Substance Abuse - Alcohol and Drugs Essay Example for Free

Substance Abuse Alcohol and Drugs Essay World Health Organization has played a huge role in the management of substance abuse and its prevention especially among the vulnerable groups. It has supported countries to reduce and prevent problems caused by the use of psychoactive substances in terms of regulations and policy implementation. Its main mandate is to; â€Å"recommend reduction and prevention mechanisms which can able to prevent relapse and assess substance that highly contribute to relapse hence able to advise the U.N on what regulations to pursue†. The department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse under it has been mandated to overlook issues of curbing relapse and also substance abuse in general (Laws and Ward, 2000). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines substance abuse as â€Å"the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances which include illicit drugs and alcohol†. A prolonged or repeated use of such substances can lead to addiction which is usually evident with continued use of the substances despite the fact that physical and mental deterioration is being noticed. In fact, various researchers in the world have come up with different conclusions and suggestions regarding the causes, effects, solutions and recommendations on how to deal with substance abuse (Laws and Ward, 2000). Substance abuse is a global issue. Reports reveal that the illegal drug business accounts for $400 billion of world trade, and is second only to the worldwide arms market, it is larger than the global iron and steel industries.(Cherry, Dillon, and Rugh, 2002) The 2000 World Drug Report noted that there were at least 180 million drug abusers globally, including 9 million heroin addicts, 29 million amphetamine users, and 14 million cocaine users (ODCCP, 2000)(Cherry, Dillon, and Rugh, 2002). Untreated cases of substance abuse, addiction and relapse add significant effects to communities and families. â€Å"The main effects that can be immediately noticed are; property and violence crimes, criminal and court related costs, health care utilization costs, lack of child support, prison   expenses for the government, welfare and foster care costs, child abuse, unemployment and emergency room visits† (Marks, A. Donovan, 2005). Treatment options Scientific research which has been conducted in the past have shown that effective treatment from substance abuse can help people completely recover from destructive behaviors after undoing   treatment or recovery process from substance abuse. People can successfully remove themselves from a life of substance abuse through effective treatment and long-term commitments. It includes the following; Pharmacotheraphies To a greater or lesser extent, certain drugs and alcohols have been developed and manufactured to assist in solving issues of relapse. They include opioid medications such as methadone, buprenorphine, morphine, oxycodone etc. which have been used as remedies of relapse. One of the most successful ones include bogaine which, according to medics, can help reduce the temptation of going back to substance abuse and is specifically suited for narcotics and alcohol. It is believed to interrupt  Ã‚   both psychological cravings and physical dependence on stimulants, nicotine and alcohol. Other antidepressants are able to moderate substance use particularly narcotics. All these Pharmacotheraphies have helped in the reduction of addiction and relapse of substance abuse for all genders. Rehabilitation Most of the judicial systems have been able to convict substance abusers to rehabilitation programs and to cope with withdrawal symptoms. The detoxification process of addiction involves the abrupt cessation of drug use and physical tolerance of the temptation. Medics promote the use of rehabilitation strategies to minimize effects of relapse since it is a slow but sure process of withdrawal. The method involves the use of psychological dependency which attempts to teach and train the victim new methods of freely interacting with a drug-free environment and avoid relapse. Isolation of victims or patients of relapse from people who are still substance abusers is very important as it prevents them from admiring the practice. In some organizations, moderations are utilized to allow substance abusers to re-examine their habits and compare themselves before and after stopping the practice. Many other programs utilize rehabilitation initiatives to make their initiatives more effective (Pham-Kanter, 2001). Justice systems Drug involved offenders have frequently been cycled through the judicial system whereby the substance abusers have become common to probation officers and police officers. This is an evidence that relapse is common and that the judicial system is doing very little to address it. As jails, prisons, juvenile detention centers and other correctional facilities get congested, all stakeholders in the medical field are examining newer solutions to prevent relapse. One of them is the criminal justice settings where substance abusers who are most likely to be criminals are only allowed to re-enter back into the community when they have completely recovered from substance abuse and are not likely to be affected by relapse. Relapse Prevention Therapy RPT was originally designed as a maintenance program for replace victims. It entails treatment of addictive behaviors which is used as stand-alone program that in most cases is designed to teach individuals to try and maintain changes initiated in the treatment process. Every individual has an effective response system to cope with incidences of high risk situations but the problem is the guts to do so. Post-implementation survey on suitability of RPT has shown that relapse had decreased significantly as a result of the program. RPT strategies are categorized to three groups; lifestyle