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Irrespective of locations cycle rickshaw has the tradition of being the most popular vehicle for urban resident. These are the eco-friendly non polluting transport systems. In another way, rickshaw pullers are low wage transportation service provider which plays as the role of backbone of transportation system. According to the estimates of Porier (2009), around 8 millions rickshaw pullers are working in India. Around 6-8 billion passengers travel through cycle rickshaw per year in India (Rajvanshi, 2000).Without considering the circumstances, rickshaw pullers have to work daily to earn their livelihood. Pedal rickshaw jeopardizes the health of the rickshaw puller in many ways.
Get original essayManual rickshaw pulling is one of the strenuous and laborious tasks performed by human being which require enormous stamina and lots of energy. Poor working and living conditions along with lack of basic amenities like hygienic drinking water and healthy sanitation make them highly susceptible to health risk. Rickshaws are often prone to road traffic accidents. Improper balance of rickshaws and heavy road traffic are the causes behind accidents. Heavy road traffics also increase the risk of rickshaw pullers of being exposed to air and sound pollution of highest levels. Long working hours (on an average 8 to 9 hrs per day) and inadequate diet result in long-term health issues among rickshaw pulllers (Kumar et al., 2016).
The common health problems of rickshaw pullers include back pain, fatigue, stress, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, heart related problems and respiratory disorder. Survey conducted at Aligarh city revealed that rickshaw pullers are mostly suffering from cough, cold, joints, back and chest pain, asthma, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, diabetes, blood pressure and stone in gall bladder (Khan et al., 2010).
Rickshaw pullers also become the victims of various health issues due to adverse weather conditions and also get affected by different skin related problems because of extreme hot and humid weather conditions. Irregular, improper and unhygienic dietary intake leads to the gastro-enteric problems of the rickshaw pullers. Most of the rickshaw pullers consume alcohol and are addicted to other drugs. Many of them are unaware about the health related adverse effects caused by alcohol and drugs consumption. There is always a risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS among rickshaw pullers. The social factors including personal behavior, ignorance, poverty and lack of basic health care facilities greatly affect the health of rickshaw pullers (Rosato et al., 2008).
There are a lot of issues which are responsible for ill health of manual rickshaw pullers. The rickshaw pullers often experiences with heavy traffic jam, dust, air, sound pollution, unhygienic food intakes, direct sunlight, massive precipitation, accidental injuries and misbehavior of the passengers. Long term health problems of rickshaw pullers come from the extreme physical stress on daily basis put the rickshaw pullers on (Begum and Sen, 2005).
Air pollution
Air pollution levels cause the severe health problems among rickshaw pullers who are exposed to ambient air pollutants in both short term and long term time periods. Around 6,70,000 deaths per year have been estimated due to ambient air pollution in the Indian cities which are most polluted in the world (Lim et al., 2013). Symptoms of respiratory tract problems, lung function disorder, infections, bronchitis and asthma are common. Air pollution loads are responsible for undesirable birth outcomes, like immature birth and low weight for newborns. Recent studies also reported the increasing risk of diabetes and neurological disorders are associated with air pollution (Yang et al., 2018).
Noise Pollution
Rickshaw pullers are continuously exposed to noise pollution during their working hours which leads to ear problems. The common ear problems include impaired hearing, deafness, infection, wax and otitis. Aage R. Moller also argued that deafness can result from continuous exposure to noise.
Poor Nutrition and Low body mass
To commute more passengers and to increase the income, rickshaw pullers often skip their meals and work in an empty stomach. Irregular and insufficient food consumption do not meet their required nutrients demand. Thus they often suffer from gastro-intestinal problems and have low body mass index (BMI). Unsafe drinking water leads to diarrhoeal disorders among rickshaw pullers.
A study conducted at Bangladesh to find out the health status of manual rickshaw pullers revealed that around 52% of surveyed rickshaw pullers had low body mass index (<18.5kg/m2) and about 50% were identified as suffering from chronic energy deficiency grade-I (Ahmed and Islam, 1997).
Extreme weather
Rickshaw pullers expose to adverse weather conditions like extreme hot and humid condition, severe rainfall when they are working. They suffer from heat stroke, cold, cough and different dermatological problems like eczema, scabies, dermatitis, itching, rashes, fungal infections etc.
Musculoskeletal problems
The laborious physical exercise of manual rickshaw pullers causes the problems of musculoskeletal problems as chronic pain of joints and muscles. Satapathy et al., 2007 also found musculoskeletal morbidity among 89 percent of rickshaw pullers who are working for more than 5years.
Addiction to drugs
Most of the rickshaw pullers consume narcotics like opium, Ganja (grass), and ‘Charas’ marijuana). This triggers instantaneous energy to uptake these physical activities. They are unaware about the deadly effects of drug consumptions. Drug addictions associate with various health issues including cardiovascular problems, lung disease, hepatitis (B and C), cancer and mental illness. Most of the rickshaw pullers are also vulnerable to sexual interactions with sex workers and become victims of STIs, and HIV (Kumar et al., 2016).
Work of Kumar et al., 2016 also reported that 73% of rickshaw pullers of Ranchi consume alcohols and 77 percent of them are unaware of the consequences of unprotected sex and disease like HIV/AIDS/STIs. Laxmi et al., 2006 have shown the occurrence of sexual transmitted infections (STIs) and reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among 10-15 percent rickshaw pullers.
Psychological problems
Most of the rickshaw pullers are from the marginalized section of society. The occupation of rickshaw puller is associated with social stigma as well, this lead to low dignity, hence leading to psychosocial stress. Psychological problems of rickshaw pullers include their insecurity, relationships with other people, behavioral changes, depression, addiction to drugs and alcohol etc. All of these issues lead to long term disease like headache, diabetes, cardiac problems hypertension. There are also chances of psychosomatic disorder among rickshaw pullers due to addiction.
Other health related issues
There are some direct health impacts of rickshaw pulling such as varicose vein, hydrocele and lymphadenopathy along with increasing chances of tuberculosis infection and chest congestion. Injuries due to road accidents are another serious issue. They also face the eye related problems such as impaired vision.
The Indian transportation system is in a transition phase. In 2015, motor vehicle (amendment) bill was approved where battery powered e-rickshaw became valid for commercial transportation in India. Recently, the Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India has taken a significant initiative namely NMEM-2020 (National mission for electric mobility) to introduce electric vehicles and their manufacturing in the country. NMEM plan concentrated on vehicular pollution, energy security and manufacturing capabilities of electronic vehicles.
The Government of India also planned to shift traditional vehicles to electric transporation by 2030. It is necessary to adopt electric mobility on account of rapid reduction in fossil fuel consumption, increasing cost of energy, environmental impact of transportation and concerns over health aspects. To adopt electric mobility, there are some challenges including charging facilities, performance of the e-vehicles, maintenance cost and acceptability of the consumers. These challenges need to be overcome by infrastructure build up and increasing the awareness among the users. Various interventions must be taken into account to adopt this energy efficient and affordable electronic transportation system .
