Sanitarium

“Instead of a war on poverty – they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me…” In the song Changes, Tupac shares a popular opinion on the legality of illegal street drugs. Although the basic interpretation of this opinion is that it does not root itself in the ethics of the consequences resulting from the use of the drugs, but rather questioning the ethics behind enforcing a more winnable [for lack of a better term] war than the war on poverty for example. Contrary to popular belief, the war on drugs is not completely tied to the health risks linked to substance abuse – the more controversial issue is that the economy is not being directly boosted by the sale of such substances. Common knowledge gives the assumption that all transactions involving the sale of illegal substances are dealt with in cash form. Cash means that there is no money trail to be traced, means that there are no expense/profit records, means that the US government has no idea how much money has been exchanged in such transactions, means taxes are not paid, which means that there is essentially hundreds of millions of dollars literally floating around – money that is not being used to pull the country out of debt or to help solve any other issue that affects Americans regularly. The controversy of legalizing the drugs and taxing the sale presents the exact question at hand: What are the ethical issues of abandoning the war on drugs and decriminalizing and taxing the marketing of certain drugs?
The question proposed is addressing the ethical issues surrounding the legal profitability of marijuana through the use of taxation and marketing – as opposed to the actual use of the herb in both medical and recreational cases. Simply put, the opposing forces presented in the issue are: individual [person’s] health versus profitable gain for the economy as a whole – which is somewhat comparable to a classic ethical dilemma such as: let one (in this case, many one(s)) suffer for a greater [monetary] good (in this case, money that could be used to solve countless other problems). To be more specific, the officials in charge of drug regulations are stuck weighing the value of the health of single people versus the significant benefits that would arise from the surplus in tax dollars coming into the economy. According to the Center for Disease Control (sub-operational division of the US Department of Health and Human Services) the percentage of regular marijuana users above the age of twelve was approximately 6.6% - that number is surprisingly low for a habit that seems to be quite prevalent in many communities. But if the statistical facts show that the amount of people that regularly abuse marijuana is so low, why then is there such a concern over public opinion? One possible reason may be that there is a fear of marijuana (if legalized) having the same result as alcohol after the prohibition – becoming a social norm, in which case safety enforcement laws would need to be put in place and actually enforcing those laws may prove to be more of a hassle than prohibiting its use as a whole. All of a sudden the ethical issue has expanded and complexities come flying out.
Currently, with marijuana’s legal state, the only stakeholders that are legitimately benefiting are the suppliers at the top of the chain. They are the ones raking in the millions of dollars – the ‘street pharmacists’ are also sharing in a portion of the benefit – until they get put in jail [for possession and intent to sell – (a criminal charge that is filling up and overloading the prison system – an argument that is often used by pro-marijuana lobbyists)]. The people on the supply end of the exchange are the ones making money – everyone else (all citizens that are not involved in the drug trade) can be the categorized as the disgruntled stakeholders; because they are losing the benefits of millions of lost tax dollars. What if the ruling was flipped and marijuana (and maybe other selected drugs) were legalized and marketed – who then would be the stakeholders [both benefiting and suffering]? Once the tables are turned, the disgruntled stakeholder becomes the beneficiary, but only as a whole; each individual [that chooses to entertain the abuse of legalized substances] is now on the losing end of the stick. Not that people that are currently users are not suffering, but in the case of marijuana becoming legalized, the user base is bound to grow exponentially and therefore affects more individuals. The legalization of marijuana would negatively affect more stakeholders than it currently does – speaking from strictly a health stance (which is the ethical stance – the individual health of the many exceeds the monetary needs of the whole.)
