Tobacco

No. Tobacco should not be legal. And for many reasons. First of all, using tobacco is terrible for your health. It screws up your lungs, heart, and many many other important parts of the body. So why in the world would you want to use it? You would basically be throwing your life away in a sense. Secondly, tobacco is not only bad for the person who actually uses it, but for the rest of the society. If someone, or a group of people smoke, the smoke lingers in the air for hours and other people, who aren't smoking, could inhale the smoke. And second-hand smoke is almost as bad as smoke that is directly inhaled. This means other non-smoking people could be affected by the smoke. Not only is tobacco unhealthy and gross, but so much money is spent on it. If people didn't use drugs they would be saving a lot more money. And that money could be used on useful items. All in all, using tobacco is really dumb. There are really no positives to doing drugs, exect maybe the temporary effect it may cause. But still, that's pretty lame and people should have better things to do with their time.

Too Young To Be a Dad

There are many pressures teens feel in their high school/college years, mainly high school. One of these pressures is sex. Both boys and girls can experience sexual pressure. Most of the sexual pressure for teenage boys, I think, would come from their friends or possibly media. As for girls, I think sexual pressure would come more from the guy they are dating and possibly their friends.

Teenagers have enough pressure as it is, and it is much worse if alcohol and/or drugs are introduced in a situation. If teens are in a tempting situation and have been drinking alcohol, using drugs, or both, the outcome would be a catastrophie. When people use drugs and alcohol their inhibitions are lowered, which causes people to do things they wouldn't normally do. In some cases, the outcome would be sex. Many things can happen after having sex such as preganancy, STD's, etc. With just one stupid decision, your life could be screwed up and ruined.

So, it is important to make wise decisions, and to do this you could use the Feeling/Acting Deciding method to help yourself come to a good choice. There are two ways to go about deciding: active and passive. Of the two, I feel active is a more practical, intelligent, and efficient way to make decions, since you decide which option you will choose and follow, whereas in the passive method, you would let things happen by themselves.

Legalizing Drugs

There has been much controversy on the issue of legalizing drugs and which drugs to legalize. Should we legalize all drugs, some, or absolutely none? I think certain prescribed drugs should still be legal. They are very helpful to people who need them, whether people are using them to help with a sickness, other medical reasons, etc. However, I do not think all drugs should be legal and available. Strong drugs such as marijuana, heroin, LSD, etc. should not be legal to use because they are very bad for yourself, others around you, and the environment, and they really do no good for your body. If all drugs were legalized, I think more people would feel inclined to do harder drugs. This would would be pretty bad if more people chose to do hard drugs. If more people did drugs, smoke would linger in the air and pollute it. Cigarette filters, as well as parts of other drugs, would fill up land fills and take a long time to disintegrate. And I'm not certain at all this would happen, but if all drugs were legalized and more people began using them, it would just make our country look ridiculous. The people of the Unites States would have a bad reputation and would not be thought of highly. This example is sort of an exaggeration of course, but I think the lagalization of all drugs is extremely dumb and I think there should still be some limits.

Environmental Pharmaceutical Polution

The improper disposal of pharmaceutical medication has a big impact of humans, animals, vegetation, and wildlife. A lot of the medication is being dumped, or washed into, our lakes, rivers, and streams. Then, then water that contains the newly added pharmaceuticals is being used for a number of things. For example, some fish are taking the chemicals into their bodies, so technically if a person ate a fish that came into contact with these chemicals they would be bringing the nasty chemicals into their body as well. Contaminated water may also be used to water our crops. Therefore, some of the food we eat may contain some of the hazardous chemicals...and we don't even realize it. There are numerous ways in which pharmaceuticals can escape into our environment and affect humans, animals, etc., but it needs to stop.

There are a few different ways in which to dispose pharmaceuticals safely and efficiently. You could return the excess medication to a pharmacy, and they will dispose of it properly for you. If there are no pharmacies that are located near you, you could remove the medicine from the original container and mix it with a waste material, such as used kitty litter, ashes, or coffee grounds. Then place the mixture in an impermeable container such as a sealable bag before discarding in the trash. :)

Industrialized Farming

Induatrialized farming has many benefits, such as hardier crops, increased output of crops, etc. but it also has some drawbacks. One of the main drawbacks of industrialized farming, I would say, would come from the use of pesticides. The use of pesticides has increased dramatically on farms over the past couple years. From some studies, it was found that these pesticides can be liked to many brain diseases. I see this as being one of the main reasons why industrialized farming is very unhealthy for your body.

This type of farming also has negative consequences for the environment. First off, all the machinery causes a lot of pollution, which is terrible for the environment. And the machinery also depends on oil, which is a fossil fuel, but the supply of oil is beginning to run out. I found an interesting fact online, "at least half of the 2 trillion barrels of oil available has already been used and oil demand from China, India and other major developing countries which are industrialising fast is rising so sharply that production cannot keep up with demand, and permanent shortages of oil will kick in within a decade or less". Secondly, the machines used in industrial farming use lots and lots of water, and half a billion people today live in water-stressed areas. The amount of water used in agriculture today is extravagant! Another fact I found online was "US prairie farmers and East Anglian barley barons need 1,000 tonnes of water to produce 1 tonne of grain, plus 1 000 energy units are used for every 1 energy unit of processed food."

