What Is Marijuana Marijuana Is A Drug Obtained From Dried And Crumple

What Is Marijuana? Marijuana is a drug obtained from dried and crumpled parts of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa (or Cannabis indica). It can be smoked by rolling in tobacco paper or placing in a pipe. It is also otherwise consumed worldwide by an estimated 200,000,000 persons for pleasure, an escape from reality, or relaxation. The main active principle of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol. "Marijuana is not a narcotic and is not mentally or physically addicting drug. One can use mild cannabis preparations such as marijuana in small amounts for years without physical or mental deterioration. Marijuana serves to diminish inhibitions and acts as a euphoriant. Some who smoke marijuana feel no effects; others feel relaxed and sociable, tend to laugh a great deal, and have a profound loss of the sense of time. Characteristically, those under the influence of marijuana show incoordination and impaired ability to perform skilled acts. Still others experience a wide range of emotions including feelings of perception, fear, insanity, happiness, love and anger" (Annas 19). Although marijuana is not addicting, it may be habituating. The individual may become psychologically rather than physically dependent on the drug. Those who urge the legalization of marijuana maintain the drug are entirely safe. The available data suggested, this is not so. Marijuana occasionally produces acute panic reactions or even transient psychoses. Furthermore, a person driving under the influence of marijuana is a danger to themselves and others. There is no established medical use for marijuana or any other cannabis preparation. In the United States, its use is a crime and the laws governing marijuana are similar to those regulating heroin. Many authorities now urge that the laws be modified to mitigate the penalties relating to conviction on marijuana possession charges. The Case for Legalizing Marijuana use the United States stands apart from many nations in its deep respect for the individual. The strong belief in personal freedom appears early in the nation's history. The Declaration of Independence speaks of every citizen's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution and Bill of Rights go further, making specific guarantees. The right to privacy in recent years, Americans have referred to privacy as one of the basic human rights, something to be claimed by anyone, anywhere. United States citizens feel strongly about this and often tell other countries that they must honor their people's claims to privacy and personal freedom. The marijuana user is indulging in a minor pleasure over which that government should have no jurisdiction. It is quite clear from survey data that most people do not become physically dependent on marijuana. The majority uses it as others use alcohol - to relax occasionally and to indulge a festive mood. How can a mild intoxicant, taken less than once a day by most users, be seen as a public threat? The law should not penalize even those who are "hooked", or psychologically dependent upon their habit. Some people find any compulsive and unproductive behavior disgusting. But that is not a reason for outlawing it. The attempt to use the law to tell people what they may and may not consume at home is an arrogant invasion of personal privacy. Protecting the drug user's physical health sometimes it is said that the law must protect the drug user from himself. One of the detriments of tolerating drug use, according to this theory, is that is encourages the use of more and different drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse's 1984 report to Congress cited no evidence to support the idea that drug use is hurting economic productivity. It said: The fact is, very little is known about the complex relationship which undoubtedly exists between drug abuse, worker performance, and productivity, or the lack thereof.... Simply put, the number of unanswered questions currently far outnumbers the available answers. Nor is there any strong evidence that legalizing marijuana would increase use of the drug. In fact, there is some evidence suggesting that drug use under a relaxed legal system might not increase at all. Many states have removed the penalties for marijuana possession that were on the books in the 1950s and 1960s. The change occurred during a reform movement that swept the nation in the mid 1970s. Yet in spite of the

