Portfolio on Drug And Substance Abuse

8/13/2019 Portfolio on Drug And Substance Abuse

1/30

Drug and Substance Abuse Portfolio

Arnau MasEnglish B IB !


2/30

Drug and Substance Abuse Portfolio 1

Introduction 4

2. Reference Texts 5

Text 1. Monitoring the Future: National survey results on drug use 5

Text 2. An addict in our sons bedroom 5

Text 3. Arrest in U.S. Shuts Down a Black Market for Narcotics 5

Text 4. Miley Cyrus Says She's Just Playing A Character, Doesn't Want ToGlamorize Drug Use 5

3. Analysis of questionnaire results 6

4. Written Task 7

5. Appendices 8


3/30

1. Introduction

This portfolio is focused on drug and substance abuse in teenagers. It is aimed athow they perceive drugs. It consists on three main parts.

First of all, a collection of texts were gathered, all related to substance abuseperception in teenagers. All of them were used to build up my knowledge on the issue.

Then, a survey was carried out to analyze the actual situation in my surroundings.The ndings agreed with those found in more wider-scale studies, which were alarming.

However, they did show a clear key point in which to act.Lastly, both of this tasks were conveyed in a speech addressed to the a wide

audience, in which I express the concerns pictured in the ndings. !


4/30

2. Reference Texts

Text 1. Monitoring the Future: National survey results on drug useThis document is a report executed by the The National Institute on Drug Abuse

which details the results of a nation-wide study carried out in the US in 2012. The mostrelevant gures and the ones in which were spotlit are those on the perceived harm andperceived availability of a variety of drugs, according to 8th, 10th and 12th graders. Theprocedure of the study and its results were used as reference for the developing of the

questionnaire and the analysis of its results.

Text 2. An addict in our sons bedroomThis document is a blog entry from the blog An addict in our sons bedroom . The

blog is written by the parents of a teenager drug abuser. This particular entry talksabout the experience of the mother talking to a group of school children. It focuses inthe emotional aspect of the talk, and about the genuine opinions of the kids. It was usedto further understand how drug abusing is seen by younger children.

Text 3. Arrest in U.S. Shuts Down a Black Market for NarcoticsThis document is an article published in the NY Times. It talks about the

shutdown of black market website Silk Road and the arrest of its alleged runner RossUlbricht. It touches on issues like Internet anonymity, Bitcoin transactions, etc. Itexplores the position of Silk Road as a social disruptor that advocates for libertarianism


5/30

3. Analysis of questionnaire results

A questionnaire was carried out. Students in 8th and 10th grade were surveyed.The questions were focused on the two most popular drugs, tobacco and marijuana. Thequestions were aimed at the perception of students, namely perceived harm, availabilityand approval of the drugs.

The ndings changed massively in the two year span between 8th and 10th grade.In 8th grade, none had tried tobacco or marijuana. However, in 10th grade, the

gures rose to 66% of people who had tried tobacco (most of these had tried it less thana week ago) and 50% of people who had tried marijuana (of which a high percentagehad tried it less than a week before).

With regard to the rest of the questions, the evolution follows a similar trend, forexample, around 70% of 8th graders perceived a very high harm of marijuana whereasless than 30% of 10th graders perceived such high harm.


6/30

4. Written Task

The situation is alarming. We need a change. The gures are plain evidence. Butthere is no need to look at gures. Just listen to a conversation by teenagers. If youlisten carefully, you will hear a drug name at least once. Nothing will happen if I onlydo it once or I can control myself, I know when to stop are common excuses Do theyreally know how to stop?

We have all faced this situation in our lifetime. The peer pressure to do the drug.They pass the joint in front of our face. Just take a hit! Dont be straight!. And wemight be convinced. And then we are abusers.

Of course, we cannot be so reductionist, there is a lot more complexity to thesituation than just that. However, it is known tobacco smokers begin in their teens.That is the key onset age. One does not take up smoking at a later age.

