The main topic for chapter six was addiction and drug abuse. Below I will be talking about some of the things that I found most intriguing throughout the chapter. The topics I will be covering are addictive behaviors, marijuana, and drug misuse and abuse in the United States.
According to text “In the United States, more than 5 million people meet the criteria for having a gambling addiction; many others are directly or indirectly affected by the gambling behavior of friends or relatives (Donatelle,2019.p137).” I am surprised that only 5 million meet the criteria. For the last few months I have been to the new casino called Encore and have seen the impact gambling has on people. I remember individuals aggressively hitting the machine when they lose some money, continuously adding money in when they lose, being wired to the machine and not aware of their surroundings. These observations made me realize how easily someone can become an addict to gambling. If I wasn’t for my loved ones to talk some sense into me I was on the verge of becoming an addict. The second time I went to Encore for my birthday I profited almost $50. Because of this life changing experience five days later I went back on my own at 2AM in the morning determined to win some more money. Instead of profiting $50 on russian roulette I lost a total of $300 that night. While playing the game I was very excited when I made a small profit and started to increase my bets. Looking back at the whole experience I can see how lucrative the casino can be.
The use of marijuana has been a hot topic during election season. We hear some politicians make promises to legalize marijuana nationwide. Although I do not smoke, I am in favor of legalizing marijuana. There are a lot of benefits that come with the legalization of this drug. For example, according to the text, “legalizing marijuana would result in more effective law enforcement and criminal justice, since police officers would have more time and money to pursue criminal for other, more serious crimes (Donatelle,2019.p.143).” These outdated drug laws have created such a nuisance in the minority community. Minorities are constantly getting targeted and prosecuted for having a small amount of weed on them. This results in them spending years fighting for their freedom. Like the text stated, legalizing marijuana will give officers the opportunity to resources on serious crimes that are being done.
“Illegal drug use in the United States costs about $193 billion per year. This estimate includes $11 billion in the cost of health care, $120 billion in loss of productivity, and $61 billion in cost of criminal investigation, prosecution, incarceration, and other associated criminal justice costs (Donatelle,2019.p.149).” This statistics proves to us that addressing drug misuse should be a top priority. Working at an emergency department, I get the see first hand the impact these drugs have on people; especially the opioid crisis that is plaguing our community. I really like the idea of the needle drop boxes that were put in place last year. Throughout the state I believe we should have more programs that help victims recover. Instead of building more expensive housing complexes, there should be more rehabilitation centers. Less arrest and more helping helping others regain life back.
Lastly, in the text it talks about how the use of technology can be considered an addiction. With my health aspects being improving my hours of sleep, I realize that the use of technology was one of the main elements of why I wasn’t sleeping adequately. The last couple of weeks I haven’t been sleeping with my phone next to me. I thought it was going to be hard at first but not it is starting to become a routine for me. For the most part, last week I did not really think about checking my phone while I was in bed. I fall asleep immediately and wake up refreshed, renewed, and ready to take on my day.
Below is a picture of me and my friends celebrating my 25 birthday at the casino:
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