...legalizing it and therefore taking away the drug cartels number one source of income. The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy ... says that more than 60 percent of the profits reaped by Mexican drug lords are derived from the exportation and sale of cannabis to the American market (Armentano2). It is ridiculous to think that the United States can put out a statistic like this and ignore the fact that if they legalized the drug there would be less violence because there would be no point for Mexican drug cartels to try and smuggle the drug into the U.S. In the article “Blame Prohibition, Not Pot Smokers for Violence in Mexico”, published by AlterNet.org, Tony Newman tells us how the people who run the “Just Say No” campaign against drugs have a new scheme in which they plan to blame people who smoke pot for the violence in Mexico. They are hoping to stop younger people from smoking marijuana if they associate it with the murder of people by the drug cartels in Mexico. There are a few problems with these campaigns: They are inaccurate in some cases, and downright dishonest in others.Office of National Drug Control Policy It is disingenuous to connect the average American's marijuana consumption to the horrific violence of Mexico's drug war. The average pot smoker's growing and purchasing of marijuana has no relationship to the violence along the border that is the result of large-scale drug trafficking. It isn’t hard to understand that the legalization of marijuana...
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...Position Paper Khadijah Shabazz CNSL 5203 Dr. Sampson Prairie View A&M University 9/20/2015 The legalization of drugs is one of the most controversial and debated topics of the 21st century. There are both negative and positive reasons to legalize them as well as negative and positive reasons to keep them prohibited. According to LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes these drugs so valuable – while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP").LEAP goes on to say that criminal gangs are driven by the huge profits from this monopoly, criminal gangs bribe and kill each other, law enforcers, and children and as such their trade is unregulated and they are, therefore, beyond our control ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). It is LEAP’s belief that by eliminating prohibition of all drugs for adults and establishing appropriate regulation and standards for distribution and use, law enforcement could focus more on crimes of violence, such as rape, aggravated assault, child abuse and murder, making our communities much safer ("Why Legalize Drugs? | LEAP"). Another positive aspect of the legalization of drugs is financial gains. According to the International Business Times in a study for the Cato Institute, Jeffrey A. Miron, senior lecturer on economics at Harvard University and a senior...
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... But there have always been varying ulterior motives. According to Baylor University Professor of Sociology, Dr. Diana Kendall, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed solely to criminalize marijuana by taxing it; this would dissuade migrant Mexican workers who smoked marijuana to seek employment elsewhere and not take jobs from U.S. citizens as the country struggled during the Great Depression (Kendall, 2010). Last year, voters in Colorado and Washington State approved legislation that supported the commercial growth, sale, possession and use of recreational marijuana. In response, United States Department of Justice, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, promulgated policy that established the posture for enforcing marijuana laws against people or organizations to that: Distribution of marijuana to minors; revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels; the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some...
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...Global Politics: The feasibility of universal drug liberalization as an emerging phenomenon RWaterhouse Globalization & The War on Drugs: Assessing alternatives to criminalization The purpose of this paper is to address universal drug liberalization as a feasible alternative to the current drug control regime specifically in North America and potentially applicable elsewhere. With an in depth analysis of the historical regulation, implementation of law, and resulting consequences we will be able to see how nations are effected by complex drug politics and why there has been a global paradigm shift in looking spiritedly at the ideal of decriminalization. I argue in favor of liberalization by bringing to attention the violence associated with the commodification of illegal drugs, what the re-directed costs of control could mean for domestic investment into proactive drug awareness education, and finally recognizing Portugal’s success and weaknesses in the adoption of a compete legalization agenda. Following will be a discussion of concluding thoughts centered on the efficacy and feasibility of universal liberalization in today’s globalized world. Historical Context Libertarianism has almost always had position in political discourse but has been majorly popularized through public attention within the era of globalization. (article) Control of drug consumption has always been a contemporary ingredient in the political reform of Canada and the America’s and...