Cultural change essays

Cultural change essays For nations to form, the people living in them had to become unified. This was difficult to accomplish as long as large groups of people lived virtually isolated from the cities of their country. Peasants in Western countries lived a life of bare subsistence at the beginning of the 19th century, often with a simple shelter, no furniture, and no change of clothes. Every stick of wood and stone placed around a fire was a precious commodity, and they could not survive except looking at issues in a very concrete and practical way. It did not matter what a government official in a city many miles away the peasant would never see thought the peasant should be doing. The peasant had to do what was most likely to keep him and his family alive. They were self-sufficient, and any suggestion that implied living in some other way must have seemed reckless For the entire country to pull together with a sense of nationalism required that they have a sense that they were all part of the same thing. This perception gradually grew during the last third of the 19th century in France as improved transportation brought urban concepts to previously isolated people. Until then, France was a country divided by regions in a very basic sense. France's unity was a governmental one, not a cultural Poverty as experienced by peasants was relative. If a person didn't know he "should" have a bed, he didn't feel impoverished by his pile of leaves. As the perceptions of what one needed spread from the French cities and towns to the wild countryside, perceptions about need changed. As economics improved for the French peasants, they began to acquire thing that used to be available only to the urban middle class, such s furniture and changes of clothes. The desire for these items demonstrated an increased shared culture among all the citizens. Cultural traditions and perceived needs are more im...

Body image and gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Body image and gender - Essay Example This essay "Body image and gender" outlines the attitude of both genders to their bodies and different disorders which are connected with that. It has been shown repeatedly that body image is the most significant contributor to eating disorders (Hoyt & Kogan, 2001). Studies have also shown that approximately 90% of all persons that have eating disorders are women (Shirao et al. 2005). This might stem from the fact that during pubescence, a woman’s figure tends to deviate from socio-cultural ideals, whereas that of men tends to move toward what is lauded in society (2001). In accordance with this, the study done by Hoyt and Kogan revealed that while 84% of college men surveyed were satisfied with their current weight, only 66% of the women were satisfied with theirs. It also showed that underweight women at-risk for anorexia showed little or no signs of being more satisfied with their body image than were those women of normal or excessive weight. However, in a study done by Fr iedman, et al. (2002), the degree of a person’s obesity (whether male or female) correlated with their evaluation of body image. Further, body image was found to be a mediator or determiner of self esteem and level of depression. This general tendency in women to be more dissatisfied with their bodies than men extends even to adolescents and pre-teens. Phares, Steinberg, and Thompson (2004) have cited research showing that adolescent girls of average weight are about as likely as overweight adolescents to be on a diet.

The Development of African Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Development of African Dance - Essay Example There are important aspects of African dance and music that have evolved into the modern times and greatly influenced contemporary art forms worldwide. For example, rap music and hiphop dance, while they are very much part of contemporary art forms of the youth, are new versions of traditional African culture.African dances are full of symbolism. One persistent aspect of African dance is a common dance-pattern that is depicted by a wide, sweeping circle around a group of musicians situated in the center. Despite historical changes to dance, the circle formation has proved to be very durable, despite attempts to break up the circle formation. James (2000) says that the moving circle that defines the inner space for the dancers is a symbol of the celebration of the culture’s distinctiveness, and this symbol could be traced through Africa’s history of political subjugation and social change. The pattern could also be found in dances in slave plantations in the New World, a s well as the Sudanese and Ethiopian region of the upper Blue Nile.The circle formation could is evident in the Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art form which ritualizes movements from martial arts and games and combines these with dance. (Please see powerpoint presentation.) Capoeira was popularized as a Brazilian dance, but evidence supports that it is a folk dance form developed by African slaves from traditional African dances and rituals. While African dance has influenced dance in other cultures, some authors such as Loots (2006).

