Essay .2
Current mood: blah

K, here's my 2nd Essay for Ethics  Got a '100' on this, too..."Very well evidenced essay, well done!"....

Whether or not smoking marijuana should be legalized has been debated for decades.  My opinion was that if smoking marijuana was legalized, it would take away the "mystique," and less teens and young adults would want to try it.  After researching its negative effects, my opinion has changed.  Pro-legalizers can no longer use the argument that there is nothing that proves smoking marijuana is dangerous to your health.  Recent studies are confirming the dangers of smoking marijuana.  If smoking marijuana is legalized, this may send the message that the government feels there are no adverse risks, which may actually persuade more people to try it.  Those who actually follow the rules and guidelines may feel that since smoking pot is legal, it is ok to smoke it.  At the conclusion of this essay, you will agree that smoking marijuana is unethical and should not be legalized.

Smoking marijuana can cause the same lung problems as smoking cigarettes, such as emphysema, frequent chest colds, coughing and increased phlegm production, as well as increased risks of cancer of the throat, lungs, head and neck.  Lower testosterone levels, decrease in sperm count and increase in sperm abnormality are some of the negative effects of smoking marijuana for men.  Imbalance in hormones that control the menstrual cycle and damage to the eggs in the ovaries are some negative effects for women.  Changes in the chemical balance in the brain altering mood, appetite, ability to concentrate and energy levels, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating, anxiety problems, depression, paranoia, and psychosis are some of the negative mental effects of smoking marijuana. 

Marijuana smokers may argue that they don't smoke as many joints a day as tobacco smokers smoke cigarettes, however, marijuana has a higher concentration of THC (delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol), three (3) times the amount of tar, 3-5 times the levels of carbon monoxide and 50 percent more cancer causing hydrocarbons than tobacco; and tobacco cigarettes have filters.  Also, marijuana smokers tend to hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smoke, which exposes the organs and tissues to the toxins for a longer period of time.  THC is a toxin that blocks the immune system's ability to function properly.  According to www.homedrugtestingkit.com: 

"THC potency has increased since the 1970s but has been about the same since the mid-1980s. The strength of the drug is measured by the average amount of THC in test samples confiscated by law enforcement agencies. Most ordinary marijuana has an average of 3 percent THC. Sinsemilla (made from just the buds and flowering tops of female plants) has an average of 7.5 percent THC, with a range as high as 24 percent. Hashish (the sticky resin from the female plant flowers) has an average of 3.6 percent, with a range as high as 28 percent. Hash oil, a tar-like liquid distilled from hashish, has an average of 16 percent, with a range as high as 43 percent."

THC is fat soluble and can stay in your body for up to three weeks after inhalation.  Since reproductive cells bind to THC more than other cells, the risk of infertility increases as well. 

The higher the concentration of THC the greater the hallucinogenic effect.  Besides hallucinations, it has been suggested that marijuana is at the root of many mental disorders, including acute toxic psychosis, panic attacks, flashbacks, delusions, paranoia, depression and uncontrollable aggressiveness.  In 1999, Harvard Law posted 'The Medical Dangers of Marijuana Use' on its website.  This article states "Marijuana has long been known to trigger attacks of mental illness, such as bipolar (manic-depressive) psychosis and schizophrenia."  

A study published in the British Medical Journal in 2002, linked frequent marijuana use at a young age to an increase in schizophrenia later in life.  Frequent marijuana use is described as more than 50 times.  The research showed that the more marijuana people smoked, the more likely they were to suffer psychosis.  Daily marijuana smoking as a teen increases the risk of depression as an adult, according to another study in the same issue of the British Medical Journal. 