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...The so-called “War on Drugs,” as declared by the Nixon administration in the signing of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, marked the beginning of the current era of mandatory minimum sentencing, racism, privatized prisons, and a powerful constituency that profits as a result of the prohibition of drugs. Psychoactive substances have been apart of the human experience as long as humans have walked the earth. There is little hope that drug production will ever be curtailed, so long as there is a demand; a demand that has remained steady even though it has been forty years since the beginning of said war. As Judge James P. Gray from the Superior Court of Orange County has so plainly put it: “Where did this policy come from? Unfortunately I have conducted an inquiry into this and I have determined that drug prohibition laws came for reasons of racism, empire building, and ignorance.”(Booth) The War on Drugs is politically motivated as a means of profiting. One may ask them self how government can financially benefit from such policies. In fact, they benefit in a myriad of ways. The government spends an exorbitant amount of money in an attempt to combat drug production and drug usage. The U.S. government has spent over a trillion—that’s right a trillion—dollars in its attempt to eradicate the drug problem. With so much time, effort and money there should be something to show, right? Wrong. Today drugs are more prevalent, more potent and cheaper than...
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...Assessment 2 Abstract This Micro Assessment is about a client named Jane Doe that presented at CPS in Copperas Cove after having an altercation with her husband. Jane is a young mother that has a history of mental health and anger management issues. She has been married for just over a year. The client and her husband have a history of arguing and fussing in front of the children. Jane Jane was arrested after grabbing a knife and trying to stab her husband with the knife. When she did not succeed at stabbing him with the knife Jane went upstairs and overdosed on several pills. She was taken to the hospital and was immediately signed out by her mother that works at the hospital. Because of her leaving the hospital against doctor’s advice, CPS was called to remove Jane’s children from the home for their safety. This Micro Assessment will give detailed history about Jane and give suggested client-directed treatment plans for her treatment options. Micro Assessment 3 Assessment Demographics: Name: Doe, Jane Age: 20 years old Name(s) of Parent(s)/Guardian(s): Peggy Sue Williams Client/Family Members present at assessment: Jane Doe, John Doe, and Peggy Sue Williams ...
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...There is argument against the benefit of exercise but it is not enough to treat and cure the rising instances of mental illness. Psychiatric treatment is necessary in combination with a healthy lifestyle. A study conducted in 2005 by Bjørnebekk , Mathé AA and Brené S. in Stockholm studied the impact running had on the strength of the connections within the brain. The result of this study was a connection made between the antidepressant effect of running with increased hippocampal cell proliferation. Subjects in a controlled environment were given access to running equipment while some were not, they found the depressed subjects to have lower rates of cell proliferation and were consistently those that did not have access to the running equipment. The study also found that the subjects who were depressed and given access to running equipment showed lowering levels of depression but not a absence. Cognitive behaviour therapy has begun to grow in recent years, it has proven to be effective, (Lerner, et al., 2004) observed a 20% decrease in workplace absenteeism as a result of the therapy and prescribed medication.Stefan G. Hofmann, Ph.D., Anu Asnaani, M.A., Imke J.J. Vonk, M.A., Alice T. Sawyer, M.A., and Angela Fang, M.A. published The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. This paper examined the efficacy of CBT as a treatment for several mental health illnesses, mood disorders and substance...
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...Running head: COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Abstract Counseling has been in existence from the beginning of time. From Jethro to Freud, therapists and philosophers have been seeking insight into the core of human nature and cognitions. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT) recognizes that faulty cognitions and beliefs affect the behaviors of individuals. One method of cognitive-behavior therapy, reality therapy, incorporates the concepts of free choice and personal responsibility that are taught both in Scripture and Dr. William Glasser’s choice theory. Other aspects of CBT, such as cognitive restructuring and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), also work towards eliminating negativistic attitudes of clients in exchange for more effective and realistic methods for interpreting the situations experienced in daily life. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy It is suggested that an individual’s personality is a complex system of cognition, emotion, will, physiology, and spirituality. Hawkins proposes nine aspects of the human self to be active influences on one’s personality: “body, cognition, feelings, volition, human spirit, Holy Spirit, sin/flesh/SAS, temporal systems, and spiritual systems (Hawkins COUN507_BO1_200920). Each therapist individually determines what factors they believe to make up a person’s being. Larry Crabb views humans as involving both the physical and spiritual aspects of man...