To be more specic, it is the period around 10th grade that this transition is made.That is the key period. And it is then that education is key.

We should not forget it is drug consumption that is illegal, and not druginformation. Consciousness is key. One should know the consequences of their acts andact accordingly.

And it is not shock and awe that I am talking about. It is enough to bring upsomeone who has had an experience related to substance abuse and empathize with theteenagers.


7/30

5. Appendices


8/30

Note to the surveyed: The answering of this questions is totally voluntary. You may not answer any of them if you dontwant to.

Tobacco 1. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? ( Please circle one )

YES

NO

2. If the previous answer was YES , how long has it been since you last smoked a cigarette? ( Please circle one )

1 YEAR

6 MONTHS

3 MONTHS1 MONTH

OTHER (Please specify ): _________________

3. How easy do you think you would nd it if you wanted to get tobacco? ( Please circle one )

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

Impossible Very easy

4. How harmful do you think smoking tobacco regularly can be? ( Please circle one ) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

Not at all Very harmful

5. What do you think of people who smoke at your age? ( Please circle one )

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

I dont approve it I totally approve it

Cannabis 1. Have you ever smoked marijuana? ( Please circle one )

YES

NO


9/30


10/30


11/30


12/30

Yes NoYes No


13/30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


14/30

No YesNo Yes


15/30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0


16/30

Talking to Students

Talking to students is easy. There is nothing to it when all you do is recount stories

and the horrors of parenting and loving and addict.

The hard part is maintaining your composure when those stories are ripping at yourheart. When you tell about the experience many years ago when my son showed me so well that addiction is not a simple choice but is really a disease that must be treated

and fought like any other disease. Trying to tell the story of my son crying and askingme to please help him. How do you tell 30 young people about how that feels when Ican barely get the words out of my mouth.

Telling stories of how we shared tears, my son, his mother and I. Struggling to do what no one had answers for. Opening my life, our lives to make a impact on these young adults so maybe there won't be another set of parents living our life.

Then comes tears I see on students cheeks. Watching a student run from the room,

grabbing the whole box of tissues from the teachers desk. Students relating stories tome during break of siblings and parents drug use. A student asking me a simplequestion during break "Why do people treat addicts so bad? They aren't bad people


17/30

Arrest in U.S. Shuts Down a Black Market for Narcotics

Nearly everything about Silk Road was shrouded in secrecy.

It began in 2011 as an underground online marketplace for drug users, a site whereendless varieties of marijuana as well as LSD, ecstasy and prescription pills could be bought from sellers across the world. It branched out to other illicit goods,including forged documents, and emerged as a black market version of eBay, where

criminals could do business with more than 100,000 customers.

It worked on one basic principle: Everyone remained anonymous. Users could gainaccess to the network only through software meant to ensure anonymity. Credit cardsand PayPal were not accepted. Bitcoins, a virtual currency, were, and even thosetransactions were scrambled. All that connected them in real life was a name, oftenfake, and the address to which the package would be sent.

And the mastermind behind Silk Road was cloaked in mystery, known as Dread PirateRoberts, after a character in the movie The Princess Bride. But Silk Road went dark this week, and its owner was unmasked as Ross Ulbricht, 29, who is accused in acriminal complaint, among other things, of asking a man to kill a Silk Road vendorwho had threatened to reveal the identities of others who used the site.


18/30

I feel like the world is in flux, Mr. Ulbricht said, in a lengthy discussion with achildhood friend, Rene Pinnell, that appeared on YouTube last year. I want to see where all this new technology goes.

His goals included starting a family, making more friends and having a substantialpositive impact on the future of humanity, according to the video, which makes nomention of Silk Road.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Mr. Pinnell said that Ross is the most

principled, honest person Ive ever had the pleasure to know. Referring to thegovernments charges, Mr. Pinnell said Mr. Ulbricht would never do anything likethat.

