offenders were drinking at the time. And although arrests were made in every age group, those made on offenders below 21 notably decreased. The rate of intoxication in fatal accidents, it said, likewise went…

Bibliography

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3. Davis, George. Why Crime? Action Sunshine Coast Crime Prevention Program. Crime Prevention through Community Building, 2000. (accessed 25:03:03).  http://www.suncoastcentral.com/crimeprevention

Drug legalization is a highly controversial issue, which has been given top priority in political agenda. Many oppose legalization of cocaine but there are just as many people favoring legalization on various grounds. It is important to study both sides of the problem to see if legalization is practical or not. Those who oppose legalization of drugs maintain that cocaine is a dangerous drug which if legalized will send the wrong message that "it is OK to try such drugs" (Legalizing drugs may not be bad idea: 17 A). Opponents maintain that it is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies and other authorities to maintain stricter control over drug use in order to maintain "a delicate balance on drug initiatives." (Hemenway, 2002)

Drug legalization is a sensitive issue that many regard as problematic and believe that it is not in the jurisdiction of United States to allow or disallow legalization…

Works Cited

1)

Legalizing drugs may not be bad idea., USA Today, 10-11-1999, pp 17A

2)

HEMENWAY, D. Alexandria Arguments against states legalizing drugs, Arguments against states legalizing drugs., The Washington Times, 11-08-2002.

Drug Legalization

Pros

Most of the arguments for legalization of drugs are based on the pragmatic realities that it is difficult or impossible to legislate morality. Drug use has always been part of society and even though it may not be socially desirable there are many benefits that can be gained through legalization. One primary benefit is definitely financial. In a study by the Cato Institute, the report estimates that drug legalization would reduce government expenditure about $41.3 billion annually; roughly $25.7 billion of this savings would accrue to state and local governments, and roughly $15.6 billion to the federal government; about $8.7 billion of the savings would result from legalization of marijuana, $20 billion from legalization of cocaine and heroin, and $12.6 billion from legalization of all other drugs (Miron & aldock, 2010).

There are many other benefits beyond money as well. The United States has an expensive and…

Works Cited

Ghosh, P. (2010, October 19). The pros and cons of drug legalization in the U.S. . Retrieved from International Business Times:  http://www.ibtimes.com/pros-cons-drug-legalization-us-246712 

Lowy, J. (2014, September 1). Driving stoned? States prep for marijuana DUI. Retrieved from The Christian Science Monitor:  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0901/Driving-stoned-States-prep-for-marijuana-DUI 

Miron, J., & Waldock, K. (2010, October 3). Making an Economic Case for Legalizing Drugs. Retrieved from CATO Institute:  http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/making-economic-case-legalizing-drugs

All too often, the human stories of how and why certain people get involved in such rings are avoided. Tobon looked past this, and has become a valuable person to the Colombian community. The police even call him now, when they find the body of a mule. One way in which to deprive criminals of their unsuspecting dupes is by eliminating backbreaking poverty, by giving individuals a chance to pull themselves up by the bootstraps without having to resort to illegal measures. In the meantime, mules are a different sort of criminal than the ringleaders of these drug trafficking organizations, and so therefore ought to be tried in a court of law differently.

1. PBS (2009). The Border

Accompanying website Last accessed March 2010: http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/

2. -. Drug Trafficking in the United States DEA Fact Sheet.

Last accessed April 2010: http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/state_factsheets.html

3. Altschuler, David & Brounstein, Paul. (1992) Patterns of…

6. Sesin, Carmen. (2004, May 25). Caring for 'drug mules' who perish on the job. MSNBC.

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 http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-01-28/news/17227058_1_san-diego-tijuana-border-initiative-crossings-at-san-ysidro-drug-trade

Vancomycin should be given for at least 60 minutes. The initial dosage for pediatrics with renal impairment is not less than 15 mg/kg per day or 15 times the GF in mL/min. Premature infants should have longer dosing intervals. PO administration should be 40 mg/kg/day in 3-4 divided doses for 7-10 days. The maximum is 2,000 mg/day, which may be diluted in 1 oz of water or administered through an NG tube (PD).

Contraindications

Vancomycin is contraindicated to patients with hypersensitivity to vancomycin (Drug.com, 2012). Commercially prepared frozen Vancomycyn Hydrochloride injections in 5% dextrose may also be contraindicated to those with known allergic reaction to corn or corn products (Drug.com).

Drug-Drug Interactions

The patient should inform the doctor or pharmacist of all prescription and non-prescription or herbal products currently used (Medicine Net, 2012; Levinson, 2012). Aminoglycosides, amphotericin B, other antibiotics, and live bacterial vaccines are special mentions. If treatment requires…

Reference: PDR Network LLC.

Retrieved on April 20, 2012 from  http://www.pdr.net/drugpages/concisemonograph.aspx?concise=688

Drug Sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System

The objective of the research proposed in this document is to examine the issue of drug sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System in order to determine if the sentencing used is effective in bringing about a reduction in drug offenses and the rehabilitation of prisoners in successful return to society following incarceration.

(1) Is drug sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System effective in reducing repeat offenses?

(2) Are individuals successful returned to society following incarceration and rehabilitation programs?

(3) Is the U.S. Criminal Justice system succeeding or failing and are drug sentencing laws negatively or impacting the success of the U.S. Criminal Justice system in regards to drug sentencing laws?

Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is the additional knowledge that will be added to the already existing knowledge base in this area of study.

Methodology

The…

Bibliography

Clickman, Rubin (2011) Sentencing Guidelines in the American Justice System. FindLaw. Retrieved from: http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2010/Nov/203582.html

Kansal, T. And Mauer, M. (2005) RACIAL DISPARITY IN SENTENCING: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. JANUARY 2005. Retrieved from:  http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/disparity.pdf 

Stevens, John Paul CJ (2011) Our Broken System of Criminal Justice. The New York Review of Books. Retrieved from:  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/nov/10/our-broken-system-criminal-justice/?pagination=false