Medicinal Marijuana
Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General, once spoke about the legalization of marijuana for medical use in a press conference. "It's criminal to keep this medicine from patients," she said (Silverman, 1995, pg. 2). She received criticism not only from many citizens of the United States, but also strong criticism from the President who appointed her. The legalization of marijuana for medical use has always been a sharply debated subject, and many of the debaters are uneducated about the effects of using this illegal drug for therapeutic use. Many studies have been done and the results are clear. As a medical drug, marijuana should be available to patients who do not adequately respond to currently available therapies.
Marijuana is commonly called by its scientific name, Cannabis or its chemical name THC, tetrahydrocannibinol (tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol). Its chemical formula is C21 H30 O2. It has a molecular weight of 314.47 and its boiling point is 200 (Erowid website, 2000).
The first recorded use of marijuana was in 2727 BC, and it was used as a medicine in Chinese pharmacopoeia (Silverman, 1995, pg.1). In 1870, Giovanni Polli, the father of laboratory medicine in Italy, had much to say about this pain-relieving drug. "It is obvious that hashish (marijuana), which we tried, can always be called on for help as the most benign and sure sedative when there is no hope of a definite cure" (Kassirer, 1997, pg.1185). In fact, marijuana was legal until 1937 when Cannabis, the scientific name for marijuana, was withdrawn from the United States public and made federally illegal with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act against the advice of the medical community (Silverm...
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This essay will focus on two main points that will support the argument that more Tasers should not be given to more officers. First off, there has not been enough research completed to deem Tasers as a safe alternative weapon that officers can use to gain compliance of violent individuals that they may deal with on a day-to-day basis. Before more Tasers are given to officers, there needs to be more research done outlining the possible risks that CEWs pose to the human body, and any short or long term affects that may arise due to the use of CEWs on individuals. Secondly, the issuing of Tasers to more officers is not a good idea because just like anything else, Tasers can lead to an overreliance on the part of police officers to resort to the use of Tasers on individuals who do not comply with them. This along with the absence of clear and strict guidelines that stipulate when officers are to use their Tasers on non-compliant individuals will lead to abuse. Many police officers may decide to bypass the use of verbal commands, empty-handed strikes, and other tools at their disposal such as the ASP baton, when dealing with a violent individual...
However, the population of the California condors decreased tremendously during the late 1970s, with only 22 reported alive worldwide in the year 1982-1983 and only nine in the wild by 1985. It was the lowest recorded number of this creature (Church, 2006). And the habitats also shrunk from several locations to only California area. The Condor was then added to the endangered species list of the United States. Moreover, Condor comes under the category of critically endangered (CR) species which is the most severe category under conservation status subjected to species at the highest risk of extinction. Since then various organizations and societies are working on conserving this creature and bringing it back to wildlife.(USFWS, N.D.)
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the use of police departments using tasers. Many people think that tasers are less lethal and safer for police to use on everyone but, throughout this essay there will be many reasons as to why tasers are unsafe and pose a threat to someone on the receiving end. Tasers have been involved with many deaths and other injuries. The main topic that will be discussed in this essay is how sometimes shooting is a taser and just stunning the person is not all that happens. There are much more to stun guns than just 5 seconds of paralysis.
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While proponents of the taser consider it as a non – lethal alternative to more aggressive uses of force, it is surrounded by controversy from its opponents who criticize the lack of centralized and standardized policies for use both nationally, as well as locally, and the immediacy in which they are used in police encounters with an emphasis on their susceptibility to abuse. Additionally, studies on humans and animals have revealed that the electrical shock delivered by tasers can result in both respiratory and cardiovascular complications, of which the latter has been documented to result in cardiac arrest (Amnesty International, 2008, p. 28). Through a review of current and past literature, it becomes apparent that until certain remedies and recommendations are made, the taser is not suitable for use by law enforcement
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Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While marijuana has a small amount of negligible effects to its users, the herbal drug more importantly has remarkable health benefits, and legalizing one of the oldest and most commonly known drugs would redirect America’s future with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages.
Upcoming college freshman have had the lowest emotional health in 25 years and a U.S. Psychologist claims, “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.”3 If left untreated in teens it can cause them to have repeated school absences or inability to finish school, impaired relationships with pairs, and drug or alcohol use. The first signs of depression, panic disorders, and anxiety usually start in the late teens or early twenties. Anxiety can affect anyone no matter the age, a volunteer at the charity Anxiety UK said bitterly “It's stopped me from living what I feel is a normal life, doing things like having relationships, perhaps getting married, having children, having a career, ”2. If anxiety becomes extreme enough it can be a debilitating, life-altering
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Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the stress put on teenagers to start putting their life together takes a toll on their emotions. The daily life and activities are interfered with by anxiety when the amount of stress put on a teenager becomes unbearable. Unfortunately, the effects of anxiety become so intense that the mental health is eventually toyed with. So many different components of life contribute to anxiety and cannot be prevented.
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