Science for Thought

Hi everyone! In this blog post, I'll be talking about the war on drugs. I feel that a lot of people do not know about this topic, so I will just be outlining the facts of what happened and how it affects people today. This post is related to my last blog post about the American opioid crisis, so if you haven't already, give it a read.  Definition:  The War on Drugs is a phrase used to refer to a government-led initiative that aimed to stop illegal drug use, distribution, and trade by dramatically increasing prison sentences for both drug dealers and users. The war on drugs was lead by Richard Nixon, the president at the time and a well-known criminal, in the 1970's. Nixon's administration classified cannabis as a schedule 1 drug - on a level with heroin, and he formed the drug enforcement agency in 1973.  The Anti-Drug Abuse Act:  In 1986,  Ronald Reagan was able to pass the Anti-Drug Abuse Act through Congress. This legislation directed 1.7 billion dollars to f...

TW: Drugs Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death in the United States - opioid addiction is driving these deaths. With the opioid crisis significantly escalating these past few years, I thought it would be a good idea to give you guys some statistics about the opioid crisis, how it intensified, and what the government is doing to prevent more opioid-related deaths.  Background info/statistics about the opioid crisis:  More than 450,000 Americans have died from an opioid overdose since 1999. 2018 data shows that, every day, 128 people die in the United States after overdosing on opioids. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for people under the age of 55. Young adults (ages 18 to 25) are the biggest abusers of prescription opioid pain relievers, ADHD stimulants, and anti-anxiety drugs. One of the reasons for this abuse could be that adolescents are prescribed higher number of opioids, doubling from the 1990's. Women aged 40-59 are prescribed more opioids t...

Hi everyone! I'm here today to bring light to and inform you about an aspect of racism often unknown: environmental racism. In this blog post, I will explain what environmental racism is, examples of it in society, and what we, as individuals, can do to stop it.  What is environmental racism?  Environmental racism is the disproportional impact of environmental hazards on people of color. Environmental racism is caused by several factors, including intentional neglect, the alleged need for a vessel of pollutants in an urban area, and a lack of institutional power and low land values of people of color.  Environmental racism is inseparable from racial segregation. The government and corporations perpetuate environmental racism through the placement of forever chemical plants, contaminated water, and other harmful pollutants at a higher rate than white, affluent communities.  For example, polluting facilities along the Mississippi River are primarily concentrated in are...

Hi everyone! There has been a lot of controversial discussions lately surrounding genetic testing because of the arrival of personalized medicine and its potential to determine if someone will develop a disease or not. In this blog post, I am going to be talking about what genetic testing is and the ethics surrounding it. What is Genetic Testing?       Genetic testing is taking a sample of your DNA extracted from your blood or saliva and testing it for mutations. Some companies (23andme) use this information to make inferences about ancestry. In the clinical sense, genetic testing can be used to assess if the mutations you possess have any consequences on your health or your relatives' health.  Why is it Useful?       Genetic testing can not only be used to confirm or rule out a diagnosis but also can help identify the potential origins of some of the rarest genetic conditions. Genetic testing can be used to determine someone's risk of develo...