Reflective Essay On Righteous Dopefiend

Homelessness is an unsolved issue occurring day to day, worldwide. What the main focus of this essay will be are the homeless youth in Canada dealing with drug addiction and substance use. Homelessness is a rising problem here in Canada, there are 10,000 homeless youth on the street, a guaranteed 2000 on any given night. There are so many different aspects you have to deal with along being homeless, not only are they living life on the streets without a shelter, food or money, but the challenges they face daily just adds to it. They face physical abuse, verbal abuse, police brutality, weather changes, starvation, stress, addictions, mental illness, and other various problems.

According to the text, why was Tina unable to behave normally for a child her age? Is she a "lost cause," as they say, or does she still have the ability to overcome the difficulties of her youth? Cite the text, and provide evidence to support your opinion.

I. Importance: As American deaths from drug overdoses continue to rise in the United States, the nation is faced with a public health crisis so profound that in October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic to be a national public health emergency (Merica). President Trump’s declaration came after numerous studies indicating the danger opioid addiction posed; for example, a 2016 study entitled “Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths—United States, 2010-2015” claimed that drug overdose deaths “nearly tripled during 1999-2014,” reaching a startling high 52,404 deaths in 2015 (Rudd, et al). These statistics are more than just disturbing revelations regarding the opioid crisis; they are evidence of a serious problem that is rapidly affecting the lives of more and more Americans every year.

In “Lee Robins’ studies of heroin use among US Vietnam veterans”, Hall and Weier examine heroin use amongst Vietnam war veterans and attempt to comprehend the multitude of factors that contributed to their use of heroin. The researchers found that Robins’ study emphasized the importance of setting when analyzing drug use amongst veterans. Robins noted that there were higher rates of drug use in Vietnam because of the availability and price of the drug. Veterans were more likely to use the drug because they wanted to “get high and deal with boredom, homesickness and disturbed sleep” (Hall and Weier 2). She also noted that veterans were less likely to use heroin after they returned from Vietnam. They attributed a lack of use to “fear of becoming addicted, experiencing adverse health affects, being arrested and the strong disapproval of friends and family (Hall and Weier 2). Zinberg’s theory of setting can be applied to this study because physical and emotional location impacts the likelihood of drug use. The use of heroin was more prevalent in Vietnam because it was normalized within society and was used as a means to get by. However, heroin use was less prevalent in the United States because of the hostile and negative setting that exists within the United States. It has been criminalized and demonized by American lawmakers as a drug that produces addiction

This essay will tackle the topic of substance use disorder as a psychology topic. The film that will be reviewed for the topic is 28 Days. This is a film written by Susannah Grant and written by Betty Thomas. The film stars Sandra Bullock as a columnist for a New York newspaper (Thomas). In the film, Bullock acts as Gwen Cummings, an alcoholic forced to attend rehab for 28 days. This is because of her escapades of the day that ended up with her crushing a stolen wedding limo into a house (Thomas). The film explores substance use disorder through the eyes and life of Cummings and the people she meets in the rehab. It also explores the challenges they go through in trying to get clean. This essay will show how substance abuse and its related disorder is being portrayed in the film.

Homelessness is one the most ignored problems in the United States with citizen and politician. Homeless people are walked by and ignored. Nobody ever thinks that they will be homeless. Due to the economy, people live paycheck to paycheck making house payments very difficult. Most people will want to believe most homeless people are drug addicts or alcoholics, but most people will be surprise to know that it is no all true. Veterans with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) have a high risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness is cause by drug and alcohol dependencies, the economy and veterans who suffers from PTSD or other forms of mental illness.

The continuous use of narcotics results in addiction, and financial struggles due to the costly upkeep. “Financial problems are one of the major side effects of drug and substance abuse” (Buaggett, 2015). Addicts cannot adequately take an active role in the economic activities, as the use of drugs inhibits the abilities of the users to earn a daily living. Due to the instability of finances, this would result in selling personal belongings to continue funding the substance of choice, and depending on the addicts living situation, this could lead to losing their house or being removed from their current housing. While being under the influence, an addicts voice of reason is jeopardized, resulting in criminal activities which raise the chances of being apprehended by the law enforcers, as well as, heavy fines are imposed. In brief, the use of drugs has multiple adverse effects, and is highly associated with the status of homelessness among

While circumstances can vary, an individual’s first choice is rarely to choose homelessness due to the inability to afford housing or other unforeseen circumstances. The support of friends, family, and community programs/shelters are first suggestions when a person becomes displaced. When these suggestions become inadequate, living on the streets is the next favorable/affordable option. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, on a night in January of 2015, there were 564,708 people homeless in the United States (para 3). On a larger scale, more than one million people are homeless in America and of that population, 50 percent are chronically addicted to alcohol, drugs, or both (Substance abuse mental health, 2011 para 6). Research has brought more attention to risk factors that contribute to homelessness such as the epidemic of substance abuse.