Destiny of a Hero Essay Example for Free

Destiny of a Hero Essay Upon reading or watching the epic tales of heroes, it is easy to overlook the connection they all share. From his writings in, A Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell brings to light the journey of a hero in â€Å"the rights of passage: separation – initiation – return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth.† (Campbell, 30) The epic tale of a hero follows the universal pattern of Campbell’s monomyth beginning with the separation, or call to adventure leaving one’s family, friends, or tribe. Followed by the initiation of the crossing the threshold into the world unknown where he encounters trials and is victorious. S/he can then return home with a â€Å"boon† to aid and/or restore his/her world. According to Campbell, â€Å"[o]ther [monomyths] string a number of independent cycles into a single series (as in the Odyssey).† (Campbell, 246) In Beowulf, the poet has sent Beowulf on his journey of the monomyth. However, like Csmpbell has written, Beowulf’s journey consist of three miniature monomyths that can be connected into one hero’s journey that take several decades of his life to complete. In the first cycle, consider Beowulf’s initial call to adventure. King Hrothgar was in desperate need of a hero to rid of is curse, Grendel, that terrorizes his people in the Mead Hall. Capbell writes, â€Å"[w]ith the personifications of his destiny to guide him, the hero goes forward until he comes to the ‘threshold guardian.’† (Campbell, 77) He claims â€Å"that there is a benign power supporting him in his superhuman passage.† (Campbell, 97) Recall the incredibly fierce storm in the sea Beowulf and the Geats had to endure on their journey that should swallowed them whole. Campbell claims that there are forces beyond the hero that guide him to his destiny. Upon arrival, Beowulf and his thanes are confronted at Heorot by the first threshold guardian. Here, according to Campbell, the hero must â€Å"defeat or conciliate† the guardian in order for the true adventure to begin. Beowulf conciliates the watchman to take him and his thanes to the Mead Hall. From  there, Beowulf falls into the next step of the monomyth, entering â€Å"the kingdom of the dark.† (245) Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, which takes place in the darkness in the Mead Hall, wins him the boon, the arm of Grendel. â€Å"The final work is that of the return. . . the common day.† (Campbell, 216, 246) Upon winning the boon, the curse of King Hrothgar had been lifted and the community had been restored. In return, Beowulf undergoes apotheosis from the community and is rewarded with the royal dragon horn. The next two cycles follow much of the same pattern of Campbell’s monomyth. His next call to adventure comes in the form of murders. Beowulf wakes in the morning after the celebration only to see his men killed and hung from the ceiling of the Mead Hall. Once again, the hero had to travel to the cave where Grendel’s mother resided – into the unknown. There, he had entered the cave, crossing the threshold, where â€Å"[t]he hero . . . is swallowed into the unknown.† (Campbell, 90) and is confronted by its guardian, which happened to be Grendel’s mother. However, Beowulf does not defeat her, but is rather seduced by her as well as her promises to make him all-powerful, and â€Å"through the graces of some male or female . . . the [hero] still must return with his life-transmuting trophy.† (Campbell, 193) Beowulf returns to the world familiar with his boon, the â€Å"head of Grendel’s mother.† King Hrothgar immediately knows that Beowulf is lying, however he and the community appraise him to an even higher apotheosis and Hrothgar declares Beowulf his heir after his soo n-to-be death. Beowulf’s final call to adventure comes in the form of a dragon burning Unferth’s home and family. Leaving Unferth alive to deliver the message to King Beowulf: â€Å"[t]he sins of the fathers.’† For one final time, Beowulf crosses the threshold (that being the cave) into the unknown and is confronted by its guardian, Grendel’s mother. Failing to conciliate with her, Beowulf enters the threshold of adventure, literally taking the form of a dragon battle. However, in this battle, Beowulf struggled in his magic flight in trying to defeat the dragon and had to descend into his own death in order to slay the creature. Beowulf had brought the boon to his people in the form of freedom from the dragon and received the ultimate apotheosis in that his name will be remembered forever as the â€Å"prince of all warriors†. Viewing Beowulf’s entire life as one hero’s journey on a grand scale, it follows Campbell’s paradigm. In Beowulf’s separation, his call to adventure was when he heard that Hrothgar was in need of a hero to kill Grendel. Beowulf sets sail along with his fellow Geats to the world unknown and must endure the trials and ordeals along the way. Beowulf, being aided by some force of supernatural power on his travels out in the powerful sea storm, no match for ordinary man. Upon his arrival, Beowulf enters the first threshold into the Dark World, that being the Mead Hall, and then battling the threshold guardian, Grendel. After the defeat of Grendel, Beowulf is given his first apotheosis, as the people of Heorot praise him and he was rewarded the royal dragon horn. However, the trials are not over for Beowulf, as after his men are murdered, his next task is to kill Grendel’s mother. Here, he crosses the threshold into the unknown once again and into the â€Å"belly of the whale† (the cave) and meeting the â€Å"queen† (Grendel’s mother). Beowulf enters the initiation element of Campbell’s monomyth. Although there was no battle, Beowulf had been defeated. Not physically, but Grendel’s mother had been successful in seducing Beowulf with her promises in exchange for the dragon horn, thus binding them in a â€Å"sacred marriage†. Beowulf then travels back to the community and is raised to an even grander apotheosis as he is made their king. It takes Beowulf some decades later to reach the final stage of Campbell’s outline, the hero’s return. After years of being an almighty king, Beowulf once again receives the special item, the dragon horn, and then the village is literally attacked by a dragon. This bring Beowulf to the crossing of the return threshold (the cave). Immediately on his arrival, he goes on the magic flight in his battle with the dragon. These set of events lead him into the final stages of the hero’s journey. Beowulf slayed the beast at the cost of his own life as well. He achieves the ultimate apotheosis and his name will always be remembered and the people will sing of it. Beowulf has won a temporary boon (peace from the dragon and Grendel’s mother’s wrath) for the people of Heorot. Temporary because Wiglaf (new king) receives that special item (dragon horn) and it is unknown what actions he will take with Grendel’s mother. â€Å"The adventure of the hero normally follows the pattern of the nuclear unit . . . a separation from the world, a penetration to some source of power, and a life enhancing return.† (Campbell, 35) There is no doubt that the story of Beowulf follows Campbell’s monomyth cycle of a hero’s journey. Beowulf’s entire journey actually consists of three miniature journeys embedded into one grand journey that is Beowulf’s monomyth.