I don't know if there are ways to completely take back the "damage" we have caused, but I think there are still ways and little things we can do to improve farming today.
/www.organicconsumers.org/BTC/meacher091905.cfm

Soy and a Healthy Diet

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with eating soy. If you really think about it, almost every food could be found to have some kind of negative consequence if you eat it. Some of the meats we eat contain special chemicals, synthetic growth hormones, etc. that affect us. In fact, it is said that because of today's meat, children are hitting puberty at a younger age. Also, nitrates which are found in many different kinds of meats, can eventually convert to nitrosamines that are believed to cause cancer.

It can also be looked down upon if you eat too much of one certain type of food. For example, even though oranges are very healthy and good for you, if you were to ONLY eat oranges, that would be very bad for your system. The same thing could be said for many other things...even water! If you drink too much water it's bad for you; you could die. And yet, water is one of the most healthiest things for you and it is extremely good for your body in the right amounts.

So, even if there are high levels of phytoestrogen, etc. in soy, I still think soy is perfectly fine to eat. I say go for it! It's not like you are stuffing your face with french fries, funnel cakes, and other deep fried items :) Compared to lots of other foods, I think soy is relatively good for you.

Conflict Resolution

There are many, many tactics that can be used for resolving conflicts. The five main styles of dealing with conflicts are categorized under: Competitive, Collaborative, Compromising, Accomodating, and completely avoiding the situation. Each style is useful in different types of situations, but if I could pick the most effective tactic for resolving conflicts I would choose the collaborative method.

The collaborative method tries to meet the needs of all people involved in the situation. That is the main goal when using this method. People who use this route for resolving conflicts can be very assertive but they will still cooperate effectively with other people and acknowledge that everyone is important. This style is very, very useful when a you need to bring together a variety of viewpoints to get the best solution. I also think it is more of a professional, mature way to handle a situation, instead of completely avoiding it, etc.

I think this is a good conflict resolution method to use because you usually get what you want, most of the other people involved conflict are satisfied with the outcome, and most importantly, nobody feels hurt or left feeling like they have been bruised. In other words, no one is being bullied or being put down when this conflict resolution style is used. In some cases, teens (or people), will put each other down to make themselves feel better or superior, so they can get what they want. This is very unnecessary, and I think immature. You can be assertive without putting others down, and still manage to get what you want and make others satisfied too.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm

Decision Making Models

We learned about the G.R.E.A.T. Decision Making Model in class. First, give thought to the problem. Then, review your choices. Evaluate the consequences of each choice, and access and choose the best choice. After making your decision think it over. Was it the best option?

There are various models out there to help you make good decisions, such as the PLUS Decision Making Process, and the Rational Decision Making Model. In the PLUS Desicion Making Process, first you must define the problem. Then you must identify the availabe alternative solutions to the problem. After that is complete, evaluate the the identified alternatives and make your decision. Implement the decision and then evaluate the decision afterwards. For the Rational Decision Making Model, you must recognize the problem, develop alternative solutions to solve the problem, evaluate the alternatives, choose the best alternative, and put the best plan into action!

The three models mentioned basically work the same way. For instance, a problem must be identified and you must identify alternative solutions to fix the problem. Take some time to think the choices over, choose the best option, and implement your decision.

Although these models are very similar, there are a few small differences. When using the Rational Decision Making Model, it does not say anything about evaluating your decision afterwards like the others did. Other than that, there really are no other differences between the models.

If you are ever confronted with a problem and would need to use one of the models to help you make a good decision, I would say to look at either the G.R.E.A.T. Desicion Making Model or the PLUS Decision Making Process for assistance. Both models work the same way, and unlike the Rational Decision Making Model, they both suggest that you think over your decision after it has been made.

For more information on decision making models check out these websites.
http://www.ethics.org/resources/decision-making-process.asp
http://www.decide-guide.com/rational-decision-making.html

LSD

Hey kids-don't do drugs:) Drugs are bad for your health, as I'm absolutely sure you know by now, and they can cause serious side effects. LSD, in particular, is a very strong drug that I would like to talk about. This drugs falls within the hallucinogens group. Hallucinogens are mood-changing durgs, and they alter your perception. The clear drug in liquid form is usually put on a small piece of 'blotter' paper to dry. Once it dries, the drug is taken orally and it is very strong. On the piece of paper, there are usually pictures or images printed on it, the paper may also be colored. These pictures might represent certain drug dealers, because usually each drug dealer has their own "symbol" or "logo" in order to recognize them. If you were oblivious to what this drug looks like, it would be very hard to recognize it.

As I already stated, LSD is a harmful drug. Unlike some drugs, if LSD is taken it can be tracked down in the body even after a few days, weeks, months, or years have passed. It never leaves your system. If this drug is taken, flashbacks will occur randomly (usually during stressful periods of your life). Even if a person hasn't used the drugs in years, or only used it once, they will encounter these flashbacks.

The effects of LSD are unpredictable because it depends on how much you take, the user's mood when they are taking it, and the surroundings it is being take in. Generally though, heart rate and blood pressure will increase, there will be a loss of apetite, huge mood swings will occur, and the user will see images and sounds that aren't actually there.

images.google.com

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/Drug_guide/LSD

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/hallucinogens.html

talked a little more about LSD^

<--LSD