Traditional rickshaws carry its legacy. Although the strenuous jobs that the manual rickshaw pullers have to undergo left a long term impact on their health. These are exposed to heavy traffic problems and pollution loads in urban areas which also worsen the health. Traditional rickshaws used to gap the distance from one point to another, at times almost a mile-long journey with a very low wage. The effort they have to put to complete the services is nothing in comparison to the earning they would make at the end of the day. But they experience high occupational stresses. Musculoskeletal disorders are very common among them.
With the progress of technologies the next generation of rickshaw pullers is tending towards services that are less time consuming, need to put less physical efforts and with better monetary benefits. Under such circumstances e-rickshaw has the potential to become an effective alternative vehicle.
The battery powered two seater e-rickshaw can reduce the daily physical workloads and tendency to trap in health hazards. It can be the most convenient way of transport to the entire population. In another way, it has the potential to create a scope for better income with lesser impact on the health of the rickshaw puller. The e-rickshaw pullers can able to afford a better nutritional diet and improve their immunity as well as their lifestyle because of the comparatively less stressed service and better income.
In this way to achieve the targeted indicators the rickshaw pullers either need to convert their manual rickshaw to e-two seater-rickshaw or exchange their old manual rickshaw to a new electronic one. Thus, there is an immediate requirement for environment friendly and low cost transportation in Indian cities which can generate better earning opportunities for the marginal population i.e. rickshaw pullers and at the same time will provide an end to end commuting for the commuters. Studies of Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Maharashtra already proved that by rickshaws designed with electric motor and batteries have the capability to create alternative options for employment and earnings (A.K Rajvanshi, 2002).
The advantages of the two seater e-rickshaw includes the following:
Manual rickshaw is a low cost, informal, less polluting transportation system especially in urban area. Manual rickshaw pullers are the representatives of marginalized low income group especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and they are at higher risk of exposure towards a hazardous life associated with their occupation. However they are not able to access the health care facilities and health benefits provided by Government and other social advantages. Various issues including socio-economic status, illiteracy, unconsciousness and lack of care, migration of rickshaw pullers, paucity of accommodation and arduous work are responsible for their health deterioration and restricted their admittance to health services.
India is a developing country, progressing fast towards the economy of first or second world countries. In this economic setting, at times, this population with very low earnings find it very difficult to earn enough to support their families. Sometimes, it has been noticed that a good number of rickshaw pullers are mostly of higher age group (i.e 45-60), those who find it very hard and tedious to serve in a comparative setting.
Sometimes they are ought to continue their service only because they are the only earning members who can support their families. According to the reports most of the rickshaw pullers do not have their own rickshaws and largely depend on some other people who own their rickshaws. At days, when they could not be able to handover the sufficient and satisfactory amount of days’ earnings, they fall into huge humiliation.
Most of the rickshaw pullers came from villages to try their luck with a better opportunity to improve their earnings, in towns or cities. But these days very few people prefers to ride on manual rickshws. When they feel this sort of failure and neglection, job related dissatisfaction and frustration often leads them towards bad addiction and other misdeeds. Furthermore, their children brought up in an neglected ambiences, fail to cope up with the comparisons to that of the other children of their age group. This brings a clear class difference. Such miserable lifestyle push them towards the dark alleys of the society and they, in most of the times, fail to get rid of the trap they fall in.
E-rickshaws are very helpful alternative to manual rickshaw considering all these gaps. E-rickshaws can reduce the human effort and are ergonomically sound. E-rickshaw is the sustainable means of transportation. It has the potentiality to curb the pollution level. E-rickshaw gives the opportunity to the rickshaw pullers to increase their earnings to improve their livelihood. Battery operated e-rickshaws are of low cost. Battery recharging options are also cost effective. Hence shifting from manual to energy-saving, labour-saving and fuel-saving e-rickshaws can be profitable for the service provider. However, social, economical and technical issues must be evaluated for successful phasing in e-rickshaws.
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Get custom essayIn this scenario, to improve the socio-economic, health and socio-cultural balance in the society, Government needs to take necessary measures. Hence subsidized economic help is the need of the moment to upgrade this marginal income group from the loophole of backword economic conditions.
Before manufacture anything we must know about the ingredient use in it. Some of the ingredient use in paints are:
Get original essayPigments are finely grounded powder that are dispersed in paints, providing color and hiding. There are two primary categories of pigments prime and extenders. Prime pigment provide whiteness and color and are the main source of hiding capability. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a predominant white pigment, provide exceptional whiteness by scattering light; provides whiteness and hiding in flat and glossy paints. Extender are used to ensure proper spacing of particles to avoid crowding and loss of hiding and provide greater chalking tendency to paints. In contrast color pigments, (either organic or inorganic) provide color by selective absorption of light. Color pigments are compounded into liquid dispersions called colorants. In factories color pigments are use as dry powder and in liquid colorant form to make pre-packed color paint. Commonly use extender are clay, silica, silicate, calcium carbonate, talc and zinc oxide.
It provide adhesion, integrity and toughness to the dry paints by binding the pigment together. The binder effect properties like flow leveling and gloss development. Oil based binder are generally refer to both oil and alkyd coatings and some coatings particularly exterior primers are made with the combination of both oil and alkyd to achieve appropriate flexibility. The most commonly used binder are cold pressed linseed oil, however, it can be made with walnut oil, poppy seed oil, safflower oil or other less popular oils.
The liquid portion of the paint (also referred to as Carrier) provide desired consistency and it possible to apply the pigment and binder to the surface being painted. For most oil based and alkyd paints, the liquid component is paint thinner and water is primarily used in latex paint. When we apply paint to any surface the liquid portion (generally thinner) is evaporate and what remain on the wall is pigment and binder. Together they are called the solid portion of the paint (pigment + binder = solid). While the coating is a combination of liquid and solid.
MANUFACTURING OF PAINTS The manufacturing of paint include following steps
The paints are prepare by pigments and fillers, binders (oil or resins), solvent, plasticizers, driers other raw material. In Industries paints are manufacture by using water ring type vacuum pumps to suck the raw material into a chemical reactor which can reduce manual work.
Now raw material is put into a high speed dispersing kettle which mix all the raw materials and form mixture and you get a semi-finished paint.
Now semi-finished paint is put into the horizontal sand miller to grind the granule (residue from the semi-finished paint) into smaller particles, for the better stirring.
Now after grinding process put the semi-finished paint into the color mixing tank, add some pigment or other additives into it to make other color for the paint. If the paint need to be diluted, it can be finished in this tank.
After all these process of mixing, grinding, coloring it is essential to filter it to remove all impurities from the paint to obtain high-quality paint.
After filtering process paint is ready to pack and proceed to the machines that automatically fill and pack it in barrels, boxes etc.