Mr. Ulbricht carved out an anonymous life in San Francisco. He rented a room and

told his two housemates that his name was Josh, the authorities said. One roommatereported that Josh was always home in his room on the computer.

There, according to the federal complaint, he made a lot of money. The F.B.I. was ableto obtain an image of the Silk Roads Web server, which indicated the site had sales

revenue of more than 9.5 million bitcoins, valued at about $1.2 billion today, thoughthe total worth was most likely less at the time of the sales, according to the


19/30

disrupter of social norms. Were talking about the potential for a monumental shiftin the power structure of the world, Roberts said. The people now can control theflow and distribution of information and the flow of money. Sector by sector, the stateis being cut out of the equation.

It appears Mr. Ulbricht forgot at times to cover his digital footsteps: investigatorsdiscovered that his personal e-mail account was linked to some early efforts topromote Silk Road.

The court papers filed in the case make clear that federal authorities have been afterSilk Road for some time. Undercover agents have made more than 100 drugpurchases from Silk Road vendors, whose packages arrived in New York bearing thepostal markings of 10 countries.

Steven Kalar, the federal public defender in San Francisco, said his office representedMr. Ulbricht in his preliminary appearances in Federal District Court on Wednesday.Mr. Kalar declined to comment further.

But even as the federal agents were trying to build a case against Silk Road, it was

threatened from within. Earlier this year, a Silk Road vendor who went by the handleFriendlyChemist began telling Mr. Ulbricht that he had a long list of real names and


20/30

Mr. Ulbricht received a picture of the victim after the job was done. But AgentChristopher Tarbell, who swore out the criminal complaint, said the Canadianauthorities had no record of a homicide occurring near White Rock around that time.

In July, investigators with the Department of Homeland Security showed up at Mr.Ulbrichts home after a routine border search of mail from Canada turned up anumber of counterfeit identity documents bearing Mr. Ulbrichts photograph and hisaddress. He told the investigators little but volunteered that, hypothetically, anyonecould get forged identity documents on a Web site called Silk Road.

Peter Lattman and Noam Cohen contributed reporting, and Jack Begg contributed research.


21/30

Miley Cyrus Says She's Just Playing A Character, Doesn't Want To Glamorize Drug Use

It was a big jump from Disney darling to a tongue-wagging, molly-endorsing sexpot, but Miley Cyrus may not have really made the leap after all.

In a candid interview with the New York Times , Cyrus proves she not only doesn'tunderstand why her VMAs performance was dubbed a "minstrel show," but contends

th at her controversial image is really just an act.

Still, Cyrus seems amused by her new wild child reputation, revealing that other

image-conscious stars have asked her to delete photos she's taken of them.

"Ill get someone to, like, flash me, and theyll be, like, 'You have to delete it!' I had to
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/joe-jonas-smoking-weed-miley-cyrus_n_4371560.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/joe-jonas-smoking-weed-miley-cyrus_n_4371560.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/joe-jonas-smoking-weed-miley-cyrus_n_4371560.htmlhttp://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/miley-cyrus-caught-smoking-bong-experiences-trip-hallucinogenic-herb-salvia-article-1.470250http://www.vulture.com/2013/08/jody-rosen-miley-cyrus-vmas-minstrel.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/arts/music/miley-cyrus-on-her-jump-to-sexy-twerker.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=arts&adxnnlx=1388158200-WakGeMvZQHahd8LdZxCPbA


22/30

Cyrus has openly discussed her drug use , telling Rolling Stone that she's not intococaine ("It's so gross and so dark. It's like what are you, from the '90s? Ew."), andthat she likes "happy drugs -- social drugs" like molly. Now, however, Cyrus says it'snot her intention to promote drug use either.

"There was a thing that Kurt Cobain said, something like, 'Theres a special place inhell for people that glamorize drugs,' and I never want to be that person thats, like,talking to 16- and 17-year-olds and being like, 'Smoke weed,'" she explained to theTimes. "Ive got a little sister. I dont want her to smoke weed, and its not because Ithink weed is bad, but [when shes old enough to make that choice]."

