Marijuana and Alcohol

Marijuana and alcohol continue to be a problem for teenagers. Even though marijuana and alcohol use for teenagers is illegal, more and more teens begin the use of these every year. Pressure from others can push more teens into usage, and once they begin usage, it is hard to quit.

A high level of alcohol intake can lead to alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, malabsorbtion, alcoholic liver disease, chronic pancreatitis, and cancer over time. A person who drinks excessive amounts of alcohol might also be damaging their central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. Teen drinkers also see a very damaging effect on their brain, which is still developing.

Marijuana consumption in the short term can lead to impaired coordination, difficulty thinking, distorted perceptions, difficulty problem solving, and issues with learning and memory. In the long term, marijuana intake can lead to changes in the user's brain that are similar to other major drugs. An increase in the activation of the stress-response system is seen, and the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine is changed. Dopamine neurons deal with the regulation of reward and motivation. Dopamine neurons are affected by all types of drug abuse, whether it is indirectly or directly affected.

The many long term and short term consequences of marijuana and alcohol usage does not always improve prevention. Many drug and alcohol abusers begin when they are a teenager and never quit. Teenagers do not have the brain capability to see long term consequences of their actions. Therefore, the many side effects make no difference to the 17 year old who decided to try marijuana for the first time.

I believe that marijuana should not be legal. It is a very dangerous drug that can be a gateway drug for even worse substances. While alcohol abuse can also be bad, I believe that alcohol should be legal. The government already tried prohibition from 1920 to 1933. The illegalization of alcohol did not fix the problem. It only created more criminals and more abusers of the substance.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_alcohol
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/effects.-Lya.htm
http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition

Response to Nick O's Idea

I believe that gym class should not be mandatory for those who participate in a school sport. The main purpose of wellness class is to stay physically active. This is obviously already occurring for those who are athletes. Gym class just provides an opportunity for athletes to get hurt and miss out on their season. If gym wasn’t mandatory, the athletes could use the wellness slot to take another academic class that they are interested in. There are so many benefits to this. It allows the athlete to explore other areas of academics that they might be interested in. The chance to take a certain class could even alter the person’s choice of college major. I would understand if the school district still required the athletes to study the classroom part of wellness and be exempt from the gym portion. The students have been learning almost the same wellness information since seventh grade. It would not be a great expenditure for the athletes to study this on their own time briefly.

Response to Sara P's Idea

I personally believe that block scheduling is a much better way of teaching for both the teachers and students. If our school had eight classes each day, homework every night would be extensive. Even if you only had about ten minutes of homework in about four of your eight classes, the time would add up quickly. Having block scheduling allows students to only have to worry about homework in four different classes. This is more convenient for athletes who give up at least two hours of their after school time each night. Block scheduling allows for a longer class time, which is helpful when working on projects and teaching hard lessons. Without block scheduling, classes would be only half as long. While having four classes means that teachers will give more homework in those four periods, I still believe that it is a much easier method for the students.

Eating Healthy

There is no doubt that the childhood obesity rate is going up. More stress has been put on eating healthy and nutritious foods. Throughout the years, our wellness classes have been preaching to students about having a healthy diet. Do you think it is hypocritical of our school to offer foods like pizza and french fries at lunch almost daily? Explain.

Tobacco

Tobacco should not be legal. It is very dangerous to your health. Every year, close to 443,600 people in the U.S. die from illnesses related to tobacco use. Smoking tobacco causes one in five deaths. Smoking is responsible for about nine out of ten lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is one of the most deadly cancers. Smoking cigarettes kills more Americans than car accidents, AIDS, alcohol, suicide, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. Tobacco contributes to the risk of getting over eleven different cancers, including pharynx and pancreas cancer. As a society, legalizing tobacco would be a bad thing. It would greatly reduce the life expectancy rate and the quality of life. While the tobacco industry brings a lot of money to the government, the money is not worth the price of life. Legalizing tobacco because it is already used excessively is a ridiculous idea. It only promotes the usage of this horrible thing. I believe that the government should make all tobacco illegal.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/DEBATE/myths/myths7.htm
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Cigarette_Smoking.asp?sitearea=PED
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2395/Legalization-ARGUMENTS-PRO-CON.html

War on Drugs

The war on drugs in the United States began in the Richard Nixon administration with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914. Since then, more policies have been added to disrupt illegal distribution of drugs. Many more drug addicts are being caught. Just this year in the United States, 298,918 people were arrested for drug law offenses. That number comes at a great expense though. In 2003, the United States federal government spent over $19 billion dollars battling drug use. While the cost is high, I believe that drugs should not be legalized. Overuse of drugs can tear apart families and destroy lives. Legalizing drugs would just cause more issues for our country. We need to stop the illegal distribution of these drugs and help improve the quality of life. If drug trade remained illegal and the government could control its usage, our country would be much better off. The elimination of drugs would help keep families and towns together.

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs#History_of_drug_prohibition_in_the_U.S.

Bullying

I feel that the most effective way of preventing bullying is to confront the person face to face. Having a talk with the person can help resolve the situation. Opinions will be given from each side. The conversation might also help the two people understand how the problem got out of hand. In some cases, an unbiased person with no affiliation to either side might be necessary. The third person can help control the situation and come up with a solution after the discussion occurs. The third person must be someone that both parties respects and will listen to. Without a face-to-face confrontation, the problem may escalate into something much worse. This method can be useful to many teenagers who are having issues with one another.

Vaccinations

Vaccines can be a very effective way of preventing a massive outbreak of disease. An inactivated vaccine contains a small about of the killed virus. Each seasonal influenza vaccine has three strains of viruses. It has one A (H3N2) virus, one B virus, and one seasonal A (H1N1) virus. The regular seasonal A (H1N1) is not the 2009 version of H1N1 that outbroke throughout the world. The viruses in the seasonal influenza vaccine changes each year. Scientists determine which strains go in the vaccine based on predictions of which will spread during that year. After about two weeks after the vaccine is received, antibodies capable of fighting the strains of influenza will start to form in the body.
The effectiveness of vaccines can vary. The CDC reports that vaccination efficiency can depend on the age and health of the person receiving the vaccine. It can also depend on how similar the virus in the vaccine is to the virus that is circulating among the human population. Side effects can also vary between different vaccines. The common influenza vaccine may cause soreness, redness, or swelling at the injection site, along with a low grade fever and aches. The effects usually occur between one and two days after receiving the shot.
I believe that vaccines are worth the risk. They can help prevent you from getting the virus. They also help control the spread of the virus among the human population in general.

Industrial Farming

Is organic farming better than industrial farming? Each type of agriculture has its own pros and cons. Industrial farming is very helpful in the short term aspect. It makes produce readily and conveniently available for the common man. It also mass produces our crops, making them plentiful.
More known, perhaps, are industrial farming's negative impacts. Industrial farming disrupts the local environment. It also leads to an increase of ozone pollution and usage of fossil fuels. There is also an increased health risk due to pesticides. Steroids given to cattle can also be dangerously health threatening to people. These trends can change if America chooses to use the organic farming method.

Soy

Soy can be a good way to get the nutrients and proteins your body needs. There are many different soy products, such as soy milk and soynuts, available at most local grocery stores. Soy is very helpful for those who are lactose intolerant or vegetarian. It contains the three recommended macro-nutrients. It has carbohydrate and fat, complete protein,and vitamins and minerals (calcium, folic acid, and iron). The only complete protein that comes from common plants is from soybeans. This complete protein contains all of the needed amino acids for a healthy lifestlye. Eating just one serving (half a cup) of cooked yellow soybeans gives you 14.3 grams of protein.
While soy has many benefits, it can also have side effects. Soy contains a substance called purine. Excessive amounts of purine can lead to gout, a chronic disease causing joint pain. Soy isoflavones have shown to decrease thyroid functioning and ability. Some studies have also shown that substances containing soy may increase the risk of breast cancer. Soy contains phytic acid, which has been known to reduce mineral absorbtion.
While there are many benefits to eating soy products in moderation, it is also important to eat a balanced diet and not only rely on soy products.

Introduction

My name is Erica Knoll. Some of my interests are volleyball, basketball, and piano. I play volleyball on our school team and also on a local club team. I do not play basketball for our school team, but I enjoy watching the games. I hope to graduate high school and go on to college. I have used blogging in the past in some English classes, but not very often. Blogging can be repetitive if used too much, but it can also be useful in class discussions. It is a nice break from handwritten homework. Hopefully I will get better at using blog websites during this semester.