Drug Testing the Jobless

In an article by the Huffington Post, the issue Nikki Haley, current South Carolina Governor,  raises about drug testing the jobless seems to be over exaggeration.  She wants the jobless to be tested before they can receive any unemployment benefits from the states.  However, her logic seems a bit discolored, as seen in her statement "I so want drug testing. I so want it." This is not a valuable reason that the state should relocate money, as a hope that it will save the state money in the long run. The people of the state want hard evidence that jobless have an issue using drugs. 


The article continues to pick out more of  Haley's exaggerations, including her comments on the Savannah River Site (SRS) having over half of their job applicants fail a drug test. She used this comment in order to gain support by South Carolina citizens, however upon talking to the site, SRS stated the do not drug test employees until after they are hired. Of the employees that were drug tested, less that one percent tested positive.


If this idea passes, South Carolina will be the first state to ever have an instituted mandatory drug test for the jobless to receive benefits. According the the National Employment Law Project (NELP), "sending hundreds of thousands of South Carolina citizens who have just lost their jobs off to a laboratory so that their state government will be satisfied they are not drug abusers is not a cost that the federal government would or should pay, and it would violate federal unemployment law to make unemployed workers pay for the test." Therefore, it is believed that the state would end up paying more than it would if the state just gave out the money anyways. A prime example of exaggerating the issue is seen with Florida drug testing citizen in order to receive welfare. Only 2 precent of those who applied for welfare tested positively. 


There is no doubt that the American people, including those in South Carolina do not want their tax money being wasted. However, is it really necessary to test the jobless? There is no hard concrete evidence that citizen's tax money need to be use drug testing the jobless, especially since there is no evidence that the jobless have a drug problem. The truth of the matter is we do not need to be focusing so heavy on preventing the jobless from engaging in drugs. There are other sectors, such as teens and college students, within the state that need more focus for prevent drug and alcohol abuse.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

http://www.ncpc.org/topics/drug-abuse/alcohol-tobacco-and-other-drugs

Many people believe that a child's actions are directly influenced by what they see in the home. These influences are created by their parental figures. Just as a father can influence his son to play football, so too can he influence his child to experiment with drugs.

If a child grows up watching his father or mother smoke cigarettes their whole lives, they will assume its right. This is the same as if that cigarette was replaced with a blunt or crackpipe. Most parents don't realize the inpact this makes on the child because they are blinded by their own addictions. Growing up in an environment surrounded by drugs or alcohol lead to children that not only hurt themselves but also their society.

One drug that I have seen the effects of first hand is cocaine. I have a very close friend who grew up with a father who has an addiction to cocaine. His father's addiction took a very large toll on him. Seeing his father use cocaine daily, as a way to escape from stresses, led to his own addiction to cocaine. Now, this friend is in recovery from his addiction and is able to speak of what it was like. Though he doesn't blame his father for his own actions, he does admit that his father's drug use was a large contributor to his own.

According to the source I linked at the top of the page, one of the main reasons children do not begin to use drugs is because of their parents' positive influence and because they know it would disappoint them. The source goes on to give tips and advice on how parents help prevent their child's drug use. These tips include establishing and maintaining good communication with your children, getting involved in your children’s lives, and above all else, be a positive role model (http://www.ncpc.org/).

Drugs: Are They Worth It??

Drugs; Are they worth it?

http://www.thestate.com/2009/10/05/968672/francis-recovery-is-an-everyday.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Goldstein

This article, from TheState.com is about how celebrity disk jockey, Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, lost his life-long battle of drug addiction. Goldstein grew up with an addicted father who was in and out of prison and who eventually died from complications from AIDS which he developed because of his drug use. Goldstein started using drugs, mainly crack cocaine, in his late teens/ early twenties. After fighting his addiction, Goldstein remained drug-free for years until he got caught back up into the vicious cycle of drug use and abuse. The article from Wikipedia mentioned how his broken home while he was growing up is what influenced his personal drug use and eventual death through overdose (www.wikipedia.org-linked at top). The article goes on to describe how “addiction is a chronic disease” and how “those in recovery are constantly confronted by challenges” (www.thestate.com- linked at top).

Many drug users believe that drugs only affect the mind for short periods of time and don’t do any harm to either the mind or the body. Sadly, this is very untrue.

I work in a hospital in the midlands area in the medical intensive care unit. Drug overdoses and alcohol poisoning are very common in my department. I have had patients who drank their whole lives and come to us with yellow eyes, yellow skin, hair falling out, and dying because their liver is shutting down.

I have had other patients that have come to the ICU because they have tried to kill themselves while high. These patients end up on suicide precautions and depending how violent they are while detoxing, they must be restrained and detained. Long-time drug users that come to us usually must be sent to a facility that handles mentally handicapped people. Some get help at these facilities and leave them to live productive lives in our society. Yet others must live at these handicapped and mental facilities for the rest of their lives because they are too much of a danger to themselves and to others to release them.

Drugs may not seem too bad when you light up that joint or open another beer, but that then leads to addiction which could either lead to a life in a psych ward or a slow and very painful death. So ask yourself the next time you’re in that situation; is it worth it?

Please take the time to look at the links below. They are very short videos but they show a shocking view of some drugs and their effects on the body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJIjWlLa8MU&noredirect=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af3RjDntlhs&feature=fvwp&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WZig2DYx58&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhyUogSrtvU&feature=related

Responsible drinking habits start young

In an article written by Dwight Heath in a 2008 issues of The MetroWest Daily News, Heath addresses the issue of underage drinking in America and challenges the public to take a different approach in alcohol education.  He puts alcohol education in the hands of the parents and encourages them to approach drinking as it in in others countries.

