Explanations and More Information

MESSAGE #1 and #2: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING:
When the world first learned, gold medalist Michael Phelps was captured in a photo, in South Carolina, where he was taking a "rip" from a bong, many people could not believe this news. For people like myself, this was no big shocker. Athletes like Ricky Williams have admitted to smoking weed. Both athletes faced consequences for their decision to smoke marijuana. Phelps loss endorsements, for example Kellogg's. It was reported Kellogg's released a statement in regards to the Phelps situation. His behavior and "image was not consistent with the image of [Kellogg's] .

For Ricky William he faced a one year suspension from the NFL league. Marijuana uses has heavy consquences and it does not matter whether you are athlete or regular citizen, For more information on other celebrites who smoke marijuana click on the link below:
http://jezebel.com/5144624/35-celebrities-who-smoke-pot

Refeer Madness Ad

Technology plays a huge role in the social aspect of life. Today, a popular way of advertisement is through commercials. A exciting event that occur every year is the NFL Superbowl, and companies spend millions for a minute or two on TV. In the past, advertisements in newspapers and magazine was a great way of getting a important and experiential information across from the government to the public. Around the 1930's and 1940's the US government decided to end the use of marijuana. Similar ads to the one below, represent the message provided to citizens on the effects of smoking marijuana.


CREDIBLE COMMUNICATORS

Health agencies and medical centers are the best way to learn about the overall effects of marijuana. Studies have shown marijuana can cause laziness, short memory loss, mood swings, and problems with learning and problem-solving. Scientist and researches are best communicators to educate the public about the consequences of smoking marijuana. The results are even worst for people under the age of 18 because the brain is still developing. Programs like DARE, is a great start to educating young people on the effects of not just marijuana but other harmful drugs. This ad depicts the views of experienced and educated researches who devoted enormous amount of time and dedication to the research of marijuana

MARIJUANA DRUG ABUSE AND SOCIETY

THE HISTORY OF MARIJUANA DRUG ABUSE

Dating all the way back to 6000 B.C., cannabis seeds were consumed by the people of China as a part of their diet. Around the same time, hemp was used for fabrics to make clothes and other necessities by the people of China. As centuries went by, marijuana first entered the United States around late 1700's to early 1800's. Similar to the people of China, Americans also used marijuana and hemp for fabrics, and also recreational use. It was very common for people to grow marijuana as if they were growing tobacco. As the 1930's approached, many jazz musicians would bring marijuana from southern states, like Louisiana, to the northern states to have "reefer parties" in jazz clubs, in New York area. As marijuana became more popular, government officials set up programs to stop the use of marijuana in the US. Harry J. Anslinger was the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, in 1930 and was in position for almost thirty years, up until 1962. During Anslinger’s period as head of FBN, he introduced programs and advertisements that informed Americans of the negative effects of marijuana. One in particular was the idea of marijuana making people temporarily insane and it was “the gateway drug” which enables young people to try other drugs like heroine. It was not until around the 70’s where college students and average middle class citizens began smoking marijuana.

EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY'S CONTRIBUTION TO MARIJUANA DRUG ABUSE


Events like Woodstock, and bands such as Grateful Dead informed the public, that smoking marijuana had no major or serious effects on the brain or internal organs. This was a negative message on educating Americans about marijuana abuse. Concerts and other events promoting marijuana as a sense of freedom, By 1972, 24 million admitted to experiencing the use of marijuana.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

In July of 1973, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was created under the presidency of former President Nixon. The agency main purpose was to stop the wars on drugs in the United States and in foreign countries. For more information on the DEA, click on the below link:


Here are the 6 purposes of the DEA:
(http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/history/1970-1975.pdf)

1. Putting an end to the interagency rivalries that have undermined federal drug law enforcement, especially the rivalry between the BNDD and the U.S. Customs Service;

2. Giving the FBI its first significant role in drug enforcement by requiring that the DEA draw on the FBI’s expertise in combating organized crime’s role in the trafficking of illicit drugs;

3. Providing a focal point for coordinating federal drug enforcement efforts with those of state and local authorities, as well as with foreign police forces;

4. Placing a single Administrator in charge of federal drug law enforcement in order to make the new DEA more accountable than its component parts had ever been, thereby safeguarding against corruption and enforcement abuses;

5. Consolidating drug enforcement operations in the DEA and establishing the Narcotics Division in Justice to maximize coordination between federal investigation and prosecution efforts and eliminate rivalries within each sphere; and

6. Establishing the DEA as a superagency to provide the momentum needed to coordinate all federal efforts related to drug enforcement outside the Justice Department, especially the gathering of intelligence on international narcotics smuggling

More Information:

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/history.htm

TECHNOLOGICAL FIXES

PET TRACER

The PET tracer is a newly invented imaging technology that can track the number of cannabinoids within a membrane system. Scientists at John Hopkins University created a newly found technology that can answer the real question, is marijuana addictive? With this new technological fix, scientists now have a way to track the number of cannabinoids and their reactions to specific inhalants. "Such tracers offer the opportunity to study if receptors in the brain are static or if they increase or decrease when we're exposed to different substances [such as marijuana],"(Singer, “Revealing how Marijuana Affects the Brain) Researches have also linked the consumption of marijuana to schizophrenia, and PET tracers will also acknowledge whether or not there is a link between the abuse of marijuana and symptoms of schizophrenia.