There are a several psychological factors to be addressed here – many of which are intertwined and stem from one another. Drastically changing a public policy that is in place to maintain the physical and mental well-being of the country’s citizens could lead to an array of misleading thoughts, which would result in an exponential decrease of public satisfaction in the country’s leaders. For example: if marijuana was suddenly legalized, there is a strong chance that the majority of registered voters would feel betrayed by the government – that the government is willing to trade the individual health of its people to make some extra money. A feeling like betrayal seems to have a strong influence the decisions of the people affected – when people feel betrayed by their leaders, their first instinct is to find a new leader; one that will put the needs of the people first, in a way that is pleasing to the people. On a more literal level, the psychological effects of using marijuana can be, in many ways, detrimental to the user’s mental health. To name just a few of these effects: paranoia, delusions, short-term memory loss, anxiety, depression, etc . all of which have the possibility of becoming permanent issues if exposed continuously.
Politicians running for [re]election would likely be unwilling to take a strong stance on either side of this issue. When considering a stance for a politician, we see yet again, the rise of another ethical issue; take the stance that the majority of the community is likely to take or take the deontological stance? But if the community demanded a stance on the issue, the smart politician would side on the view of the majority. In today’s society it is safe to assume that the view of the majority and the deontological view would be one and the same. The problem with standing on the side to legalize the drugs is that there really is no justification to knowingly allow your own people to jeopardize their health. It’s one thing if a person chooses to put their health at risk, but when a government essentially encourages, through enabling, its citizens to develop unhealthy habits, they have betrayed their citizens in a moral sense. A comparable example which can be brought up to get a better sense of the issue is the prohibition of alcohol in 1920’s. Alcohol was made illegal due to its health hazards. But once it was legalized again it has since become a social norm and is widely encouraged in today’s society. The same result may come with the legalization of marijuana – this is one of the main fears in legalizing the substance. The difference between letting alcohol become a social norm and letting the same happen to marijuana is that there is no real way to measure the current state of a person under the influence of marijuana. For example, a police officer may conduct a breathalyzer test to determine the drunken state of a person – but there is no way to determine how much of a high a person is on. With all of that being said, a politician concerned with his political career should side with the majority, whereas a politician concerned with his moral and ethical integrity will stand on the side of keeping harmful substance banned from use; no matter the effect on his career.
The legalization of marijuana would not only cause a re-architect of most insurance companies’ policies, but it would also have a major impact on how and what kinds of healthcare organizations offer. One would assume that the legalization of the drug would come paired with a set of enforceable rules and protocols to regulate its distribution. Though fifteen states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, the federal government still classifies it as a controlled substance – which means that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the substance yet; and until that happens, no insurance company is willing to take a chance on covering medical marijuana under its policies. If the legal state of marijuana is overturned, then it is plausible to think that organizations would have to figure out a way to incorporate the use of medical marijuana into their healthcare packages. Obviously a limit would be applied to avoid the abuse of the marijuana – the only difficult part would be the enforcement of the set restrictions.
A complete flip on the legality of marijuana would spawn the birth of countless shops openly selling the drug. Not only that, but all the shops that already do sell it would began to publicize themselves in hopes of booming business. As exciting as it would be to finally be able to openly sell a previously banned, but surprisingly popular substance, the liability and risk involved in supplying mind-altering drugs is too high. In the way that a customer is allowed to sue a store for selling a defective product that caused some sort of damage, customers would be able to do the same to a weed shop; but in the case of a drug such as marijuana, the customer may also be able to argue that the drug caused the user to perform a certain action or to behave in a certain manner – the fault for that would come back to the shop owner. The reason that cases like that are not prevalent in today’s society is because taking a drug dealer to court would be incriminating oneself in the process.