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...treatment modality (Birchwood and Tarrier 1993). Developments in psychological theory have led to a number of innovative psychological treatments drawn from human experimental psychology such as behavioural and social psychology and cognitive science. Therapies based on cognitive behavioural theory have been rapidly developing, initially for the so called ‘neurotic disorders’ but in recent years evidence has accumulated to suggest that these cognitive behavioural approaches can be effective for those people suffering from psychosis ( Williams 1995). The aim of this assignment is to explore the basis of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and review its’ therapeutic application to schizophrenia. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is an evolutionary paradigm that came about a from the merging of the established paradigm of behavioural therapy and contemporary cognitive therapy (Clarke and Fairburn 1997). Behavioural therapy historically focused on anxiety, phobic and obsessional disorders. Treatments were aligned to the learning theories of Pavlov and Skinner, anxieties and phobias were conceptualise to be conditioned fear responses, passively acquired and elicited by conditioned stimulii (Clarke and Fairburn 1997). A variety of techniques were employed to enable the client to ‘unlearn’ these acquired behaviours. These treatments regimes were concerned with maladaptive habits and behaviours; thought and emotional responses where considered reactive...
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...Running head: SCHIZOPHRENIA 1 Schizophrenia Excelsior College SCHIZOPHRENIA 2 Abstract This paper discusses the features and symptoms of Schizophrenia. This paper addresses the issues associated with Schizophrenia such as stress. It also addresses the bio psychosocial explanations that are associated with the development of this disorder. In this paper I address the type of therapies used for the treatment of Schizophrenia. The remainder of this paper discusses the rationale uses of these therapies and the effectiveness for Schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA 3 Schizophrenia The key features of the disorder, including its symptoms Schizophrenia is a disorder that is characterized by unorganized thinking and odd perceptions that dysfunction in major activities within a person’s life. These sometime include withdrawals from society; they have delusions and also hallucinations. They also may not be able to show emotion, feel pain, pleasure. They also have a lack of facial expression. They suffer from depression, mania and paranoia. Schizophrenia is the main example of psychosis. Psychosis is a disorder that people suffer from, they become irrational and they have lost contact with reality. This...
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...became a main societal problem that Egypt is facing during its modern times. Even the Bedouins of Sinai have been suffering from severe state repression and have been posed as a security threat to the rest of the country (Mandour, 2014). Almost every year you hear a story of a church being bombed. There are many physiological solutions that can decrease violence acts within the country, there is nothing known in this world to be hopeless especially to psychologists. The media has to start finding efficient and effective solutions with social psychologist rather than projecting the responsibilities on officials. There are many innocent people that are between those violent people, thus the military or police are unable to use full power against them. It is very important to recognize the main issue behind the violence in Egypt. Male aggression is influenced by the economic requirements of the culture a man grows up in. This shapes up men’s beliefs about when is it necessary to use violence. Freud said that the ego, the second system to emerge, is a referee between the needs of instinct and the demands of society. It bows to the realities of life, putting a rein on the id’s desire for sex and aggression until a suitable,...
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...we are feeling sad or miserable. Normally these feeling will pass us by, and we then continue with our everyday life without another thought. But what if these feeling didn’t disappear over time? What happens when these start to interfere with our everyday life? What if the enviorment around us is the major cause of depression? It’s not really hard to believe when you think about it as we are faced with mass unemployment, and a recession which can put heavy strain on even the most balanced of individuals and their interpersonal relationships around them. There are many interpersonal instances that can have the ability to lead to the onset of depression, such as the family environment, the socialization setting, and the discrimination against gender in certain cultures and instances. Depression has many brothers and sisters in the medical world, ranging from disorders such as Dysthymia, postnatal depression and in some extreme cases of depression such as Bio polar, and major depression (Unipolar). But no matter what the diagnosis is or how serious the depression is, depression is not trivial and is a real health condition contrary to what some people believe. It is not something that you can just snap out of and more importantly it is not a sign of weakness. For many people depression can affect them in different ways to other people with the same condition but normally the symptoms are similar. These can range from lack of sleep or too much sleep, weight loss or gain, unpredictable...
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...social norms * Failure to function adequately * Deviation from ideal mental health Deviation from social norms Under this definition, a person’s thinking or behaviour is classified as abnormal if it violates the (unwritten) rules about what is expected or acceptable behaviour in a particular social group. Their behaviour may: * Be incomprehensible to others * Make others feel threatened or uncomfortable With this definition, it is necessary to consider: * The degree to which a norm is violated, the importance of that norm and the value attached by the social group to different sorts of violation. * E.g. is the violation rude, eccentric, abnormal or criminal? Abnormality is defined in terms of behavior which goes against societies accepted standards Different societies have different standards Standards change over time Strengths Should be easy to pick out the deviant Allows for adaptation: As social norms change, so will our ideas about what is normal / abnormal Weaknesses What is deviant in one social group is accepted / expected in another: Across societies and cultures / across generations and sub-cultures Psychiatric wards used to hold women locked away for ‘mental insanity’ ie having babies outside of marriage Failure to...
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...Evidence-Informed Practice: An Evaluation of the David Bennett Inquiry Report In this essay I will evaluate the David Bennett Inquiry Report, which was set up by the North, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority (NSCSHA) to investigate the death of Mr David Bennett. I will define evidence-informed practice (EIP) and summarise the inquiry report. I shall highlight and critically analyse some of the key issues raised in the report in relation to ethnic minority issues. Finally, I will discuss the implications of evidence-informed practice for social work as well as my own future practice. EIP in social work began in the early 1990s when contemporary writers Geraldine MacDonald and her colleagues wrote articles very much in contrast to earlier reviews; they looked at results from studies such as quasi-experimental studies and client opinion studies about the effectiveness of social work practice. This led to good outcomes for social work practice (Webber, 2011) [Online]. Evidence-informed practice in social work has been described as: ‘Evidence based social care is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions regarding the welfare of those in need of social services.’ (Sheldon and Chilvers, 2000, p.5, adapted from Sackett et al., 1996 cited in Webber, 2011, p.3) Webber (2011) and Sheldon and Chilvers (2000, p.5, adapted from Sackett et al., 1996 cited in Webber, 2011, p.3) both define EIP as using effective interventions...
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...Psychosis - CBT Word count: 4898 Content Introduction Referral letter Theoretical perspectives * Formation of paranoia Assessment * Assessment tools and baseline measures * Individual belief ratings * Management of risk Case Formulation Treatment Plan & Interventions Evaluation Critical review References Appendix 1 – Assessment Summary (diagrammatic) Appendix 2 – Formation of paranoia Appendix 3 – Risk assessment and management Appendix 4 – Letters Appendix 5 – Judging by appearances a behavioural experiment Confidentiality statement The name and other identifiable information relating to this patient have been changed to maintain confidentiality. Introduction This case study describes the CBT assessment, formulation and treatment of delusions of persecution and associated paranoid beliefs. Referral Letter Roger, a 29 year old single man was referred to the Psychological Therapies Department. The letter noted that he had had one inpatient admission three years previously due to paranoia and risk of suicide. He was currently being supported by community mental health services. A differential diagnosis of Delusional Disorder – Paranoid Type, (ICD 10- F22.0) and Paranoid Personality Disorder (ICD 10 – F60.0) as defined by the ICD 10 manual (World Health Organisation, 1992) was indicated. Theoretical perspectives Delusions are irrational beliefs, held with a high level of conviction, that are resistant to change even when the...
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