Drugs Should Not Be Legalized Essays (1253 words) - Drug Culture

Drugs Should Not Be Legalized Drugs Should Not be Legalized The question of whether to legalize drugs or not is a very controversial and important issue. Drugs affect so many areas of society. The U.S. population has an extremely high rate of alcohol and drug abuse (Grolier). Several groups have formed and spoken out regarding their position. Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization is the first step in helping to deliver the credible, consistent message about the risks and costs of the legalization of drugs to people in terms that make sense to them. The anti-legalization message is effective when communicated by representatives of the Federal Government, but takes on even more credibility when it comes from those in the community who can put the legalization debate in local perspective (Internet). After learning about the issues regarding both sides of the argument, I would choose to support those who oppose legalization of any drugs. Drugs simply create problems which effect society in several ways. The government has made several efforts to control drugs and their users, however, to most the problem appears too out of hand. Others see potential profit in legalizing drugs and still others simply believe that individual rights to take drugs should be protected. The group also acknowledged that the legalization concept appeals to people who are looking for simple solutions to the devastating problem of drug abuse (Internet). Societys answer to the problem is to trick the drug user by giving him what he wants. People believe that making drugs legal will take away the temptation to use them. This idea is wrong and far from logical. If drugs are legalized then they will be more accessible to the young, addicted, and ignorant. As a result the ready availability of addicting drugs, and as a result of their heavy use for medical problems, many individuals became addicted to the narcotics contained in these potent medicines. In fact, in 1900, there were more narcotics addicts, proportionate to the population, than there are today. At that time, most of the users who became addicts were medical addicts. Very few abusers took drugs for recreational purposes. In 1914, in an effort to curb the indiscriminate use of narcotics, the federal government passed the Harrison Act, making it illegal to obtain a narcotic drug without a prescription. During the 1920s the Supreme Court ruled that maintaining addicts on narcotic drugs, even by prescription, was in violation of the Harrison Act. Some 30,000 physicians were arrested during this period for dispensing narcotics, and some 3,000 actually served prison sentences. Consequently, doctors all but abandoned the treatment of addicts for nearly half a century in the United States (Grolier). The only resulting effect will be a negative one. There are no positive aspects of putting drugs on the streets with a label reading legal. There are plenty of people in society that find enough trouble on their own without the help of their country. Legalizing drugs would have a devastating result that would affect society as a whole. Audiences need to understand that 70% of drug users are employed, and that the school bus driver who drives your children to school could smoke marijuana, that the surgeon who operates on you may have cocaine in his system, and that the driver in back of you may be on speed. The debate needs to demonstrate graphically how the common man will be impacted by drug legalization (Internet). There is an idea that the drug user is a low class, unemployed junkie. This is untrue. The drug user is often a white collared worker with a family and a future. They are not all dirty with missing teeth and poor grammar. The common misconceptions of the user are dangerous to those members of society trying to rid the world of the problem. Drinking on the job is a social and economic problem with a long history. With the growing popularity of illegal drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, it was to be expected that their use in the workplace would emerge as a major issue by the 1980s. Estimates of employee drug use vary greatly, ranging from 10 percent to 25 percent for the proportion of workers who use drugs occasionally on the job. The safe

7 Types of Narrative Conflict

7 Types of Narrative Conflict 7 Types of Narrative Conflict 7 Types of Narrative Conflict By Mark Nichol Every work of literature, and much nonfiction narrative, is based on at least one of the following conflicts. When you write a story or a biography, or relate a true event or series of events, you need not focus on such themes, and there’s no reason to state them explicitly (except in passing, perhaps, to provide insight about a biographical subject), but you’re wise to identify the conflicts inherent in your composition and apply them as you write. 1. Person vs. Fate/God This category could be considered part of conflict with self or with society (many people count only four types of conflict, including those two and conflict with another person or with nature). That’s a valid argument, as one confronts fate as part of an internal struggle and religion is a construct of society, but explicitly naming fate (Oedipus Rex) or God or the gods (The Odyssey) as the antagonist is a useful distinction. 2. Person vs. Self A person’s struggle with his or her own prejudices or doubts or character flaws constitutes this type of conflict (Hamlet). 3. Person vs. Person Any story featuring a hero and a villain or villains (The Count of Monte Cristo) represents this type of conflict, though the villain(s) is/are often representative of another antagonist in this list, whether a villain is in essence an alter ego of the protagonist (thus representing the conflict of person versus self) or stands in for society. 4. Person vs. Society When the protagonist’s conflict extends to confronting institutions, traditions, or laws of his or her culture, he or she struggles to overcome them, either triumphing over a corrupt society (I draw a blank here), rejecting it (Fahrenheit 451), or succumbing to it (1984). 5. Person vs. Nature In this conflict, the protagonist is pitted against nature (Robinson Crusoe) or a representation of it, often in the form of an animal (Moby Dick). 6. Person vs. Supernatural Superficially, conflict with the supernatural may seem equivalent to conflict with fate or God, or representative of a struggle with an evocation of self (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) or nature (The Birds). But this category stands on its own feet as well. 7. Person vs. Technology Humanity’s innate skepticism about the wonders of technology has resulted in many stories in which antagonists use technology to gain power or in which technology takes over or becomes a malign influence on society (Brave New World). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)Whenever vs. When EverUsing "zeitgeist" Coherently

'Winning the vote made little difference to women's status in Essay

'Winning the vote made little difference to women's status in political life.' Discuss - Essay Example Discrimination against women was on the rise not only in politics but also in the working places. Most of the top jobs and management positions were held by the men especially in the agricultural farms and other industries. This therefore reflected the wages that were paid to the women and men had big differences. It is because of these discriminations that led to the establishment of women movements to push for their rights and betterment of their lives with regard to the political democracy. The movement for women suffrage played a vital role in the process that led to women winning the vote and increased women representatives in political positions. This process was very important in the history of Britain since it made a turning point in the political arena as it resulted into women being given equal opportunities in political positions and increased diversity of representation. However, this development has not fully transformed the lives of women with regard to politics and the re are still certain levels of suppression against women. This includes discriminations and inequality in works, low wages, gender roles discrimination and lack of equal representation in political positions among other inequalities. The movement for women’s Suffrage as mentioned earlier was very instrumental in this process. It played an important role in the mobilization of women from different parts of the nation as well as different women from low, middle and high class. This movement can be described as the vehicle that was used by the women in their achievement of political democracy and equal opportunities (Lovenduski, 1986). It organized protests across the nation in favor of the rights of women to vote. The efforts of Edwardian ladies during their protests in which they participated in chaotic protests that demanded for the rights of women to vote were very significant in the Britain. Cotton workers especially those from the Lancashire mainly campaigned for the women ’s suffrage movement in the farms, mills as well as within the factories in England. As stated by Ford (1997), women’s suffrage movement was one of the biggest women movements in Britain. However, this movement together with others had their own challenges. During the initial stages of the movement, the major participants were the middle class women together with the other women who worked in the increasing capitalist class. Most of these women were actually involve in the radical campaign for the abolition of slavery, the problems with the Corn Laws, the ruling ideologies among many other ideas that they felt were discriminatory against the women. The ruling ideology during this time provided a clear difference between the men and women in which the men were given the clear control over the women. The married women had to seek directions from their husbands even in political issues that affected their lives and hence remained a property of their husbands. The movement for women’s suffrage was also concerned about the divorce laws that never gave them the opportunity to take control of their lives, property, earnings as well as higher education and advancement in career and professional opportunities. These efforts resulted into women winning some of the rights after the end of that century. Women were given the rights to participate in the voting in the local elections. However, these were restricted to their qualifications and with regard to the property rights. As a result, not all the women participated in the elections but only few who met the qualifications mentioned above. This means that the right to vote was still not open to all women.