Aside from the research aspect of this paper, I feel like it is necessary to add a personal opinion and stance on the subject. Since there are apparent [arguable] pros and cons to each side of the argument, an alternative solution could be to legalize the drug on a probationary period and apply very, very strict restrictions and limitations to its use. Although trying to come up with a plausible proposal for this alternative has proven difficult, I’m sure that if enough thought is put into it, a good plan can be proposed. In my own opinion, I do not find that there is sufficient evidence or reason that legalizing a mind-altering substance would serve a greater good than harm. My stance remains to keep the substance banned and continue to enforce the laws currently in place to prevent the sale and consumption of the drug.

Bibliography/ Works Cited

Adams, M. (2005, 8 15). The Raw (and Ugly) Truth About the War on Drugs. Retrieved 10 28, 2011, from Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/010944.html

Amal Chakraburtty, M. (2010). Marijuana Use and Its Effects. Retrieved 2011, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects

Center for Disease Control. (2011, July). Illegal Drug Use. Retrieved October 2011, from FastStats: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/druguse.htm

Egan, B. H. (n.d.). Health insurance coverage for medical marijuana? No way, dude! Retrieved 2011, from InsuranceQuotes.com: http://www.insurancequotes.com/health-insurance-medical-marijuana/

Nocon, A. (2006). Journal of Psychiatric Research vol 40.

Audience/Purpose:
For those interested in an allied heath profession – a non-medical aspect of the medical field, this definition is to clarify any misunderstandings or confusion about this [nearly self-explanatory] term.

Introduction
Medical Transcription is quite literally the transcription of a patient’s medical history. The process of medical transcription actually started off in the manufacturing industry. The first process was called Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) in 1975. This process was taken into the medical field after the transition to electric typewriters, word processors and computers. Today, Speech Recognition software (SR) is becoming overly prevalent in replacing MT’s, but Medical Transcriptionists will always be needed as editors since SR cannot be 100% correct every time. And since many physicians still use short-hand in their notes, transcriptionists that understand the language will be needed to assist the SR in interpreting the notes.

What Is?
Medical Transcription is an allied health profession; which literally deals with the direct transcription of medical data from voice-recorded reports as dictated by physicians/ other healthcare professionals into text format. Since most physicians, in both hospitals and private practices, do not have a lot of time, they tend to voice-record their notes and have transcriptionists later convert them to either electronic or physical hard copies. Most hospitals prefer electronic copies due to its ability to provide immediate access to subsequent departments or providers regarding the patient’s care. Also, the sheer volume of patients and the accompanying paperwork is becoming overwhelming.
Medical Transcriptionists can be onsite, working at the hospital, telecommuting employees for the hospital that do most of their work at home, or telecommuting employees that work as contracted MT’s that perform their work offsite from the hospital/clinic/physician group/ other healthcare provider. Some private practices also decide to directly employee a Medical Transcriptionist on site their own offices.

Today’s MT
The job of a medical transcriptionist is ever evolving (as long as we keep churning out new and more sophisticated technologies). Today, many MT departments work closely with IS and IT staff to stream voice transcription online – allowing the MT staff to instantaneously begin working on the transcription. This also allows healthcare providers to be able to use their PDAs and PCs (desktops and laptops) to record their notes and have it immediately reach the MT department for transcription
*Headings are not parallel because I find that differences and creativity of headings are more appealing to readers*

Works Cited
Shah, I. (2010, October). Medical Transcription. Retrieved July 2011, from Whatis.TechTarget.com: http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/definition/medical-transcription-MT