In 2004, a study was released in regard to research conducted by experts from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.  More than 2,400 German teens and young adults aged 14-24 participated in the study.  Thirteen percent of the participants said they had smoked marijuana at least five times at the start of the study.  Four years later, about 17 percent of all participants had at least one psychotic symptom.  Other influences including alcohol and other drugs were screened out, and had no effect to the results.  Researcher Louise Arseneault, PhD, told WebMD that their research suggested that there is a direct causal link between smoking marijuana and psychological problems that cannot be explained by predisposition of mental illness.  The participants who smoked marijuana were more likely to experience psychotic symptoms than those who didn't smoke marijuana.  Similar to previously mentioned studies, the more marijuana was smoked, the greater the chance of experiencing psychotic symptoms. 

The idea of using marijuana for medicinal purposes is an oxymoron.  Various studies conclude that continuous marijuana use can weaken the immune system in those whose immune system is weak to begin with.  This includes those with HIV/AIDS, receiving cancer chemotherapy and those who received an organ transplant, all of which are being suggested for the medicinal use of marijuana.  THC has been shown to reduce interocular pressure in glaucoma patients, which can prevent the disease from progressing.  However, the effect is only temporary.  Ophthalmologist Keith Green found that a person would have to smoke a joint every one to two hours to maintain low interocular pressure.  Another condition in which marijuana is being experimentally used as a treatment for is panic attacks.  As I stated earlier, panic attacks are one of the mental disorders that can be caused by excessive marijuana use.  How can you treat an ailment with a drug that has been proven to cause the same ailment. 

The Cambridge Dictionary On Line defines ethics as "…the study of what is morally right and what is not".  Deliberately inhaling a toxin so vile as to cause, among other things, a breakdown in the immune system and probable psychosis, inhibits the thought process and a slowing down of motor-skill reactions is unethical.

7:29 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

My Essay on Steroids in Baseball
Current mood: bored

This essay was for my Ethics class.   I got a "100" on this essay...."Great detail & use of examples".  Let me know what you think!   

Chris Wagenti            Essay #1

            Non-prescription use of anabolic steroids is illegal and banned by most to all major sports organizations, professional and amateur.  So why do many athletes, most notably and recently, Major League Baseball (MLB) players, insist on taking them?  To give them an edge, so they can be better than the next guy…you know, cheating.  MLB's drug policy is too lenient, a mere suspension of 50 games for the first offense.  By the time you are finished reading this essay you will agree that steroid use is life threatening and unethical.  Baseball players who do use them should be banned from the sport and their records should be erased.  Some people will argue that a man like Mark McGuire shouldn't be affected because anabolic steroids weren't banned by Major League Baseball when he used them.  Just because the League was slow to ban the use of anabolic steroids doesn't mean it wasn't cheating.

            East Germany's government fed anabolic steroids to their Olympic athletes throughout the 1960's, '70's and '80's.  Many of these athletes are now paying the price.  Heidi Kreiger, the 1986 women's shot-put champion, experienced side effects so dramatic that she eventually had a sex change operation and is now known as Andreas Kreiger.  Roland Schmidt who was a weightlifter developed huge breasts that had to be removed because they became pre-cancerous.  In the United States, Florence Griffith Joyner's fatal heart seizure at 38 years old is still speculated by many to be steroid related.  Anabolic steroid abuse is associated with greater risk of heart attack and stroke. 

            Other health consequences associated with steroid abuse are infertility, impotence, shrinking of the testicles, irreversible breast enlargement, male-pattern baldness, and difficulty or pain in urinating in men and boys.  In women and girls, consequences include deepening of the voice, excessive growth of body hair, male-pattern baldness, decreased body fat and breast size and enlargement of the clitoris.  Premature termination of growth spurt in adolescents of both sexes is also possible.  Infections such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C and infective endocarditis are hazards of injecting anabolic steroids.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, men and women of all ages are at risk of:

"…potentially fatal liver cysts and liver cancer; blood clotting, cholesterol changes, and hypertension, each of which can promote heart attack and stroke; and acne.  Although not all scientists agree, some interpret available evidence to show that anabolic steroid abuse – particularly in high doses – promotes aggression that can manifest itself as fighting, physical and sexual abuse, armed robbery, and property crimes such as burglary and vandalism.  Upon stopping anabolic steroids, some abusers experience symptoms of depressed mood, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, headache, muscle and joint pain, and the desire to take more anabolic steroids."  www.drugabuse.gov/SteroidAlert/SteroidAlert.html

Unfortunately, unlike most other drugs, anabolic steroids' side affects may not manifest immediately.  It can sometimes take weeks, months or years, even after use has stopped, before the side effects develop.  With all of these known detriments, why would anyone still consider abusing these drugs?  Simply put, to be the best. 

