Illness and disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Illness and disability - Essay Example A majority of the health differences are a function of finance. Social support is the most critical of these factors. Among the elderly, dementias, depression and alcoholism have been found to be the most common emotional problems. These give arise to other health problems. In particular, Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common problems among the elderly, and this requires great care and attention. Unfortunately, some of these elderly persons deny their heath challenges, and this makes the process of treating and caring for them difficult. There is however a disturbing feeling among healthcare providers that the elder should receive less concern. They are offered inferior medical assistance compared to other groups. Some physicians believe that the elderly are a burden to the healthcare system. Luckily, there are those physicians who develop a personal relationship with these patients. According to medical experts, it is important for physicians to feel the emotional side of the patients’ well-being. There is a wide range of programs available for the elderly, and some are in-home programs. However, most of these programs, especially the in-house care, are expensive and thus unavailable. According to the video, board and care homes are a good option in enhancing the quality of care among the elderly. Unfortunately, the United States does not compare well with other developed nations when it comes to caring for the elderly. As the population of the elderly continues to increase, there is need to plan for how the ir health needs will be addressed. The University of Hawaii Center on Aging. " Growing Old in a New Age: Illness and Disability."Annenberg Learner - Teacher Professional Development. Annenberg Media,  1993. Web. 20  Nov.  2014.

Argument paper FOR the legalization of marijuana Essay

Argument paper FOR the legalization of marijuana - Essay Example The economic feasibility of decriminalizing marijuana has become a much-discussed subject in recent years. The federal government presently spends a lot of capital on law enforcement to combat distributors and producers of drugs. By legalizing drugs this could eradicate much of the profit, bloodshed and corruption of that trade. If legalizing drugs is to have a positive effect on the crime rate, drugs must be made both inexpensive and available. Studies have repetitively suggested that prohibiting marijuana in the U.S. has not shown to be efficient or effective. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, â€Å"U.S. federal, state and local governments have spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to make America ‘drug-free.’ Yet heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs are cheaper, purer and easier to get than ever before. (â€Å"England.† 2006) The damage done by the ‘war on drugs’ to underprivileged countries that produce the drugs and poor persons within the wealthy nations who buy the drugs exceeds any benefits achieved by the current bans. These government’s drug laws have not produced the desired results of reducing drug use, instead a great number of innocent people have had their lives ruined. â€Å"Many critics argue that the increased toughness of that policy has done more harm than good. Some go so far as to suggest that drugs should simply be legalized† (Caulkins, et al. 2005). If marijuana were legalized, governments would have the ability to regulate quality and, like alcohol, the ages allowed to purchase and the ability to add safety warnings to help educate users. People in this country who only use small amounts of marijuana have routinely been arrested and jailed for mere possession; actions that don’t take drugs off the streets or persuade more people to quit using the them. At the same time, imprisoning those who possess marijuana creates a burden on society as tax dollar s must be increased to support these people who are no longer free to secure employment outside prison. The domino effect of this circumstance puts more children and their families onto the welfare roles, contributing to their consequential failure and dependence on society. (â€Å"England.† 2006) â€Å"In the United States, drug use is illegal and the police hunt down drug users to throw them in prison. Four thousand people died from illegal drugs in the US last year and we now have more than 600,000 people in prison on drug charges.† (Schaffer, 2006) While much literature exists that provides evidence for both sides of this subject, what seems very clear is that the ‘war on drugs’ remains unsuccessful at its principal goal – that of stopping drug use within the nation’s border. High school students continue to find marijuana extremely easy to come by, numbers regarding the use of marijuana remain stable and there is an increasing trend in t he country for reforming the archaic laws. The entire reasoning behind drug war is prohibition, limiting the supply which would in turn limit use. (Males, 2010). The hypothesis holds that by limiting the source so as to make it practically impossible to acquire the demand for these products will inevitably, and somehow magically, disappear. Prohibition strategies