“Contrary to popular opinion, the hustle is not a new dance step- it is an old business procedure.”(Fran Lebowitz) . America’s economy is currently valued at $14.7 billion . As the world’s largest economy , there is no question as to “what is American culture?” – America’s culture is: hustle, hustle, hustle, and grind–$MONEY$. Good Morning America and welcome to New York.
New York is one of the most commercial cities in the world . Areas such as Time Square and Manhattan are overrun with big business. These two parts of the city are well built and well established to bring in tourists and entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities. Time Square has the big city lights, the big shopping stores, the big televisions, the big everything. In the 1920s and 1930s, Jazz musicians began to refer to New York as ‘The Big Apple’. This came from an old show business saying “There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple.” At that time, New York was the premier place for jazz musicians from around the country to perform; hence the city adopting the name: ‘The Big Apple’. Similarly, Manhattan is running wild with big business. All the pictures of New York show enormous skyscrapers and people in suits, on their phones, while catching a cab to a meeting. A visit to Manhattan during peak business hours shows just that. Everyday Americans are out there grindin’ for that paper. Around the corner from the big city lights are the not so built, not so established parts of the inner city; the run down, poverty stricken projects of New York City. Yet even here, where the buildings are boarded up, graffitti’d and falling apart, for many it’s just another day, just another hustle. Obviously not every street corner is home to one of Forbes Fortune 500 companies; but the people that live in those areas are making their money the way they know how. “ ”I made a G today” –but you made it in a sleezy way, sellin’ crack to the kid–“I gotta get paid.” – well hey, that’s the way it is.” (2Pac - Changes) Big Business Manhattan and Hustlin’ Harlem seem to be worlds apart, yet both equally show how Americans hustle and grind everyday for the cash.
This city that never sleeps is also a home to much of America’s popular culture. New York is the premier fashion capital in the United States ; with Fifth Avenue and events like Fashion Week, New York dictates America’s fashion trends. New York’s Broadway theaters are the starting place for actors that become big in musicals and theaters as well as many who go on to the larger film industry in Hollywood, CA. In 2009, one of the most popular genres of music was Hip-Hop/Rap… a genre whose origin lies right here in Harlem, New York City. Even New York’s sports teams receive an overflow of media attention, just because they are from New York. The Yankees are one of the most recognized sports franchises in the world. The iconic meshed NY symbol can be recognized anywhere in the world. All of America wants to know what’s new with the Jets; with their fat, loud-mouth head coach and arrogant overrated players , they are one of the most covered franchises in the country. All the parts of America’s popular culture that were just mentioned obviously do not apply to everyone American and every region in America; but are applicable to an overwhelming majority and are therefore illustrates another way in which New York shows itself as a major player in America’s culture.
The part of NY that is less about the hustle or entertainment, but just as much about money are its tourist attractions. Other than all the previously mentioned acctrations (Broadway, Time Square, etc), New York is a city of many American Icons. Obviously not anymore, but before 2001 the World Trade Centers stood tall at the center of the city calling out to big business all while showing off their revolutionary architecture. These magnificent icons of business exemplified how America did business: BIG. Another very special icon that pretty much means America is the beautiful Lady Liberty, standing proud and welcoming immigrants to this great country of ours. Ellis Island was and is still one of the most important ports that bring new immigrants to America. When people first step onto the island, they look up and see The Statue of Liberty, look across the river to a lively, lit up city, and they know…they have reached America.
“I’ve got all the money I’ll ever need if I die by four o’clock this afternoon.” Henny Youngman knew what Americans were all about (of course he had to since he was making fun of us ). Americans work every day for more money, cause frankly yesterday is never enough. The government contractor that made about $3,000 on Tuesday is back in his office at 7am Wednesday morning. Fourteen hours a day, the dude is busting his balls for the next $3,000; it’s “The city that never sleeps, betta slip you a Ambien.”(Jay Z - Empire State of Mind) Goodnight…and welcome to New York.

Just a small paper for SOCY101 about the cultural implications of American Idol.

It is unfair to say that ‘American Idol’ is representative of American culture. As it may seem that an overwhelming majority of Americans are addicted to this (terrible) show, television rating show that only about 8% of the country watches it. The rest of the 92% could care less. Before we go into the cultural implications that ‘American Idol’ may carry around the world, it is important to assess just how much influence it has in this country; after all, it is American, Idol.
Though America, as a country is one, it is quite difficult to pinpoint how much real influence one, specific, show has on the country as a whole. America is divided into regions and each region observes a culture which it calls its own. Where there could be an 80%+ fanbase in New York, North Dakota may have a .6% fanbase. Because of the wide variety of sub-cultures within America, one genre of music can in no way represent the taste our 300million citizens. It is actually for this precise reason that there are so many different genres in the first place. For example, there was a contestant that did a rendition of “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest; obviously Steven Tyler was super excited, being that he is the lead singer for Areosmith, but much of Idol’s younger audience has no idea who Priest is. Even with the wide range of opinions on which parts of popular culture are superior, it is definite that the idea/concept of having a popular culture is quite universal. The reason that much of the most publicized pop culture is so similar is because the underlying culture of America is making money. ‘Just Dance’ assumed that if ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is making bank, then why not change the dance style and tweak the rules and make lots of money? As phases in pop culture spread throughout America, other nations realize that they could just as easily throw in their own cultural twist and make their own money. The reason we call them ‘American Idols’ is because it’s much easier than saying ‘Possibly the Next Teen/Young Adult Pop/Rock/Hip-Hop/Country Star’.
Although the question was only pertaining to the influence of this show on American and world cultures, I feel it is important to realize that popular culture’s primary objective is to create as large a revenue stream for as few people as it can. Those few people are the CEOs of production companies. As they keep coming up with ideas, that hold no real value to improving quality of life, but give the impression of wealth and fame, people will continue to support them and in turn make them wealthier. Bottom line, Americans love money, the world loves money; constant phases of popular culture is just a vehicle to reach that money.