            Since the consequences of using anabolic steroids, as mentioned above, have been proven to cause pain, suffering and even death, Jeremy Bentham would not classify their use as ethical.  Ayn Rand and Thomas Hobbes would consider the use of anabolic steroids as unethical, since they both believe in self-preservation. This need to be the best player that drives some to use anabolic steroids would fall into Epicurus's "unnecessary natural desire" and borders on "vain desire".  Therefore, even an egoist considers MLB players using anabolic steroids as unethical.  Immanuel Kant would argue that this maxim would fail universalizability, because if you are not the best player, and using anabolic steroids makes you a better player, then under the Formula of Universal Law, all MLB players would have to use anabolic steroids and those players who are better than you without using them will be better than you using them. 

            In 1927, Babe Ruth, a man who drank alcohol and smoked cigars, hit an astounding 60 home runs in 151 games.  This record stood until 1961, when Mickey Mantle, who also drank and smoked, and Roger Maris, with a .269 batting average who was still considered to be an "unknown", entered into a home run race.  Mantle hit 54 home runs, cut short by an injury in September, and Maris hit 61 home runs in 161 games.  Many were upset that the quiet Maris broke the beloved Babe's record, so Commissioner Ford Frick attached an asterisk (*) to the record citing that it took him 10 more games to hit 61 home runs than Ruth needed to hit 60.  This was eventually removed.  Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa entered into their own home run race in 1998.  Sosa hit 66 homers and McGuire set the new record hitting 70 homers while admittedly under the influence of anabolic steroids.  It is still speculated that Sosa used anabolic steroids.  The two men were revered for saving the game of baseball, instead of being disciplined for cheating.  Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, has surpassed Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs and is attempting to break Hank Aaron's of 755, with the aid of anabolic steroids.  He is under federal investigation for his involvement with the BALCO scandal.  As early as the late 1980's, BALCO--a company that manufactures steroid-based performance enhancing supplements--was giving samples of their product to professional athletes.  In the year 2005, the company's CEO was sentenced to time in prison for his part in supplying these undetectable drugs to pro competitors.  Our Federal Government has deemed this usage as illegal and unethical, yet Bonds is still allowed to play the game professionally.

The fact that not all MLB players abuse anabolic steroids puts the ones that do at an unfair advantage.  According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the verb "cheat" is defined as "…to practice fraud or trickery b : to violate rules dishonestly…".  Roger Maris passed Babe Ruth's record without using anabolic steroids and had an asterisk attached to his record.  Pete Rose was banned from baseball and is not allowed in the Hall of Fame for betting on his games.  In my opinion, the records set by players using anabolic steroids should be erased from the record books.  All players who use anabolic steroids, past, present and future, should be permanently banned from the game completely.

11:22 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

I need...
Current mood: restless

...someone to come slutting with me!! >:p All of my friends here are married and/or have kids. There's lots of pretty boyz to play with, but it's no fun going out alone. :-(
Ok, so there's a certain baseball player I'd love to play with...I just feel funny going to his hang outs by myself. (amazing, isn't it? Not one rock star I've met has made me sooooo nervous)

6:35 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Hurricanes

UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I have totally have had enough of them, BUUUUTTTTTTT Lisa is still headed our way. I am totally over it!

9:16 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Picture

I need a picture for this......hmmmmm, should I use one of me with one of the guys....?

12:06 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Yankees

They suck!! I can't believe they keep fucking up!!

10:29 AM - 3 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Start

I'm no quite sure what a Blog is......I'm guessing just thought or words of wisdom. Why is my "posted time" on Pacific & how do I change it to Eastern?

8:31 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment