Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marijuana - Essay Example Teenagers are naturally inquisitive, one of the justifications given for this age group experimenting with drugs. They also are inclined to become bored easily and experience recurrent emotional highs and lows, all probable factors in teenage marijuana use. Drug use increases the chance that teenagers will contract a social disease, become pregnant, perform inadequately in school and attempt suicide as this paper will examine. State and Support Three Claims Adolescents are in a more vulnerable life circumstance than are adults because teens are still developing in every facet of their lives. Regrettably, it is this same group that has the most access to marijuana as schools have become prolific illegal drug stores. Statistics collected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse demonstrate that schoolchildren have easy access to drugs and alcohol. â€Å"The average age of first alcohol use is 12 and the average age of first drug use is 13. Almost two-thirds of all American young people try illicit drugs before they finish high school† (Anderson, 1996) The relationship between illegal drug use among teens and an increased occurrence of sexual activity is a broadly accepted reality by both researchers and the general public. Many studies have time and again demonstrated an association between unsafe sexual behavior and illegal drug use by teenagers. Drug users are more prone to take risks than do teens that don’t use drugs. This may be an obvious assertion but a tendency to take unnecessary chances with their health combined with a lowering of inhibitions while on drugs and the inherent need of all teens to feel accepted by their peer group leads to increased sexual activity. This problematic circumstance also enhances the chance of teens having multiple sexual partners, having sex at an earlier age and decreases the odds that they will utilize contraception than those that do not use marijuana. â€Å"Teens 15 and older who use drugs are five times mo re likely to have sex than are those teens who do not use drugs and teens who have used marijuana are four times more likely to have been pregnant or to have gotten someone pregnant than teens who have never smoked pot† (The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 1997). Teenagers are more emotionally unstable younger children and adults which explains the higher suicide rate among that age group. A study involving teenagers found that of those who attempted suicide, illegal drug abuse was the most often shared aspect of their lives. Of the teens that committed suicide, 70 per cent were regular users of illegal drugs and/or alcohol. However, this study and current research reveal that drug use alone may not instigate suicide just that drug use and teen suicide is statically related. Teens who experience emotional troubles to a higher degree than their classmates have an even greater likelihood of considering suicide and to use illegal drugs. Additionally drugs could magnify a pre-existing emotional condition and â€Å"may impair the judgment of teens considering suicide, making suicide attempts more likely† (Shaffer et al, 1996). Discussing Arguments: Dialogue The majority and probably all countries of the world face the steady trafficking of illegal drugs across their borders. Countries are increasingly realizing that the illegal importation of drugs, a criminal act, generally involves people of foreign origin, is ultimately more harmful to society than is the use of drugs

The Presence of Homosexual Characters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Presence of Homosexual Characters - Essay Example Similar sitcoms, such as Brothers and Sisters followed in the wake of the success of Will and Grace. Today, there is a liberal offering of sitcoms that feature gays in lead roles, have gay themes, or present gay minor characters. Because of the number of shows available, the portrayal of the gay lifestyle reflects the diversity we might see in real life. There are lesbians that would defy recognition if we met them on the street, and there are outrageous gay men whose sexual preference can be detected from across a parking lot. While mainstream America is sometimes shocked by the outrageous portrayals of some of these characters, they have benefited the viewers by exposing them to a valid world of authentic diversity and reduced discrimination against gays. The portrayal of homosexual characters on television is positive because it gradually makes people accept homosexuality. Prior to mid 1990s, homosexuals were rarely accepted in the society, and kept as a 'dirty little secret'. Homosexuality at that time was considered deviant behavior and not as an acceptable norm. America was uncomfortable with gays and uncomfortable with itself. ... During this period, the media had been passively introducing gay characters and homosexual themes to the television viewers. The trend started during the 1970s in an ABC sitcom called Soap with a gay character named Billy Crystal. Twenty years later, in 1996, people were becoming more accepting of homosexuality and seeing their characters on television. Though there were many sitcoms that had supporting characters who were homosexuals, NBC's 1998 sitcom, Will and Grace had successfully included a main character who is homosexual in a show that had homosexuality as a main theme. Homosexuality had been gradually introduced over a period of 3 decades, and the public was ready for the character, Will. He was a conservative, well mannered male that did not stereotype the homosexual lifestyle. NBC was able to pull the audience a little farther into the gay world by introducing Will's friend Jack, who was more outgoing and substantially more physically demonstrative. Jack was able to exhibi t mannerisms and say lines that the public was not yet ready to see in a lead role. However, this highly successful sitcom was instrumental in introducing a gay couple in a gay setting on a regular basis. The viewers benefited from the gradual exposure to homosexuality as a realistic, alternative lifestyle. Homosexuality has become less monstrous to the cultural mainstream and instead has become a cultural curiosity. As a result, homosexuals can be open about themselves to society and as well as feel normal about themselves. The increasing acceptance of homosexuals in the television sitcom has helped to dispel 'gay panic', an unwarranted and exaggerated fear of homosexuality. Gay panic has been the cause of violence towards gays, as well as a legal defense for assaults on gays. The