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.