modification, coping skills training and cognitive therapies. All of these strategies round up to both cognitive and behavioral techniques and approaches that provide victims of relapse with ways to reframe their habits once more and change processes in learning experiences with setbacks on how they can meet challenges of recovery. Life modifications strategies include; exercise, spiritual practices, meditation among others (Pham-Kanter, 2001). Side Effects of Addiction The most common side effect of substance abuse i.e. alcohol and drug is what is termed as substance relapse. Relapse is a situation of ‘converting back’ from a condition after a short or long abstinences. In drug addiction and substance abuse, it can be defined as â€Å"the resumption of the use of drugs after leaving it for some time† that is according to World Health Organization in the year 2004 (Laws and Ward, 2000). Substance abuse relapse is a condition where one feels to have failed to recover fully from addiction to drugs or substance abuse despite the fact that they have gone under a professional recovery plan. It means that individuals are tempted to use the drugs even after they have undergone a medical response process. Relapse to substance abuse is a common problem that can have devastating effects on the victim especially physical and emotional impacts. It requires good communication and counseling between the counselor and the patient. Recovery from substance abuse especially is not a complete failure to eradication but a step further; in real sense, a positive way to strengthen the process of recovery that is difficult to address given the complexity nature of the issue. There are three ways of severity of relapse which is normally used to determine the most suitable medical or counseling response. The first level is slip where the victim briefly resumes drug use but have no signs of drug dependence or symptoms of addiction.   The second level is several level of drug abuse. This is the most severe form because the victim resumes substance abuse for several days during the treatment process. This should be used as a learning process where the patient should learn from experience and prevent further relapse. The last level is the sustained drug use evidenced by resumption of addiction. The victims of substance abuse fully relapse to addiction and eventually drops out treatment and those medics and counselors need to start from scratch (Marks, A. Donovan, 2005). The Relapse Process Any use of a substance after a period of abstinence is a measure of the relapse rates. Previous research has indicated that temporal patterning of the relapse process and that the circumstances under which the process occurs across all the genders is under is difficult to comprehend especially by unprofessional persons and the victims themselves. Hence the commonalities across all substance abusers are an indication of the relapse rates and it involves a sense of perceived control and self-efficacy (Marks, A. Donovan, 2005).       Reference Cherry, A, Dillon, M, Rugh, D (2002): Substance abuse a global view. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press Laws, D. Ward, T. (2000): Remaking relapse prevention with sex offenders: The sourcebook. Newbury Park, CA; Sage Publications Marks, A. Donovan, D. (2005): Relapse prevention; Maintenance strategies in the treatment of addictive behaviors (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press Pham-Kanter, G. (2001): Substance abuse and dependence. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine Second Edition Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group,

Fear Factor :: essays research papers

Fear Factor Journal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  H. P. Lovecraft once said â€Å"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.† Everybody has or has dealt with some sort of fear in their life. For some, fear only manifests itself in some form of mild discomfort, but for others it can be so great that it creates an emotional vice-grip and holds it victim captive. I have my share of fears in life. One of these fears, which I have had since childhood, is my fear of supernatural and evil spirits. I am Christian and I believe in God, therefore I must also believe that there is a devil. As a Christian I am also aware of the contest between good and evil, so I am no doubt afraid of Satan and the infections of evil that he has brought to this earth. In the Bible it says that God allows Satan and his fallen angels a limited amount of power on earth. When I was younger I began hearing stories of people practicing witchcraft and worshipping Satan in a nearby town called Cassadaga, Florida. I was frightened at the thought of people that would deny God and follow Satan. This fear is commonly known by many as satanophobia. To confront this fear I must be prepared to possibly be in the presence of people that worship the dark prince and possibly demons or spirits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One September day I decided to go out to Cassadaga and confront my fears of the stories that I had heard. I told myself that there should be no place where I may go that God will not be with me to protect me. With that in mind, I found the directions to this town of only 55 residences. I began driving and soon enough saw a sign that said â€Å"Cassadaga 1 mile†. Once I entered the city limits I realized that my surroundings looked like the setting of a modern day horror film. There were tall trees that were dead with no leaves, rundown houses, broken fences, dirt roads, and rotted wooden signs. The main road was paved and as I drove through the town I saw signs everywhere out front of houses that read â€Å"Spiritual Readings, Psychic Readings.† This didn’t really bother me, because I kept thinking of funny old people like Miss Cleo from paid programming on T.V. I decided to drive down some of the narrow dirt roads.

Jimmy Sevile: Icon in Life, Sexual Predator in Death Essay

Child abuse and pedophilia is absolutely rife, not just in Britain but all over the world and most people have no idea the kind of scale we are looking at. Perhaps equally as shocking, the people being exposed as ring-leaders in the abuse cases are often high profile celebrities and well known public figures. The information that becomes public over the coming weeks and months could shatter not just the BBC, but the whole country from top to toe, as entertainers, public figures and even former Prime ministers and current politicians are being exposed as child abusing pedophiles. This isn’t just a cover up, it is one of the biggest scandals of all time orchestrated by apparently respectable members of the British establishment. That a BBC children’s presenter, Sir Jimmy Savile, was also one of the UK’s most active serial pedophiles is still a shock that is reverberating throughout the United Kingdom. Sir Jimmy Savile, was a TV and radio presenter who fronted various kid’s shows for the taxpayer funded BBC. The most famous of his shows was called Jim’ll Fix It where kids all over the UK would write letters to him personally to ask if the show could grant their various childish wishes. This was allegedly comissioned after complaints about Savile’s sexual interest in children had surfaced. Savile is estimated to have raised ? 40 million for charity. One cause for which he raised money was Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he volunteered for many years as a porter. He raised money for the Spinal Unit, NSIC (National Spinal Injuries Centre), and St Francis Ward – a ward for children and teens with spinal cord injuries. Savile also volunteered at Leeds General Infirmary and Broadmoor Hospital. In August 1988, he was appointed by junior health minister Edwina Currie chair of an interim task force overseeing the management of Broadmoor Hospital, after its board members had been suspended. Savile had his own room at both Stoke Mandeville and Broadmoor. In 1989, Savile started legal proceedings against News Group Newspapers after the News of the World published an article, in January 1988, suggesting he had been in a position to secure the release of patients from the Broadmoor Hospital who were considered â€Å"dangerous†. Savile won on 11 July 1989; News Group paid the legal costs, and he received an apology from editors Kelvin MacKenzie and Patsy Chapman. In 2012, it was reported that Savile had sexually abused vulnerable patients at the hospitals. It was reported that the civil servant who proposed Savile’s appointment at Broadmoor was investigated by police and prevented from working with children. From 1974 to 1988, Savile was the honorary president of Phab (Physically Handicapped in the Able Bodied community). He sponsored medical students performing undergraduate research in the Leeds University Research Enterprise scholarship scheme, donating more than ? 60,000 every year. In 2010, the scheme was given a commitment of ? 500,000 over the following five years. Following Savile’s death in October 2011, it was confirmed that a bequest had been made to allow continued support for the programme. The ramifications of the story are however far bigger than just another stomach turning media scandal. In his lifetime Savile had been embraced at the very heart of the British establishment. He was entertained by the Prime Minister Margret Thatcher at chequers, blessed by the Pope and Knighted by the Queen. It has recently come out that in the 1980? s he was taken on by the UK’s Conservative Government to look after a high security mental hospital, Broadmoor, where it appears he was given his own set of keys despite no related qualifications or training whatsoever. It remains a mystery to many why Her Majesty’s police never managed to catch the man. Scotland Yard now describe him as â€Å"one of Britain’s worst sex offenders†. Furthermore some people are saying his sexual predilictions were a bit of an open secret at the BBC in the 1960? s and 1970? s so it’s troubling to think that he was not screened out of the British Royal Family’s social circle by an organisation such as MI5. One thing is clear, Sir Jimmy Savile operated underneath the nose of the UK’s establishment and only in the aftermath of his death did anyone dare take him on. Jimmy Savile was at the centre of this Pedophile ring that procured children for well-known figures in the British Establishment, including former British Prime Minister, pedophile and murderer Edward Heath. The perverted life of Jimmy Savile was exposed as a pedophile and necrophiliac by researchers such as David Icke as far back as the 1990s, but, people just ridiculed the accusations and the police, media, politicians and of course the BBC have all covered it up. In August 1988, shortly before the publication of a highly critical report into its operating procedures, the entire management board of Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital was suspended by the Department of Health, which at the time had joint responsibility for its direct management. The running of Broadmoor, the highest-profile facility of its kind in the country and the home to many of Britain’s most notorious criminals, was placed in the temporary control of a â€Å"taskforce† to be headed up by an unexpected figure, Jimmy Savile. West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which now runs the hospital, believes Saviles involvement as a volunteer began in the late 1960s or early 70s. He had his own office in the grounds of the hospital, a bedroom and his own personal set of keys to the hospital wards. Savile also has some ties with Peter Sutcliffe known as the Yorkshire Ripper. Jimmy Savile, became very good friends with the mass murderer while doing voluntary work at Broadmoor. The vast majority of the victims currently coming forward allege that Jimmy Savile abused them. But detectives announced that they were mounting a full criminal investigation after some of the hundreds of people who have come forward in response to the unfolding scandal made allegations that they were abused by other individuals who are still alive. It is understood that most of these claims of sexual abuse relate to people who were associated with Savile in some way. The Savile case is just the tip of the iceberg because pedophilia is widespread amongst the ruling class of the world but it’s easily covered up. If the police investigation gets too close to people at the top there will be another cover up. A few more celebrity names will be charged and that will satisfy the public’s demand for prosecutions but those at the top will once again escape justice. Ritualistic satanic child sex abuse is real. It’s widespread especially within the ruling elite and it’s up to all of us to expose it and put an end to it. If Savile had been exposed while he was alive he would have taken many famous people down with him including those within the British Establishment.

The First Amendment How important is it - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 691 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/26 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: First Amendment Essay Did you like this example? Have you ever wondered what life would be like without amendments, will it impact our lives not being able to own a gun, practice our own religion, or having our own leader abuse his power? According to the bill of rights, the First Amendment protects our right to freedom of, religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech. In other countries such as North Korea, China, and Iran; citizens do not have freedom of religion, press, and freedom guaranteed to them. Therefore, the First Amendment is extremely important, especially religion, speech, and press. As stated above, other countries do not protect freedom of religion. One of these countries is, Iran. Iran is a Muslim nation that is guided by Islamic law, and its leaders must adhere to Islamic teachings. The leader of Iran is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to an article by Patrick Mckenna for Worst countries for restrictions on religious freedom it states, Despite Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians Being recognized a s protected minorities, the government has consistently discriminated against its citizens on the basis of religion. Killings, arrests, and physical abuse of detainees have increased in the past years, including for religious minorities and Muslims who are perceived as threatening the governments legitimacy. Iran is one of the worst countries that have restrictions on religious beliefs. What this means is that poor religious freedom in Iran continued and worsened in 2014. The government basically censors there religion practices for minority groups such as Baha is, Christians converts, and Sunni Muslims. Other countries restrict freedom of speech, such as China. Modern-day China, more than almost any other country in the world, severely restricts its citizens freedom of speech and expression. China has a tightly controlled traditional media, China forces all published information to be from official sources and to be vetted through the states. Internet use in Chinna is bloss oming. As of 2004 over 94 million users were online and in 2007 the China Internet Network Information Center, considered the premier source for measuring Chinese internet use, pegged the number of Chinese users at 210 million. This number will keep growing only in the foreseeable future, with the booming mobile market. If it keeps growing, it was estimated to hit 600 million by 2010. Based on what I read, This internet usage boom presents a variety of new challenges to a government adept at censoring traditional media types. The internet is much more vast than the physical realm controlled by China. It is not susceptible to the traditional local control structure relying on dedicated neighborhood party leaders to enforce edicts from the centralized government. Meaning, money, and access to printing machinery are no longer an issue for their era, it would be harder for China to control everything so that peoples opinions cant be shared. Finally, some countries censor the f reedom of the press. The press is basically the news and, newspapers. This is very important so that the world can know whats going on in their country. But, some countries dont allow this. One is North Korea. The leader of North Korea in 2018 is Kim Jong Un. According to Reporters without borders, it states that North Korea is the worst when having freedom of the press. They make sure that no one has access by, controlling their internet. Based on what I read, North Koreans can still be sent to a concentration camp for viewing, reading or listening to content provided by a media outlet based outside the country. This means that the rules of North Korea, are very strict. North Koreans get phones, well some but it is controlled by the government, so is their news. Some schools and state institutes have access to a tightly controlled intranet called Kwangmyong. North Koreas 12 main newspapers, 2-periodicals. And broadcasters come from the official Korean Central News Agency. In conclusion, the rights from the First Amendment arent promised for everyone, such as freedom of religion by Iran, killings and arrests happen because of religious minorities, freedom of speech by China, controlling the community by making sure the truth doesnt get out, and freedom of press from North Korea, making sure the only news company out there is controlled by the government. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The First Amendment How important is it?" essay for you Create order