I enjoyed reading your discussion post this week. I personally believe that patients that uses the methadone clinic is picking the lesser of two evils. According to Livingston, Adams, Jordan, MacMillan and Hering (2017) methadone clinics are considered part of an effective method during the treatment and rehabilitation process. From my past experiences working in the emergency room I feel as though methadone clinics do not address the real physiological issues that the patient is suffering from but instead causes another form of addiction. A study conducted by Karki, Shrestha, Huedo-Medina and Copenhaver (2016) concluded that injection drug users are at high risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through preventable

In “How About Low-Cost Drugs for Addicts?” (1995), Louis Nizer argues that drug addiction is a serious problem and we are losing the ability to gain control over drug addiction. Nizer suggests the government should create clinics that provide drugs free or at nominal cost and be staffed by psychiatrists. The benefits of the new approach will push the mob to lose the main source of its income, the drug dealers will run out of business, and the police or other law enforcement authorities would be freed to take care of other crimes. Nizer also believes that free drugs will win the war against domestic terrorism caused by addicts. On the other hand, Nizer provides some of the opposing arguments that providing free drugs would consign a person to

Sam Quinones’ Dreamland is a commentary about the opioid problem in America. Quinones draws attention to how in the twentieth century opioids were seen as addictive: “[D]octers treating the terminally ill faced attitudes that seemed medieval when it came to opiates” (184). In the 1970s, Purdue Pharma stated that opioids such as morphine were not addictive substances. After this study was released, many doctors began to view opioids as a viable option for pain relief. Throughout the rest of the book, Quinones explains the shift from doctors never prescribing opiates to prescription opiates being used to treat any sort of pain: chronic back pain, arthritis, severe headaches, etc. Pain became the “fifth vital sign” and with everyone wanting to

The issue of contemporary homelessness has took a huge shift from the common perception of homeless people. I am witnessing a shift from the image of ‘homelessness’ being a physically dirty, pan handling, poor, uneducated individual who does not have a physical home for shelter. Initially, I failed to recognize that ‘homelessness’ can be a temporary state on can live in. Not all homeless people are homeless by “choice”, sometimes people are homeless by “force”. Events such as natural disasters or even death of a parent/spouse are uncontrolled

The legalization of drugs has been at the center of interminable debate. Drugs have widely been perceived as a dominant threat to the moral fabric of society. Drug use has been attributed as the source responsible for a myriad of key issues. For instance, it is believed that drugs have exacerbated the already weak status of mental health in the United States in which some individuals suffering from mental illness administer illicit substances such as heroin or cocaine in an attempt to self-medicate. Moreover, drugs are blamed for turning auspicious members of the community into worthless degenerates. Thus, vast efforts have been made to regulate the alleged drug problem through various avenues. For example, programs have been created to steer

Melba Pattillo Beals was a child when she went on a journey of discrimination and prejudice. This young hero was 15 years old when she volunteered to be one of the first black people to enroll in Little Rock High school. She went with eight other black students, and they got discriminated against and they got physically hurt and mentally hurt. This forced Melba to find strength, these are some of the things that she got strength from. She was a Christian and she used to pray to God so she hoped that things will get better. She also had her friends so she was not alone. She had her family and her grandmother India kept pushing her to be strong and be a warrior.

This is a summary taken from “Saying Yes” by Jacob Sullum; Chapter 8; “Body and Soul”. An ever-present theme in Sullum’s book is what he calls “voodoo pharmacology”—the idea, promoted in large part by the government, that certain drugs have the power to hijack people and enslave them in an inescapable prison of craving and compulsion. Sullum seeks to show that this idea is a myth, that only a tiny percentage of illegal-drug users become addicts, whereas the vast majority of people who use illegal drugs live normal, productive, loving lives. The book is filled with valuable insights derived from deconstructing government statistics about drugs and drug use. Sullum shows how even the most vilified drugs, such as heroin and crack cocaine, are