Pardon Debate :: essays research papers

Pardon Debate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Does money increase power over the rest of the nation? President Clinton’s last minute pardons before leaving the White House has left a lingering shadow over his two year Presidency. To understand this controversy, we would need to discuss the Mar Rich pardon, the Glenn Braswell pardon, and the negative impact that these had on the former President and former first lady.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article â€Å"A President and a pardon, a price?† written by Mark Mezzetti and Gary Cohen, stated that Marc Rich fled from the U.S. to Switzerland in 1983 to dodge a tax fraud charge. On the morning of Clinton’s final day in office, the criticism was becoming well known around the White House. President Clinton had pardoned her from the tax fraud charge. Carol Elder Bruce, the clients lawyer, informed committee staff members that Mrs. Rich had contributed over $200 million to the Clinton Library Fund. (26). A well known source told U.S. News Today that so far Marc Rich has contributed $450,000 in the past three years. (26). Mr. Rich had donated more than $1 million for Democrats between 1991-1992. He also gave $70,000 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign for New York’s Senator.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While Micheal Milken, former Junk-bond king, waited for a pardon, Clinton fundraisers approached him for money. His spokesman stated that Mr. Milken gave nothing to the fund raiser.(26). But on Presidents Clinton’s last day in office an e-mail had been sent to Jack Quinn by Denis Rich, Marc’s ex-wife, that there was news that Milken will not get the pardon. Milken, who was a pardon applicant that did not contribute to the Clinton Library Fund.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another pardon that was given before President Clinton left was for Glenn Braswell. An article written by Mark Mazzetti and Shelia Kaplan called â€Å"The scandal that keeps on giving†, gave the impression that herb supplement dealer Glenn Braswell was pardoned the same day also. President Clinton’s brother-n-law Hugh Rodham had accepted $400,000 to plead Braswell’s case. (25). This damage was felt mostly by Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton was disappointed in her brother. The former first lady insisted that Rodham return the money that he had taken for the case. The White House log books records each visitor’s time and date they enter the White House. Therefore they can track the times and days when Rodham was at the White House. The White Houses formal couple stated in an interview, that they know nothing about Rodham’s connection with the Braswell pardon.