For more with Miley Cyrus on why she's not racist and believes she's a true feminist,head over to the New York Times for the entire enlightening interview.

Also on HuffPost:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/arts/music/miley-cyrus-on-her-jump-to-sexy-twerker.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=arts&adxnnlx=1388158200-WakGeMvZQHahd8LdZxCPbAhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/miley-cyrus-weed-molly_n_4004430.html


23/30

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

8th Grade 18.7 20.6 22.5 25.7 28.5 31.2 29.4 29.0 28.3 26.8 26.8 24.5 22.8 21.5 21.4 20.9 19.0 19.6 19.9 21.4 20.1 18.5 -1.6

10th Grade 30.6 29.8 32.8 37.4 40.9 45.4 47.3 44.9 46.2 45.6 45.6 44.6 41.4 39.8 38.2 36.1 35.6 34.1 36.0 37.0 37.7 36.8 -0.9

12th Grade 44.1 40.7 42.9 45.6 48.4 50.8 54.3 54.1 54.7 54.0 53.9 53.0 51.1 51.1 50.4 48.2 46.8 47.4 46.7 48.2 49.9 49.1 -0.8

Any Illicit Drug other

8th Grade 14.3 15.6 16.8 17.5 18.8 19.2 17.7 16.9 16.3 15.8 17.0 13.7 13.6 12.2 12.1 12.2 11.1 11.2 10.4 10.6 9.8 8.7 -1.1 10th Grade 19.1 19.2 20.9 21.7 24.3 25.5 25.0 23.6 24.0 23.1 23.6 22.1 19.7 18.8 18.0 17.5 18.2 15.9 16.7 16.8 15.6 14.9 -0.8

12th Grade 26.9 25.1 26.7 27.6 28.1 28.5 30.0 29.4 29.4 29.0 30.7 29.5 27.7 28.7 27.4 26.9 25.5 24.9 24.0 24.7 24.9 24.1 -0.9

including Inhalants a,c

8th Grade 28.5 29.6 32.3 35.1 38.1 39.4 38.1 37.8 37.2 35.1 34.5 31.6 30.3 30.2 30.0 29.2 27.7 28.3 27.9 28.6 26.4 25.1 -1.4

10th Grade 36.1 36.2 38.7 42.7 45.9 49.8 50.9 49.3 49.9 49.3 48.8 47.7 44.9 43.1 42.1 40.1 39.8 38.7 40.0 40.6 40.8 40.0 -0.9

12th Grade 47.6 44.4 46.6 49.1 51.5 53.5 56.3 56.1 56.3 57.0 56.0 54.6 52.8 53.0 53.5 51.2 49.1 49.3 48.4 49.9 51.8 50.3 -1.4

8th Grade 10.2 11.2 12.6 16.7 19.9 23.1 22.6 22.2 22.0 20.3 20.4 19.2 17.5 16.3 16.5 15.7 14.2 14.6 15.7 17.3 16.4 15.2 -1.2

10th Grade 23.4 21.4 24.4 30.4 34.1 39.8 42.3 39.6 40.9 40.3 40.1 38.7 36.4 35.1 34.1 31.8 31.0 29.9 32.3 33.4 34.5 33.8 -0.8

12th Grade 36.7 32.6 35.3 38.2 41.7 44.9 49.6 49.1 49.7 48.8 49.0 47.8 46.1 45.7 44.8 42.3 41.8 42.6 42.0 43.8 45.5 45.2 -0.3

8th Grade 17.6 17.4 19.4 19.9 21.6 21.2 21.0 20.5 19.7 17.9 17.1 15.2 15.8 17.3 17.1 16.1 15.6 15.7 14.9 14.5 13.1 11.8 -1.3

10th Grade 15.7 16.6 17.5 18.0 19.0 19.3 18.3 18.3 17.0 16.6 15.2 13.5 12.7 12.4 13.1 13.3 13.6 12.8 12.3 12.0 10.1 9.9 -0.2

