Legal but Deadly Essay

Legal but Deadly Essay Legal but Deadly Essay Legal but Deadly Prescription for Disaster 1/11/2013 The non-medical use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious public health problem in this country. Although most people take prescription medications responsibly, an estimated 52 million people have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons at least once in their lifetimes. They are potentially deadly when taken in large doses or when combined with alcohol or other drugs. Take Gerald Levert, an R including Vicodin, Percocet, and Darvocet for his shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries, also Xanax for anxiety attacks. Just because they are legal does not mean that pharmaceutical drugs are any less dangerous than illicit drugs. There are several misconceptions about taking prescription drugs without a prescription. One is that people think because they are prescribed by a doctor and are legal that they must be safe. They tend to believe that they are safer than illicit drugs like heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. Individuals have confidence in that they are not as addictive. There is also the belief by many using prescription drugs, even recreationally, that they can quit whenever they want. Taking these drugs without knowing the warning signs and getting behind the wheel of a car or heavy machinery, could ultimately be fatal. The fact is prescription drugs are very powerful and that is why they require a prescription from a doctor, so their use can be monitored more closely. Doctors regulate use of these drugs so they can inform patients about the risk factors and side effects. Taking more than you are prescribed increases your chances of severe side effects and up to addiction. Drug abuse is discriminatory; it does not care about race, gender, age or social status. Prescription drugs are everywhere, they are advertised daily on television, easily purchased without a prescription online, and most people have them in their medicine cabinets. The younger generation has begun to use them as a way to self-medicate; they get them from home and through friends. Even drug dealers are selling them because they have become more popular than illicit drugs like cocaine and marijuana. People are becoming more susceptible to sharing their prescriptions with others, not thinking of the affects they could have. Individuals tend to believe that a pill can fix almost any problem they have because that’s how they are advertised everywhere you look. There continues to be a more social acceptance of using medications, so the misuse is not frowned upon by many as drug abuse. Many people, of all ages, misuse prescription drugs to relieve pain, if they have sleeping problems, have trouble focusing, or just want to get high. Every person has their own excuses for using. They may be finding different ways to cope with the pressures of life’s demands, dealing with stress that occurs because of adaption, frustration, and overload of daily problems. Peer pressure is and always has been a factor concerning drug abuse. Younger individuals have their own set of rules concerning authority figures and friends, having the mind set to be adventurous and be like others in the â€Å"group†. Users think that drugs help them by keeping them motivated, by enhancing their performance, to be more creative, relieve tension, and most commonly it makes them feel good about themselves. An analysis from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) showed that in 2008 emergency room records reported that more than 4.3 million visits were associated with some form of drug abuse. This number is up over an overwhelming 70 percent from2004. Almost half of the 4.3 million were results of drug misuse or abuse. The remaining 2 million were the result of legal medical use of prescription and over- the- counter drugs. ("Prescription Drugs More Dangerous Than

30 Sports Idioms

30 Sports Idioms 30 Sports Idioms 30 Sports Idioms By Mark Nichol This post lists and defines terms derived from two or more distinct sports that by extension serve as idioms in other realms of endeavor outside athletics. (The original meaning is provided in parentheses.) 1. ace: accomplish something with ease (slang term for when an opposing player or team fails to return a serve) 2. bench: keep someone from participating; as a noun, a figurative reference to the members of a group as a whole or to the depth of talent of the group members collectively (seating for players not competing) 3. bench-warmer: a person with a negligible role (slang term for a player who spends most or all of a game sitting on the team bench rather than participating in competition) 4. cheap shot: a hurtful or unfair critical comment (an illegal hit during a contact sport) 5. drop the ball: fail or make a mistake (lose control of a ball and thus give up possession of it in favor of the opposing team) 6. game changer: something that significantly and suddenly changes a situation (a play during a game that abruptly alters the likely outcome) 7. game plan: strategy (the approach athletes practice to achieve victory in a competition) 8–9. get/keep the ball rolling: start an activity or project, or maintain progress on an activity or project, respectively (putting and keeping a ball in motion so that regulation play continues) 10. goal line: an achievement or benchmark considered a success (the line on a playing field across which a ball must cross in order for points to be scored) 11. hat trick: a very clever or deft maneuver (a series of three consecutive achievements in a game or season, based on a tradition in which a cricket player was awarded a hat for such an accomplishment) 12. hotshot: a conspicuously successful or talented person, or one who believes himself or herself to be especially successful or talented; often used sarcastically or derogatorily (a player unusually successful in making shots, or goals) 13. level playing field: an equitable arrangement (a flat surface on which a competition is held so that a slope does not favor one team) 14. long shot: an effort, or a person or thing, with little chance of success (an attempt to score a goal from a far distance) 15. losing streak: a record of a series of failures (a sequence of successive defeats by an athlete or team) 16. make the cut: qualify (having one’s name remain on a roster from which the names of other prospective team members have been removed or struck out, signifying retention of the one who has made the cut and disqualification of the others) 17. on the ball: alert, successful (remaining close to, or gaining possession of, a ball in a competition in order to achieve victory) 18. on the sidelines: having an indirect or insignificant role (the area next to the boundary of the playing area where team members not participating in a competition watch game play) 19. out of bounds: not acceptable or appropriate (outside the field of play, where a ball may not be carried or moved to score a point or goal until it is returned to a prescribed place on the field and play officially resumes) 20. referee: a mediator or arbitrator (an official responsible for overseeing a competition and monitoring that rules are being observed) 21. ringer: a person with a striking resemblance to another person, or an unauthorized substitute (a competitor not authorized to play) 22. score: achieve or obtain something desired, or record outcomes or results; as a noun, the status of a situation, or pertinent information (the tally kept during a competition) 23. sideline: as a noun, an additional pursuit or product line; as a verb, keep or remove from participation; in plural form, the state of observing rather than participating (the line marking the boundary of the playing field) 24. stay ahead of the game: anticipate changes in a series of events or incidents (predicting how a competition will play out and using that knowledge to affect the outcome) 25. take sides: support one faction or position at the extent of the other (forming the prescribed arrangement of team members before a competition begins) 26. team player: someone who gets along well with others or is loyal to a cause (an athlete whose performance supports a team’s success) 17. stage of the game: a point during a series of actions or events leading to an outcome (the notion of a particular interval or moment during a competition) 28. time out: a pause or break to assess a situation or provide time for reflection, or removal of a child from an activity as a form of punishment (one of a prescribed number of interruptions in competition each team is allowed to take to temporarily halt game play to discuss strategy) 29. winning streak: a series of successes (a sequence of successive victories by an athlete or team) 30. workout: an exercise routine, or any strenuous effort (a series of activities or exercises an athlete undergoes to enhance physical conditioning) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†45 Synonyms for â€Å"Old† and â€Å"Old-Fashioned†13 Theatrical Terms in Popular Usage