It's more than normal while you're growing up to dread getting out of bed, to snooze your alarm one more time or to rest your head back on the pillow one last time. Many teenagers struggle with getting up in the morning as a result of society nowadays producing natural night owls, meaning they don't get enough sleep. It is too easy for teenagers to watch 'just one more' episode, 'just one more' youtube video or play 'just one more' round of a game. Many teens feel pressured to stay up later to a time that is more 'socially acceptable' as it corresponds with their peers. Subsequently, this results in their lack of ability to function as normal humans throughout the day, especially in the early hours of the morning. This is the point when starting school later becomes an issue.
Get original essayThe phenomenon of school starting too early in correlation to the sleep schedule of teens nowadays has been scientifically proven. According to Sleep Council UK, children should be getting at least 9 hours of sleep every night, especially during the teenage years where sleep is vital for growth and development. Due to the fast-paced changes in society nowadays, this figure cannot be reached, and teens are actually on average, receiving only 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep is vital as it helps the body carry out essential functions required to stay healthy. This includes the increases in muscle mass, cellular repairs and renewal of tissues in our bodies.
Teens are already perceived as lazy in society, so why is it not crossing the minds of the education board that teens should get more time to become energised, awake and prepared for the day ahead in the morning before they tackle the essential schooling they are required to receive. We need more sleep! Yes, teens are not perfect, and we may miss the morning bell or come in late but being punished on top of our harassed start to the day can have its effects on teens mentally, and it can physically wear us down. The 'Doctor of Sleep', Wendy Troxel, said that an average time for a full-grown adult to wake up is at around half past six to half-past nine which, in correlation to teens sleep cycle, is the equivalent of waking up at three to four in the morning, imagine getting up that early every day of your life, surely you would feel exhausted. According to Psycom, 40% of teens have said that they have felt stressed and anxious during class due to a weak sleep schedule and the unbreakable rule of being in school at a set time every day. Many agree that school administrators should consider changing this rule seeing as it has remained the same for the last ten centuries.
Imagine being a teacher and having to deal with temperamental teens every day of your life? In the last four years, teachers have taken a total of 1.3 million days off work for stress and mental health-related issues. To be precise, this amounts to around 312,000 mental health sick days in one year alone. These figures, reported by the Guardian, suggests that missing out on sleep is a big problem for teens and has a huge impact on their learning, as having a night of inadequate sleep can disrupt their mindset and temper in the classroom. From where I'm sitting, I can visually see the impact of this in parallel to the sleep pattern of my fellow peers within the classroom. However, due to the vicious cycle of sleep deprivation for everyone working in schools, kids can feel demotivated due to the teacher lacking in sleep, and this can lead to up to 30 pupils in one classroom alone being affected.
Here in Scotland, we pupils have an exhaustingly early start ranging from around half eight till nine o'clock, which results in me having to wake up at around half seven. School ends at half 3; if the school administrators were to change the duration of school the end time would be pushed forward a couple of hours which leads to less activity time and also study time for homework etc. after school. An obvious downside of this change refers back to how teens - who as I have already said, like to stay up late - will have less time to hang out with their pals or watch videos which could lead them to stay up at a more inconvenient later time. This could also affect employers, who employ teens in their companies and have a knock-on effect on other activities outside school.
Schools and administrators are also pitting teenagers and their parents in an essentially an unwinnable fight against their own bodies. Around the time of puberty, teenagers experience a delay in their biological clock, which determines when we feel most awake and when we feel most sleepy. This is driven in part by a shift in the release of the hormone melatonin. Teenagers' bodies wait to start releasing melatonin until about 11 pm, which is two hours later than what we see in adults or younger children. This means that waking a teenager up at 6 am is the biological equivalent of waking an adult up at 4 am. On the unfortunate days when I have to wake up at 4 am, I'm a zombie. Functionally useless. I can't think straight, I'm irritable, and I probably shouldn't be driving a car. But this is how many American teenagers feel every single school day. In fact, many of the, shall we say, unpleasant characteristics that we chalk up to being a teenager - moodiness, irritability, laziness, depression - could be a product of chronic sleep deprivation. For many teens battling chronic sleep loss, their go-to strategy to compensate is consuming large quantities of caffeine in the form of venti frappuccinos, or energy drinks. So essentially, we've got an entire population of tired but wired youth.
To conclude, the point of this essay is to make people aware of some problems that happen because of early school start times. It’s important to consider starting shool later to keep kids from doing bad and becoming sleep deprived. Just an hour or two more would make a difference on academic performance, health, and overall well-bing of students.
The Mardi Gras Indian culture was created by slaves who fused aspects of different cultures that inspired them. This concept of combining influences is what continues to cause all types of cultures to evolve. The Mardi Gras Indians have effectively influenced many different types of music using the celebratory traditions that occur in New Orleans every year. To this day, musicians who were influenced by the Mardi Gras Indians continue to create new types of music that inspire each other and people around them.
Get original essayIn the early United States of America, slaves in New Orleans were set free because the recession rendered the masters unable to afford to keep them alive. The freed slaves fled into the wilderness where they discovered Native American tribes. These tribes took the slaves in, offering them shelter, food, water, and culture. The slaves joined the Native American culture but also incorporated their African cultural aspects into the community (Lipsitz 99). Many details of how the slaves and Native American tribes interacted are shrouded in mystery.
Many African Americans today celebrate their Black Indian heritage. One such celebration of this heritage is the Mardi Gras Indian movement in New Orleans. Every year on Mardi Gras day, dozens of Black Indian tribes celebrate with dancing, music, and elaborate, hand-made costumes which resemble Native American dress. Each tribe member makes their own costume over the course of the year. The costumes are usually made with colorful feathers and beadwork. The Black Indians then take to the streets with their costumes, chanting in a call and response style, dancing, and playing drums and other musical instruments (Smith 43). This unique celebration has been kept alive through several generations.
The most defining and prominent aspect of Mardi Gras Indian music is rhythm. While some participants in the parade carry saxophones, trumpets, or other melodic instruments, the heart of the music comes from those carrying drums and tambourines or just clapping along (Alexander). The syncopated claves that come from the rhythmic instrumentalists draw influence from New Orleans second line as well as traditional Native American rhythms. The unique rhythms provide the foundation for melodic instruments such as saxophones to create melodies and solos. It also provides a foundation for the people taking part in Mardi Gras Indian chanting (Smith 43).
What makes the Mardi Gras Indian culture unique is that it was created by combining traditions from two separate cultures. The Mardi Gras Indians pick aspects from each culture and use them together to create a new tradition that celebrates heritage in an extremely creative fashion. The Black Indians are fundamentally celebrating freedom. When their ancestors were enslaved, they practiced freedom through African song and dance in Congo Square. These art forms were then combined with European classical music to create Jazz and Blues (Lipsitz 99). The slaves who fled to Native American tribes combined those two cultures to create new traditions which the Mardi Gras Indians celebrate today.
African people have created similar traditions and cultures in different parts of the world, often combining traditions from African celebrations with cultural aspects of lands outside of Africa. One such celebration is Junkanoo. Held in Nassau, Bahamas on Christmas day, the Afro-Caribbean people dress in elaborate costumes, dancing, singing and creating music while parading through town. This particular tradition is held on Christmas because when slavery was still prominent, Christmas would be one of the few days in the year that slaves were given a day off. Instead of celebrating Jesus, the slaves celebrated freedom with song and dance. Junkanoo is a festival which continues the tradition of celebrating freedom. Though it does not feature the same costumes or exact same music as Mardi Gras Indians, many similar themes and celebratory traditions exist between the two (Sands 75) . This is an example of how African people are able to combine aspects of different cultures to help them evolve in multiple situations and parts of the world.
There are many Mardi Gras Indian songs and musicians that have influenced all different genres of music in the past. Some Mardi Gras Indian songs such as Iko Iko became popular hits in America at the time (Lipsitz 99). Other pop songs drew heavy influence from Mardi Gras Indian rhythms. Several famous musicians, particularly jazz musicians, grew up as Mardi Gras Indians and still participate in the celebration today. Donald Harrison Jr. is a jazz saxophonist who grew up under his father who was the Chief of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe known as Guardians of the Flame. Since his father passed away, Harrison took his place as chief and now leads the tribe in celebration every year, often with his saxophone in hand. He plays saxophone and leads traditional chants on stage and in parades while wearing his costume (Wyckoff). Harrison played with famous jazz groups such as Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He’s also lead his own group where he played original music. Harrison even recorded an album completely inspired by Mardi Gras Indians where he collaborated with Dr. John and played original pieces as well as classics such as Ja-Ki-Mo-Fi-Na-Hay (Spera).
Black Indian people have been using Mardi Gras Indian music to influence and evolve other musical genres and are continuing to do so today with music that defies labels. One musician jazz musician who has done this to the fullest extent so far is Christian Scott, also known as Christian Atunde Adjuah. Scott is Donald Harrison’s trumpet playing nephew. He grew up in the Mardi Gras Indian culture and is now using that influence in his music. The cover of Christian Scott’s 2012 album shows him wearing his Mardi Gras Indian costume which appears to be made primarily from peach colored feathers (Jarenwattananon). One may be surprised by the sound of the music after looking at the album cover. Scott’s music is draws influence from many different genres including Mardi Gras Indian music, yet it sounds very contemporary and appeals to younger audiences with influences from alternative rock groups such as Radiohead and Tortoise. Scott’s most recent album is titled Stretch Music which is also the title of the record label that he recently founded.
When asked to define what Stretch Music means, Scott said, “Fuck yeah it’s jazz. But it’s also indie rock. It’s also hip-hop” (Shahabian). The music of Christian Scott is a fusion of all sorts of different genres that the composer is inspired by. One of the primary genres used by Scott is Mardi Gras Indian music. This is because he grew up making his own Mardi Gras Indian costume and celebrating with the Black Indians every year. Though it is not obvious to the average listener, Scott’s music features rhythms inspired by his Afro-Native American heritage in many of his songs (Shahabian). Christian Scott’s work is the strongest example of contemporary music being created with strong influence from the Mardi Gras Indian tradition which causes music to continue evolving.
Black Indian music has had a significant role in the evolution of all music in the United States. The Mardi Gras Indians continue to influence contemporary compositions of creative geniuses such as Christian Scott and Donald Harrison in present day. Because African slaves began to express freedom through music, combining aspects of African and Native American culture, American culture as well as cultures around the world have been effected and caused to evolve and expand past their current limits to create new sounds that will continue to inspire musicians everywhere and shape the sound of music to come.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), the autocratic state of Gilead oppresses women in its theocratic system, using them as conscripted childbearers for wealthy but infertile couples. The main character and narrator, Offred, is the handmaid to an important Commander, and she finds small ways to assert her identity within the restrictive Gileadean society. Gilead redefines and manipulates language in order to further oppress the common people, denying them individuality, with the end goal of sustaining those in power. However, it also exposes faults in the hierarchy of power, notably the hypocrisy of those that wield it, and it shows that language facilitates power. Overall, Atwood utilizes Gilead’s oppressive manipulation of language in The Handmaid’s Tale to reveal the hierarchical dynamics of power in the theocratic state.
Get original essayGilead manipulates language in a religious context in order to establish the hierarchy of power dynamics and therefore further its existence as a totalitarian state. Gilead cements the hierarchy of power by limiting the knowledge of the common people. Offred lives in a theocracy, where there is no separation between church and state. Looking back on her situation, hundreds of years later, Professor Pieixoto tells the reader in the Historical Notes that Gilead used biblical precedents to justify the new, oppressive system. "God is a Natural Resource", the slogan goes (Atwood 213). The Republic of Gilead claims that they have biblical approval for the establishment of the handmaid class. Every month before the Ceremony, the Commander reads from the Bible, reminding the reader of the story of Rachel, who was infertile and gave permission to her husband, Jacob, to have a child with their maid. Atwood does not criticize religion, or religious influences, in the book. Rather, she denounces how people use the Bible to create rules in order to oppress other members of the society for their own purposes. Gilead also uses religion to justify its harsher qualities. By reading from the Bible before the Ceremony, the Commander is legitimizing the government-sanctioned sexual violence against the handmaids. Lack of knowledge enables oppression, and Gilead manipulates religious influences like the Bible to control what the masses know, keeping them subservient. Also, routine biblical language invokes a sense of paranoia in the common people. When saying goodbye to Offred, her shopping partner Ofglen gives her the official farewell, "Under His Eye", making a clear reference to God. The precise language here gives the handmaids a sense of fear, and a reminder that they could be under surveillance at any time. It causes them to censor their behavior and their words, even when nobody is watching. Gilead's use of religious language in everyday activities is the intersection of theology and autocracy in the novel. It helps Gilead maintain an iron grip over the populace and keep the common people subservient, by giving the state control over the thoughts and actions of the society. Language is denied to women in order to control them, and to prevent their resistance to the people in power. Offred finally realizes what she has lost in the onset of Gilead, saying, "The Commander has something we don’t have, he has the word. How we squandered it once”. Without language, Offred realizes, those oppressed have no means with which to rebel. But by restricting the common person's access to knowledge and language, concealing the words of the Bible, and even prohibiting the right of handmaids to read the signs of shops, the theocracy prevents resistance and furthers its existence as a totalitarian state. Offred knows that the prayers she hears at the Red Center have been altered from the original text, and that victims of Salvagings are political dissenters rather than rapists or homosexuals, but she has no way of corroborating this with someone else. The upper class in the novel maintains their position of power by inhibiting open dialogue between the common people and by preventing their contact with literature, which might otherwise result in rebellion. By restricting her access to knowledge and language, Gilead can control Offred and others like her.
Gilead also manipulates language by creating a role for women that is less than human, in order to make it easier to control them, and this reveals flaws in the hierarchy of power. Gilead is a theocracy created because of widespread panic at decreasing birth rates. To combat this epidemic, men in power revert women's role in society to sexual objects, thus allowing them to be easily manipulated. In controlling their reproductive rights, Gilead lowers the status of women to less than human. Offred eventually recognizes that she is valued as no more than a set of reproductive organs, and Gilead utilizes oppressive language to try to make her forget that any other possible reality ever existed. When the Commander takes Offred to Jezebel's, she thinks to herself, “It occurs to me he is showing off. He is showing me off, to them” (236). She realizes she is being paraded around like a treasured livestock, and is no more than property to him. Offred knows she could end up discarded, killed like that prized animal for meat without a second thought if she no longer serves a purpose. The language in this passage shows that Offred, as a woman, is outside the hierarchy of power and therefore subject to its whims. Gilead claims to put women on a pedestal, protecting them from sexual violence and other crimes in its new society, but by controlling their reproduction they are forcing women into a less than human role, with the end goal of making it easier for the government to control them. Offred, talking with the Commander after one of their illicit Scrabble games, narrates, "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, is what he says. We thought we could do better . . . better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse, for some" (211). The Commander is assessing the policies of Gilead, a freedom granted only to the powerful. Rather than quote propaganda, he can be honest and tell Offred that in order for some to enjoy this new life, others, meaning women, must suffer. Also, the Commander is the main source from where Offred experiences language within the course of the novel. By breaking the laws he himself made, he reveals the hypocrisy in the Gileadean hierarchy of power. The Commander also reflects the elite's belief that they are above the law when he takes Offred to Jezebel's, where she is confronted by the fact that "by night, they are exploiting the same women whom they ostensibly hold on a pedestal by day". The brothel, which should not even exist within the Gileadean system, shows how Gilead was not in fact created to fulfill a religious goal of converting the populace or to fix the birth rate problem, but rather to establish control over others. The power dynamics exposed by Gilead's manipulation of language reveals the flaws in the theocracy.
Gilead also manipulates language through its use of dehumanizing language and its suppression of individuality, in order to better control the common people and maintain the hierarchy of power. In The Handmaid's Tale, women are defined by gender roles, rather than their true names. Gilead denies them their individuality by giving them set dress colors and activities, such as Milk and Honey, which is a biblical reference to fertility, and the only store the handmaids are allowed to shop at. By not allowing the women individuality, it is simpler for Gilead to regulate their behavior and control their thoughts. The theocracy also employs dehumanizing language to make the abuse of women easier on the collective conscience of the society. Feminists are called “Unwomen”, deformed babies “Unbabies” or “shredders”, and the man at the Particicution becomes an “it” for the handmaids to rip apart. Additionally, when preparing to try and flee Gilead, Offred remembers that her cat needs to be killed in order for them to escape undetected. After Luke tells her he will take care of it, she tells herself, "I knew he meant kill . . . You have to create an it, where none was before. You do that first, in your head, and then you make it real" (192-3). This terminology separates the oppressed from the oppressors. By making the objects of their abuse seem less than human, objectifying the situation, violence and systematic oppression can happen without the normal consequence of guilt or remorse. The strongest manifestation of this dehumanizing language, however, is in the names of handmaids. Instead of going by their real names from before the time of Gilead, the women are forced to adopt a name that deems them property, not as living, breathing, human beings. In this way, they are once again denied their individuality. In the novel, the true name of Offred is never revealed, and without her identity, she is “lost in a sea of names”. By not disclosing her name, Atwood argues that her fate could happen to anybody, even the reader. Gilead manipulates language through dehumanizing terminology and the names of women, revealing how the theocracy can commit daily abuse so casually, and the means by which it maintains control of the masses.
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Get custom essayIn The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood argues that the manipulation of language is a necessary component for retaining autocratic power. Gilead uses language to oppress women and suppress their individuality, dehumanizing them in an effort to make their abuse easier. Traditional gender roles form the bedrock of inspiration for the handmaid’s oppression, but language can be used by anybody in the upper echelons, not just men, to oppress those below them. As Offred recalls from her time with Aunt Lydia at the Red Center, “We are hers to define. We must suffer her adjectives”. Words like “define” and “adjectives” emphasize that language facilitates power. Without language or power, women like the handmaids are easily oppressed and must “suffer” the worst abuses of tyranny. Thus, people with power in Gilead use language to retain their authority and keep the common people subservient. In the closing moments of Offred’s narrative, as she is taken away by the Eyes, all she has left is language. She has no guarantees of safety, no weapon to defend herself with. The Commander, Luke, Moira, and her daughter are all gone. She only has the trust she places in Nick, and her anomalous faith in language. Atwood ends on a hopeful note, yet reminds the reader that language is inseparable from power, as they are both tools used to oppress.
In “Bilingual Education is Necessary,” María Estella Brisk expresses the opinion that bilingual education is a vital part of the American education system; as an integral component of the American education system, the programs help to provide an equality of education to all students regardless of language of origin. She believes that bilingual members of an educational community enrich the system, which she thinks is for the benefit of all students in American education. She criticizes her opponents’ opinions that bilingual education is wasteful and unnecessary as being regressive and xenophobic. She claims that these biases against bilingual students are a form of institutionalized prejudice that exists within the American academic system. These prejudices are, in this respect, still obstacles which need to be overcome in the American education system in order to improve the system to be equal for all students (Brisk).
Get original essayIn the article “One Nation, One Language?”, Susan Headden believes that it would be beneficial to The United States to enforce the English language as the official language of the nation while disregarding others. In her vision, it would be a nearly impossible feat to make accommodations for the countless minority languages spoken in the country: languages which go far beyond Spanish.
She argues that immigrants in the past, such as Germans or Italians, have integrated into American society in the past without the needs for special accommodations that enforcing bilingual education would create. This would be a drain of economic resources. She insists that The United States would still maintain its identity of being a cultural melting pot of people from around the world who would still be able to speak their languages at home, but that English should be the sole official language for all intents and purposes. She makes these claims on grounds of practicality, not out of xenophobic biases against people from different backgrounds (Headden).
In the study “Assessing the Advantages of Bilingualism for the Children of Immigrants,” Tanya Golash-Boza evaluates the genuine advantages of bilingualism in American society. Her findings demonstrate that bilingualism is generally advantageous in communities of Latinos; these findings demonstrate that bilingual Latinos are generally more successful in life than monolingual Latinos who can only speak either English or Spanish exclusively.
However, her results differ depending on location of the community and in which area her subjects were being tested. These discoveries show that there are more social factors at play than simply whether or not a person is bilingual. Other factors can include family expectations and the opportunities present within their communities outside of their families. By and large, the advantages of bilingualism are generally positive, but vary depending on the communities examined (Golash-Boza).
These three articles illustrate three different opinions on the same topic: that of whether or not bilingual education and bilingualism is beneficial or necessary within American society. Out of the articles, Susan Headden takes the most negative opinion toward bilingual accommodations within The United States, because previous generations have been capable of integrating into American society without the extra help, which she believes, is demanded by the current generation of immigrants. The beliefs extended in the other two articles align more or less in a positive manner toward the topic of bilingual education in The United States.
Both of these articles believe that bilingualism is a general positive in American society because it brings diversity and a variety of different viewpoints into the equation. Tanya Golash-Boza’s study does, however, mention that the advantages of bilingualism do vary depending on the circumstances in which the individual lives; this does now, however, deny the fact that bilingualism, in general, is a beneficial skill for an individual to possess. Despite the counterpoints against accepting bilingualism as a part of the new American society, the benefits of bilingualism do shine through as being more advantageous than monolingualism in general.
Marie Antoinette was born into royalty on November 2nd, 1755 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. When Marie was a child, she was often referred to as “Antione” or “Antonia” and was known to be very kind and beautiful. She wasn’t as close to her mother as she was her father, who died of a stroke when she was only nine years old. Despite her fear of her mother, the family was very close. Out of her fifteen siblings, Marie’s favorite was Maria Carolina. The two were almost like twins as they grew up together.
Get original essayAt the age of thirteen, Marie could not read nor write very well. This became a huge problem when she discovered she was next in line to marry the heir to the throne of France. To improve her skills, a tutor was hired for her. After a year of constant studying, she became fluent in French. Although her studies were going well, her appearance wasn’t. Her teeth needed fixing and her hair was not presentable. She wore a pelican, a form of braces for her teeth, and hired a professional to make her forehead appear smaller. Her transformation was complete, and she was ready to be married.
The wedding took place on April 19th, 1770. Two days after, she was forced to say goodbye to her family and hello to the people of France. On one hand, the French people adored her and she was well liked by the common people. On the other hand, many disliked her because she was from Austria. When Louis XV passed, Louis XVI became the king of France, making Marie the queen.
As queen, she spent a lot on fashion and gambling, despite the country struggling financially. People were always wondering why they had not had children yet, especially Marie’s brother, who came to France under a fake name.
After seven years of marriage, Marie finally gave birth to a daughter. After a few miscarriages and giving birth to four children, Marie became more into politics and less into her old lifestyle.
On the night of June 21st, 1791, Marie and her family tried and failed to escape to Austria in attempt to create a counter-revolution against the French Revolution. The entire family was returned to France and arrested. Louis XVI was executed in January of 1793, Marie following ten months later. They were both sentenced to death by guillotine while their children were left in prison.
From the first woman professor to the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize Marie Curie was able to change the way women were viewed in the science community forever, and was able to be a role model for thousands of women in many years following her death. With her discovery of Radium and the effects of radiation there have been leaps and bounds in the advances towards the cure of cancer and treatments for it. Even with everything against her, Marie Curie was able to be the most impactful women in the history of science because of all of her accomplishments. Maria Sklodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7th, 1867. Maria was only eight when tragedy first struck her life, her older sister caught typhus and died. Only three years after that, her mother, Madame Sklodowska, at the age of 42 died after a five year battle with tuberculosis. Later on in life she lost her husband to a freak accident as well. The only people she still had in her life that she was very close with were her father, Professor Sklodowski, and her siblings Joseph, Bronya and Hela.
Get original essayMarie was the brightest is her class. Her personal losses did not affect her academic life negatively at all. However, when she graduated at the age of 15 she was not allowed to attend the medical school at the University of Warsaw-because they did not allow women- where she wished to get an advanced degree. She then attended Sorbonne where she quickly realized that was nowhere near as advanced in math, science, and French as her fellow students were. However, she persisted, through hard work and motivation. “Marie finished first in her master’s degree physics course in the summer of 1893 and second in math the following year”. Even being as poor as she was, Marie was able to study. One of her professors saw her potential and was able to get her a scholarship to continue studying. That was when she moved to France and met her future husband, Pierre Curie. “In Marie, Pierre found an equal with a comparable devotion to science. They would soon marry and have two daughters”. They worked together in Pierre’s lab, where he gave Marie her own space.
Together the Curies work and research with radium would receive a Nobel Prize in 1903. The Curies then published all the processes that went into isolating Radium and didn’t put a patent on any of it, showing how truly generous they were and how they really just wanted to better society. Radium was a huge success and many people began studying it, “On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen at the University of Würzburg, discovered a new kind of radiation which he called X-rays”. This new discovery of X-rays was incredible people believe Roentgen to be insane. But his discovery opened up a whole new method of viewing the inside of a body, which led to the invention of CT scans and the ability to spot cancer within a patient along with a way to view atoms. This discovery affected millions of people and is still affecting people today and will continue for times to come. The impact of the discovery of radium was huge. “With the discovery of radium and polonium there came a rapid and, initially, completely uncontrolled use of radium in all fields of life and medicine. However, it did not come without a cost, because of the extended amounts of time Marie spent with the radioactive material, it caused many health problems. Even while she was struggling with her health she was able to benefit society and with the help of studies from her husband on the effects of radium and the damage it can cause on tissues, helped with the fight against cancer, “Gaining experience in the side effects resulted in elaboration of the modern principles of radiotherapy. Today’s radiotherapy is an essential therapeutic method in oncology.” Oncology is the study and treatment of tumors, which led to the huge success of radiotherapy for treatment of cancer. Many people have suffered through cancer but because of Marie a cure is possible: More than 14 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed globally each year; radiation therapy (RT) has the potential to improve the rates of cure of 3.5 million people and provide palliative relief for an additional 3.5 million people. These conservative estimates are based on the fact that approximately 50 percent of all cancer patients can benefit from RT in the management of their disease; of these, approximately half present early enough to pursue curative intent.
Those number are only yearly, imagine the amount of people Marie has helped since radium first took off more than a hundred years ago. Along with her discoveries Marie became the first woman professor in the history of the world. She took the job of her late husband after his accidental death. She then went on to receive a second Nobel prize, “In recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element”. So not only was she the first woman professor, but she was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and then another. Making her the most influential women in the history of the sciences.
Marie Curie is extremely admired for her work and accomplishment. She was able to make all these great accomplishments in the face of discrimination and poverty. She wasn’t allowed to go to the school she wanted to because she was a woman, and for her to go and become the first woman to do all of those things in her field is incredible. 41 women since Marie have been awarded a Nobel Prize. She also made it possible for women to be professors and there have been hundreds of thousands women become them because she opened that door for them. There’s still so much that can be done for women in the sciences against discrimination, but the fact woman get to freely study the sciences is owed to Marie.
In the name of the Curie’s there have been institutions made to continue their legacy. The biggest one is Institut Curie, whose main goals are researching, teaching, and treating cancer. It is an international renowned research center, specializing in rare forms of cancer.
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Get original essayMarijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. Extracts can also be made from the cannabis plant.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Its use is widespread among young people. In 2015, more than 11 million young adults ages 18 to 25 used marijuana in the past year. How do people use marijuana?
Marijuana is been used in several ways namely:
So here are the two types of effect namely:
Long Term Effect:
Short Term Effect:
Ever since we have been talking more about the effect. Believe me you, marijuana also have a very good positive effect on our health. This part of essay discusses the positive effects of marijuanas.
They range from improvements to quality of life to the potential treatment of debilitating diseases. In the short-run, cannabis can provide instant relief from various ailments, such as chronic stress and pain.
Relaxation
There’s nothing nicer than plopping down on the sofa with a bowl after a tiring workday. One of the most well known and immediate effects of marijuana is relaxation. The moment you breathe in cannabis vapor, a flood of plant-based anti-anxiety compounds called cannabinoids travel through your blood and into your brain. There are two primary cannabinoids in cannabis worth mentioning. The first is psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) , which provides the classic cannabis “high”. The second iscannabidiol (CBD) , which does not cause a high. Studies have shown that both cannabis compounds can ease anxiety and promote a positive sense of well-being. Within minutes of smoking, you’ll be able to breathe a heavy sigh of relief and start smiling again.
Creativity
There’s a reason why so many famous artists smoked weed. Marijuana can make you more creative. When you smoke herb, activity in a certain part of your brain increases. That region is the frontal lobe. In fact, within 30 minutes of smoking , this region is fully activated in your brain. This is the same region of the brain that is responsible for critical thinking and creativity.
Pain Releive
When you feel pain, your brain is sending you a distress call. It’s screaming: “HELLO! There’s something wrong here! Fix it!” You feel these distress calls as pain because of chemical signals sent by cells, communicated through nerves, and translated by the brain.
Staminal
It may seem odd, but the effects of cannabis and the effects ofexercise are really quite similar. After you workout, bliss-inducing chemicals like dopamine, anandamide, and serotonin are released in the brain. These compounds make you feel amazing. They’re the reason behind the “runner’s high” and why exercise is thought to treat depression .
Appetite
Eat-Less-Lose-Weight. Great food is one of the finest simple pleasures in life. We think it deserves to be appreciated. Weed can turn a simple meal into a smorgasbord of blissful flavors and aromas. Cannabis releases excess dopamine, which makes you feel pleasure. It also mimics anandamide, which makes you feel happy and hungry. All in all, this herb makes you love the experience of eating .
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Nutrients
As neuroscientist and author Dr. Michele Ross sees it, cannabis is vitamin weed. THC and CBD are some of the most powerful antioxidants out there. Antioxidants are essential for reducing environmental damage to our cells. Cannabis helps by delivering powerful antioxidants and checking back oxidative damage. Oxidative stress happens when there are more harmful free radicals than there are positive compounds to clean them up.
Reduce Risk of Diabetes
The impact of cannabis on weight gain and carbohydrate metabolism are certainly interesting. But, the herb seems to do a lot more than possibly help you look thinner. The same study mentioned above found that cannabis consumers had lower fasting insulin levels than their non-consuming counterparts.
Anti-aging
As mentioned earlier, THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids are powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants protect us from DNA damage. DNA damage is one of the primary reasons humans age. As we get older, free radicals and environmental stressors spur the process of aging by damaging DNA. This damage is then copied as DNA replicates, causing subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) changes over time. These changes are expressed as aging.
The following chapter of this essay discusses negative effects of marijuanas. As with all good things, consuming cannabis comes with some costs. As a responsible consumer, it’s up to you to decide whether or not the benefits of marijuanas are worth the harms. From person to person, that answer will be different.
Paranoia
Many of us have experienced it. You smoke a little too much herb and all of a sudden you’re freaking out because you think you look a little too stoned for the public eye. When it comes to cannabis and anxiety , imagine an inverted bell curve on a graph. You smoke a little bit, your anxiety level drops down. You smoke too much of an incredible high-THC strain, and that anxiety can shoot right back up again.
Disorientation
Don’t forget: THC is psychoactive. When you consume activated THC, you are taking a psychoactive substance. For newbie consumers, this can feel weird. When you are disoriented, your sense of place and purpose may seem bunk. You may feel like you’re not quite living in reality, or that you’re watching a show from afar. This feeling can be very uncomfortable for some people. To others? The cerebral disorientation is enjoyable. Filled with laughter, a sense of peace, and a brighter outlook on the world. As you become more accustomed to cannabis, this disorientation subsides. Studies have even found that regular medical marijuana users are able to drive and function more or less on-par with the average non-smoking consumer. Others find that they have an easier time focusing on work and getting things done.3• For up to three hours after smoking, cannabis may increase heart rate. Your heart is affected the most within the first hour of smoking the herb. In fact, a Boston study found that your risk of having a heart attack is 5 times that of a non-smoker during the first hour.
Marijuana has both short-and long-term effects on the brain. Short-Term Effects When a person smokes marijuana, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream. The blood carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. The body absorbs THC more slowly when the person eats or drinks it. In that case, they generally feel the effects after 30 minutes to 1 hour. They can also affect the brain and the patient stars experiencing the following:
Marijuana also affects brain development. When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Researchers are still studying how long marijuana’s effects last and whether some changes may be permanent.
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Get custom essayMarijuana clearly has its advantages and disadvantages, it depends on us what we would consider to be a prioritize but comparatively it does seem to have a heavier side of danger. We can’t risk such a drug becoming an addiction to our friends and family under the pretext of medical purposes, not in this era of technology where we have newer discoveries and alternatives to cure many of our medical issues which are probably even much more efficient in the job.
All Americans have their ideas on legalizing marijuana, yet they need to make sure they have done considerable research using past experiences the American people have already experienced from using this drug; also they need to take a good look into what the actual outcomes are of smoking marijuana, before making a final decision on whether or not to legalize marijuana for medical purposes or any other reason. They say marijuana is a helpful medicine, that it makes you calm down and feel good or also that it isn’t as dangerous or harmful as alcohol and other drugs, these are some reasons why they want to legalize marijuana. But what they do not say is the bad consequences of smoking marijuana such as its negative effects on the physical and mental health on a human’s body. This essay will discuss the negative effects that marijuana can cause, and why this drug should stay illegal in the United States.
Get original essayFirst, Americans should know what marijuana actually is before they would even consider legalizing it. Marijuana, also known as pot or weed comes from an Indian hemp called the Cannabis sativa. The actual drug is primarily in the flower of the plant and much less in the seeds, leaves, or stems of the plant. Cannabis is used in three different forms which are marijuana, hashish, and hash oil. Marijuana is made out of dried flowers and leaves, this product is the least potent of all the cannabis products and is usually smoked or made into edible products like cookies or brownies. Hashish which is made from the resin of the cannabis plant, this is dried up and pressed into small balls and then smoked. And the most potent of all hash oil, which is a thick oil obtained from hashish. Marijuana contains many ingredients, however, the main active ingredient that gives the “high” is called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol commonly known as THC, this creates the mind-altering effects that make a person feel some type of way such as pleasure and making the person feel good and forget about their problems while smoking it, this is why marijuana is classified as a drug. The plant is usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes also called “joints” or in special water piped also called “bongs”. As of today, marijuana is one of the most abused drugs if not the most in the United States and worldwide. Those who support its legalization, for medical or general use, fail to recognize that the greatest costs resulting from marijuana use itself.
Marijuana is now legal in some states of the United States such as Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and others. After the legalization of marijuana in these states, there have been many negative consequences. As an example in the state of Colorado, after voters passed amendment 64 on Election Day in 2012 in the state. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette who published an editorial called the “embarrassing cautionary tale” of the policy and talked about the “increase in homelessness, a doubting, a doubling of fatal traffic collisions involving weed-intoxicated drivers, and a rise in drug violations in Colorado’s schools”. Legalizing marijuana could make society abuse of this drug and lead people to situations such as driving under the influence of marijuana this causing car crashes end up with people being injured or dead. If people have legal access to marijuana it would probably increase its use. People who support the legalization of marijuana use to say that the sales of this drug can contribute to the country’s finance, however, this point would be put in contrast with the side effects that this legalization will bring to public health and safety of the country.
The use of this drug has a lot of health concerns because of its ingredients such as the THC (which was previously mentioned). This component acts on specific brain receptors, causing possible mood changes, depression, suicidal thinking, memory issues, and disruption to normal learning abilities. In reference to this, here is an example where a person suffered from consuming this drug. The story of Levy Thamba, a college student who was under the influence of marijuana and soon enough had a panic attack which made him jump to death from a Denver hotel balcony, this type of situations may happen when someone consumes marijuana with high levels of THD which is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, reaching the brain within minutes. With this and many other cases were the use of marijuana did not turn out as good as people it would be. According to a recent Northwestern University study found that “marijuana users have an abnormal brain and poor memory and that chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia. The study also reported that the younger the person starts using marijuana, the worse the effects become.” Many people start smoking marijuana from a young age this affecting their memory, thinking, learning functions as well as it affects how the brain build connections between the areas necessary for this functions. Smoking this drug from a young age can affects the brain since the brain is not well developed until the age of 25. According to data by the National Institution of Drug Abuse (NIDA), “marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug among kids. Roughly one in three high schoolers’ smokes pot.” Students who smoke marijuana may have poorer educational outcomes than their nonsmoker peers as well as students who smoke this drug regularly can also be significantly less likely than students who do not smoke the drug be less likely to finish highs school or to obtain a degree. So, by saying this the use of marijuana can also affect one’s productivity in life making the user less capable of doing or finishing things.
The use of marijuana can also have a wide range of effects on physical health. The smoking of the drug can affect a human’s breathing problems since it can irritate the lungs, these problems include a daily cough and phlegm and a higher risk of lung infections. It can also increase heart rate since because after smoking marijuana the heart rate raises up to 3 hours after smoking, this can lead to a heart attack. Now, it can also have a problem with child development during and after a pregnancy. A study by the National Institution of Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that about “20% of pregnant women 24-years-old and younger screened positive for marijuana.” The effects of a drug like marijuana can be rough on a pregnant woman and the fetus because when a pregnant woman uses this drug, this may affect certain developing parts of the fetus’s brain as well as when a child is exposed to marijuana in the womb they may have an increased risk of problems with attention, memory, and problem solving compared to unexposed children. Also after pregnancy, a child can still be affected because if a woman smokes the drug the amount of THC can be excreted into the breast milk of nursing mothers, this could affect the baby’s developing brain. This stating another reason why marijuana should be illegal because it can not only affect someone’s health but it can also affect an innocent life because of people’s desire to smoke weed.
Marijuana advocates would have people believe that the drug is organic and harmless, in short words make them believe that the use of marijuana does not cause any addictive problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, that is not the case since marijuana can lead people into a substance use disorder which is a medical illness in were people cannot stop using the drug even though it’s causing health and social problems in their life. Many people who have used marijuana for a long time and try to quit the use of it end up on having symptoms such as grouchiness, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, or cravings for the drug this making it difficult for them to quit it. As of today, there are no reports from young people or adults that have had an overdose from this drug, however many people have reported symptoms such as paranoia, anxiety, and in some rare cases, an extreme psychotic reaction that can include delusions and hallucinations, all these side effects can lead a person into an emergency room. Therefore one would say that the use of marijuana can be addictive at some point of its use, making people want more and more of this drug every day this driving into a crisis where is difficult to get out of. To this day there are no medications to treat a marijuana use disorder, however, there are practices that can help people stop the use of marijuana, for example, going to therapy or also called rehab where the goal for this is to provide people the ability to avoid the use of the drug in certain situations. Going to therapy can help people who a disorder to the use of this drug because it can provide problem-solving skills and lifestyle management so people can learn how to build a pleasant life where they do not think they need the use of marijuana.
The legalization of marijuana can not only affect people but it can also affect the environment, this is because growing plants need a lot of resources such as water and space to cultivate the product and as the recreational and medical use of marijuana becomes more legalized and widespread across the United States so does the scale of its production. Farming to provide for millions of people needs a lot of land and space to grow the crop, this can contribute to the deforestation of trees to make more space for farming as well as the destruction of wildlife habitats. The legalization of marijuana can also lead to a lack of resources because when it comes to massive farming like these were water is one of the primary resources for a plant to grow, this would drive farmers to use an extensive amount of water for to accomplish their goal. According to an article by CNBC, after the legalization of marijuana in California “marijuana is grown in the hidden corners of California, in undeveloped, remote watersheds that are also home to sensitive animals like endangered salmon, steelhead trout, and northern spotted owls. Marijuana growers often tap streams directly and take water exactly when fish need that water in streams.” The legal sales and demanding of marijuana in legalized states are increasing the destruction of habitats and wasting tons of water just because people want to get “high” or want to use this drug for medical purposes when there can be many other types of medicines out there. Also, let’s not forget about indoors marijuana farming which is a silly way to grow plants because it replaces the sunlight for lamplight. Indoors marijuana growth extremely affects the environment because of the amount of electricity that it needs not only to power the lamps but also dehumidifiers, heating, and ventilation systems these using about eight times the amount of energy per square foot like a normal commercial building. However, this method is mostly used to illegally grow this drug which is worst because growers will often use diesel or gasoline generators to avoid pulling power from the grid and being detected. Therefore, the legalization of marijuana would just damage the environment and if these actions stay unchecked on the states that have legalized this drug it will be too late to make a change.
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Get custom essayPeople say that marijuana is a natural drug that does not affect one’s health or anything else, agreeing that marijuana should become legal in the United States because of what they believe. However, as seen from this essay, they are wrong because marijuana can definitely affect one’s mental, emotional, physical, and emotional life. Why say so? Well because marijuana contains many ingredients such as the THC which is what makes people “high” from smoking this drug and can lead people into serious side effects such as loss of memory, suicidal thinking, mood changes, and or disruption to normal learning abilities. As well as the drug can lead people into a point where they get used into smoking marijuana and then cannot get out of the habit, this driving them into a marijuana use disorder. If marijuana becomes legal in the states it could also affect the environment since the demanding of the drug would increase making an increase on the cultivation of the plant this leading to the deforestation of trees and to the destruction of wildlife habitats. So why take the risk of legalizing marijuana, when this drug can only put teens, adults, and families in a bad position in life as well as contributing to the damaging of the environment.