12th Grade 17.6 16.6 17.4 17.7 17.4 16.6 16.1 15.2 15.4 14.2 13.0 11.7 11.2 10.9 11.4 11.1 10.5 9.9 9.5 9.0 8.1 7.9 -0.2

8th Grade

10th Grade

1 2 h G d 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 7 1 5 1 8 2 0 2 7 1 7 0 8 1 9 1 5 1 6 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 0 6 1 1

Inhalants c,d

Nitrites e

2012

TABLE 5Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs

in Grades 8, 10, and 12

2011

change

Any Illicit Drug a

than Marijuana a,b

Any Illicit Drug

Marijuana/Hashish

(Entries are percentages.)


24/30

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

8th Grade

10th Grade

12th Grade 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.8 2.7 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.1 2.5 1.6 2.4 2.2 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.8 2.3 1.6 -0.7

8th Grade 3.4 3.2 2.7 2.7 4.3 5.2 4.3 3.2 2.8 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.2 3.3 2.6 2.0 -0.6

10th Grade 5.6 5.7 5.1 6.0 7.3 8.0 6.6 5.4 4.3 4.0 4.5 5.2 4.3 5.5 6.4 6.6 5.0 -1.6 ss 12th Grade 6.1 6.9 5.8 8.0 11.0 11.7 10.5 8.3 7.5 5.4 6.5 6.5 6.2 6.5 7.3 8.0 7.2 -0.9

8th Grade 2.3 2.9 2.9 3.6 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.6 4.7 4.5 4.3 3.6 3.6 3.4 3.7 3.4 3.1 3.0 2.6 2.6 2.2 1.9 -0.3

10th Grade 4.1 3.3 3.6 4.3 5.0 6.5 7.1 7.2 7.7 6.9 5.7 6.1 5.1 5.4 5.2 4.8 5.3 4.5 4.6 3.7 3.3 3.3 0.0

12th Grade 7.8 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 7.1 8.7 9.3 9.8 8.6 8.2 7.8 7.7 8.1 8.0 8.5 7.8 7.2 6.0 5.5 5.2 4.9 -0.3

8th Grade 1.3 1.6 1.7 2.4 2.7 2.9 2.7 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.0 -0.4 s

10th Grade 1.7 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.8 3.3 3.6 3.9 4.0 3.7 3.1 3.6 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 1.8 1.6 1.4 -0.2

12th Grade 3.1 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.9 4.4 4.6 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.6 3.9 3.5 3.5 3.2 2.8 2.4 2.4 1.9 2.1 +0.2

8th Grade 2.0 2.4 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.8 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.5 3.3 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.6 -0.2

10th Grade 3.8 3.0 3.3 3.8 4.4 5.5 6.1 6.4 6.8 6.0 5.0 5.2 4.5 4.8 4.6 4.3 4.8 4.0 4.1 3.4 3.0 3.0 0.0

12th Grade 7.0 5.3 5.4 5.2 5.1 6.4 8.2 8.4 8.8 7.7 7.4 7.0 6.7 7.3 7.1 7.9 6.8 6.5 5.3 5.1 4.9 4.4 -0.4

8th Grade 1.2 1.4 1.4 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.3 2.3 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 0.8 -0.3 s 10th Grade 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.7 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.2 1.7 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.1 -0.1

12th Grade 0.9 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.6 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.4 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.6 1.4 1.1 -0.3

TABLE 5 (cont.)Trends in Lifetime Prevalence of Use of Various Drugs

in Grades 8, 10, and 12

2011

2012change

Heroin i

Wi h N dl j

Other Cocaine h

Cocaine

Crack

(Entries are percentages.)

PCP e

Ecstasy (MDMA) g


25/30


26/30


27/30


28/30


29/30


30/30

Documents

Portfolio on Drug And Substance Abuse