Story in a nutshell: Future me come to tell me that if I go to school I’ll get into an accident on the way and end up in a coma. Is it really me?

I have come back in time to tell myself to not go to campus for finals; I am told that I will be in a coma for several years due to an accident on the way there. You know, he does kind of look like me; a 5’9” brown dude who looks like he started working out then just got really lazy and stopped, long hair, and a limp due to a football injury sustained sometime between now and whenever I came back from; I could believe it. Let’s put me to the test;
1) What’s my mother maiden name?
2) What are the last four digits of my social security number?
3) What was the name of my first pet?
4) Where was I on the night of March 20th, 2009?
5) What’s my motto? (What’s a motto? Nothing, what the motto with you? Hahaha)
Even though there is a good chance that someone who is not me can answer every question correctly, I honestly do not believe that I’m important enough to have a spy watching my every move. Therefore, if I can answer those five questions (maybe a few more random ones) then I guess I’m me.
Although I would probably go ahead and be more willing to listen to myself if I could answer those questions; they are not my personal criteria for identity. The only way I would be able to tell if I am really me is by hanging out with myself. To get to know myself I would have to spend time with myself to see how I react to situations, my immaturity level, etc. If I have to detail out specific criteria that would tell me if I really am me, I cannot say that I have any. To me, the identity of a person is not his memories or experiences; but rather, how he uses those memories, experiences, and knowledge in how he acts in certain situations or even on a daily basis. The way a person interacts with others and lives his life is based on those prior experiences and memories and that is what goes on to shape his personally; which essentially becomes his identity. But seeing as how I would be leaving in fifteen minutes for my finals, it would be quite difficult to figure out if I am actually am me. I could go with me if I want, but knowing me I would definitely rather watch SportsCenter.
But if I’m me, then would I not already know that there are six different routes to get to UMBC from my house? Since I’m from the future, I’ll just ask myself which way I went in fifteen minutes and depending which route I go, I’ll go a different way. Look at that, a whole new series of events: coma avoided, exams failed taken, and I did not lose everyone I love because I was not laying in a coma for however many years. Oh and just to be safe, I’ll remind myself to take the Volvo SUV instead; considering that it comes standard with safety features from God Himself. Even though I probably would not want to go, I would probably make myself go with me. I’d probably have myself drive since I like to drive; that way just in case the accident does take place, maybe I’ll be okay since I’m in the passenger seat.
If in fact I do turn out to be me, I definitely will not be able to kill myself. Because if I kill me then I disappear, this means that I did not come back in time to kill myself. And since I did not actually kill me, it cannot be called suicide. But if I decide I want to kill myself instead, I guess it would be a form of suicide. But to cover it up/make myself feel better, I could skip my exams, move to Vegas and do whatever the hell I want. Because I will be dead at whatever age I was when I came back; time to enjoy life!
Oh and if I threatened to kill me, I would know that I am not me. Part of my personality is not giving a damn. If I was really me, I would simply relay the message I had come to relay, given myself the choice, and turned on SportsCenter, end of story. Plus, I am too nice of a person to threaten anyone’s life, especially my own. Of course there are a few decisions I wish I made differently, but overall I like my life; good times and good people, what more can I ask for?
Also, the glowing box that was my “time machine” is not actually a time machine. That is just an old lead refrigerator that ILM made shiny. The only way I would believe myself about a time machine is if I was looking at Doc chilling in an ’88 Delorian. Either that or if I saw a giant crater in the ground; but then the first conversation I would have with myself is to go put on some pants, and I should not have to ask twice.
Here is the end of the story:
I call my aunt and tell her that some lunatic is telling me that I’m going to be in an accident that will send me into a coma, so I would like to borrow her Volvo. I would go to her house, get the car and go to school, fail my exams, get home and realize that I may as well have stayed home and gotten to know myself a little better.