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest Essay

   Through Kesey’s use of literary features, his novel helped base an understanding on what society decided to believe is normal. Kesey highlights the significance of the insane and their positive energy. He uses McMurphy as a tool to highlight each patient’s positive side whereas society only searches for the negative. Kesey’s outlook on mental illness is simple; he uses his novel to point this out. His novel shows how the patients in the ward are there because society placed them there. Society labeled these people to be against the norms or conformities, which in return allowed the patients to feel inferior and out of place. This novel stresses the fact that each person should not be forced into a corner; they should be given rights to live regular lives with other people. Society should not force inferiority complexes on these patients. The fact that most of the patients were voluntary helps prove this point. It shows how society forced them into a completely different and inhumane lifestyle. Another novel that joins this rebellion against society in relation to insanity is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. In this novel, Plath interprets insanity in her own way trying to prove practically the same point as Kesey. Plath’s use of description, metaphors, and characterization help provide her main point of allowing insanity to merge with reality. The Bell Jar is a novel equipped with descriptions that allow the reader direct access to the main character’s mind. Plath uses an abundant amount of physical descriptions such as the description of Esther’s surroundings at all times to help give examples of how society has forced this woman to think. Esther’s thoughts on life, death, and the world all seem to be reasonable and justifiable thoughts. She is capable of convincing the reader that those thoughts are not insane. Through the use of descriptions, Plath was able to highlight the unjust life of a 1950s woman. Plath also uses metaphors to highlight the suppression made by society on the women. The title of the book is the major metaphor that best represents Plath’s idea on society’s conformities. The entire novel revolves around the idea of the bell jar and this jar represents how society analyzes and reduces the contents provided in the jar. The jar represents insanity. Esther feels secluded and isolated from the real world when she is labeled as mad. She feels like she is an airless jar that ruins her perspective of what the real world is. It signifies a buffer that ends the connection between Esther and the real world4. These literary features were all used to highlight Esther’s alienation from the real world. It shows how a young woman from the 1950s was forced to act. Esther wanted to pursue a writing career and is supported completely, but her thoughts begin to change when the fact that she cannot merge her career with being a mother come to place. Esther becomes depressed and her thoughts begin to change on the world. These individual thoughts begin to accumulate leading to actions that are condemned upon by society. Society expects a lot from Esther such as the idea of her virginity. Esther rebels against the conventional role of virginity with women at that time by embarking on a sexual experience. Esther did not become insane because she believed against the norms of society but rather insanity fell on her. The treatments in both novels are similar in many aspects. At first, the hospitals provide healthy conversations between the patient and a professional psychiatrist. In both novels, the sense of talking is important because a lot of information is released about society and what they think of it. Another treatment usually done after talk therapy is electroshock therapy. Electroshock therapy was created in 1936 in order to help patients clear their mind5. As years passed, this treatment began to evolve which therefore led to the change of its purpose. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, ECT was used as a form of punishment. Patients were punished for doing anything out of the ordinary. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood undergoes several electroshock therapy sessions to clear her mind. She continuously states how painful the therapy is and tries to refuse treatment. Her recollections of these treatments show the inhumanity in medical treatments. Another treatment that falls into the controversial category is Lobotomy. It is shown insignificantly in The Bell Jar, one patient briefly converses about it. On the other hand, Lobotomy has a major impact in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The main character undergoes a lobotomy at the end of the novel. This act completely criticizes the ways of society in relation to medical treatments. Many forms of medical treatments on insanity exist but whether they provide a positive outcome is the main question. Society and mental illness are very closely related in the sense that society creates the separation between sanity and insanity. That separation is miniscule and changes constantly over time. Both of these novels emphasize isolation, suppression, and seclusion forced by society. Society forces these on the ideas that are condemned or not wanted. These ideas should not force inhumane actions but rather welcome ideas as an advantage to a better society, a more open society. Mental illnesses and treatments are used as major themes in novels to help highlight the negative aspects of what society creates. Through showing the unjust actions forced by society on people, the idea of insanity should evolve from punishment to help. Word Count: 1,605 1 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. 2 Gale, CD-Rom, HS Library. Source 1 3 Gale, CD-Rom, HS Library. Source 1 4 Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography, 1941-1968; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 17-20.