The zero-tolerance, abstinence-only approach used in America is an unrealistic form of alcohol education and has not produced affective results in responsible drinking habits among young adults.  Heath uses the drinking habits of the French culture to support his argument against the zero-tolerance approach.  He presents evidence that children growing up in a family where alcohol is approached in a "in moderation" manner encourages more responsible drinking habits.

"A study at the University of North Carolina found that kids who drank with their parents were about half as likely to say they had drunk alcohol in the past month and one-third as likely to say they had had five or more consecutive drinks in the previous two weeks."

While this article was printed in Massachusetts, it is a social issue relevant to Columbia, SC.  In a college town constantly battling underage drinking, one must wonder how the situation would be different had students grown up in a culture like that in France.  It is clear the current national opinion on alcohol education is not producing positive result.  It is time to put the power in the hands of the parents and stop approaching alcohol as a forbidden drink, but something to be educated on and handled responsibly.

Link to article: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x1172558592/Heath-Start-early-to-teach-your-children-to-drink-responsibly

Prescription drugs are also illegal

In an article, by Vilma Sceusa, from the garden city.patch.com about the rising issue of illegal drugs being easily accessible among teenagers is present. She points out that just because the prescription drug is legal for family member and/or a friend does not mean that the same drug is legal for others to take. 

"Many people don't realize that using prescription drugs is just as illegal as street drugs."

 Some of the drugs that are being frequently used among teenagers include OxyContin, Xanax and Ritalin. However, teenagers are not just using prescription drugs, they are also using over the counter drugs including cough medicine. 


Sceusa mentions a couple ways to help prevent the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States. One of the way includes talking to your children about the drugs, before the age of 12. Communication is key, because many kids stated they would stray away from the drugs if their parents showed a strong disapproval. Another way that was noted is to lock the medicine away, that way it is not as easily accessible. Lastly, to deal with this issue the next step is legislation created among elected officials and carrying it out by law enforcement. 


It is also very interesting to see that the article made this a social problem that needs to be fixed at all levels of society, not just among teenagers with the problem. The parents and the elected officials need to be actively involve to solve this issue. Lastly the social institution of physicians should also have pressures put on them, therefore prescriptions are not new tossed around by teenagers. 


While this article may be written for the state of New York, it is of equal value to the state of South Carolina. This phenomenon is also evident among the youth of this state and information needs to be spread to keep others informed. The problem is amplified when teenagers are mixing these drugs with alcohol, which is a huge issue in the state. The issue of alcohol is for another discussion but it agains shows that drugs and alcohol are a huge problem among the youth of this state. Therefore blogs like this help to keep the state informed and help friends and family to help prevent issues.

Alee's First Blog

http://www.thestate.com/2007/09/24/182081/savage-meth-day-2-children-rescued.html

The news article I found for my first post reflects the issue my group is basing our blog on, drug abuse with children, along with also focusing on family issues for this particular one. This article, written by Adam Beam and John Monk in the “State” newspaper, is “SAVAGE METH Day 2: Children rescued from toxic labs get lost in S.C. system.” Within this article, a family had been running a meth lab in Aiken with a three year old boy involved. The beginning of the article starts out with Beam and Monk stating, “The 3-year-old boy slept on a mattress with his mother in a room full of Finding Nemo posters, yellow Huggies boxes and cans of denatured alcohol.” It is also discussed how they would label his Kool-Aid cups to try and prevent putting methamphetamine chemicals into them by mistake. Sadly, this is only one of the cases discussed. According to the article, there was also the fifteen year old boy that was discovered when the “deputies seized one of the Midlands’ largest meth labs ever in Lexington County, at 225 Transom Court in Gaston.” Another story Beam and Monk wrote about in the article was, “In Spartanburg County, three children tested positive for methamphetamine after sheriff’s deputies raided a house in Greer. The father, Rodney Harold Henry, was making meth about 10 feet from a child’s bedroom.” Obviously these are all horrible drug addictions that have a huge effect on the children of the family, along with the adults obviously as well.
Within the article, they also stated different ways methamphetamine can affect children medically, including: “Breathing disorders such as Asthma, Kidney and Liver problems, the way a pregnant woman using methamphetamine can affect and the un born, and many others.” Within the article, it was also said that “after 10, 15 years of removal, some of those kids will develop some type of cancer because of exposure or long-term exposure to the solvents used in those labs.” Along with sharing the health effects of children, the article also shared about the “Kid Kits” for helping the children affected by methamphetamine made by the “Federal Drug Enforcement Administration office by a Greenville County church” they include things such as, “Diapers, Clothes of varying sizes, Underwear, Stuffed animals, Crayons, Coloring books, and Baby bottles for formula.” They also suggest the children being helped by social services officials. The statistic stated by Beam and Monk is, “78 children were taken from homes where meth was being made during fiscal year 2005-2006.” According to Beam and Monk in the article, “In Lexington County, “Somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 percent of labs have children involved in some capacity,” according to Sheriff’s Department detective Sam Gunter, who has investigated hundreds of labs.” This is yet another very sad statistic to hear especially since it is so close to home. Even though the number of methamphetamine incidents has decreased in the past two years (according to the article written in 2007), it was stated that after the incidents with the Mexican border this could very well change. We can only pray the case will be, although knowing how sad it is because of the slim possibility, that the amount of children (along with others of course) affected by methamphetamine will be lowered if not eliminated.