Meth Labs Essays - Methamphetamine, Illegal Drug Trade, Chemistry

Meth Labs Methamphetamines are powerfully addictive stimulants that dramatically affect the central nervous system. The drugs are made easily in clandestine, or illegal laboratories with cheap over the counter ingredients. These factors combine to make methamphetamines drugs extremely dangerous, and vulnerable to widespread use. Methamphetamines are also commonly known as speed, meth, or chalk. In its' smoked form they are often referred to as ice, crystal, crank, or glass. They are a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamines, they causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well being, which can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial rush, there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior. Contrary to the stereotype of rural areas as idyllic, protected environments in which to raise families, substance abuse is as great a problem as it is in the cities. One must realize that rural communities vary in characteristics considerably, which complicates our understanding of rural substance use problems and increases the need for prevention, intervention, and treatment programs. For too long, the problems of alcohol and drug abuse in rural areas have received little attention from the federal level. As national studies show, those who live in rural areas are just as likely to have alcohol and other drug problems as those who live in large and small cities. The choice of addictive substances may differ, but the prevalence of abuse is virtually the same for country and city dweller alike. Less attention has been focused on drug use in rural than urban areas despite evidence that metro and nonmetro differences in rates of substance abuse have been declining. Between 1975 and 1991, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) collected drug, alcohol, and tobacco use data from individuals age 12 and older living in U.S. households. These data are used to report trends in illegal drug use for large and small metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of the United States. Lifetime-use patterns of marijuana, hallucinogens, inhalants, and cocaine by age group for the three population density areas are compared. In general, nonmetropolitan prevalence rates for the four drugs were slightly lower than those for the two metropolitan population density areas, however, the rates appear to be converging. Lifetime substance use was highest for those age 18 to 34. (Moxley,1992 p.119) A clandestine laboratory is a laboratory used for the primary purpose of illegally manufacturing controlled substances, such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Clandestine labs are typically small, utilizing common household appliances, glassware, and readily available chemicals. (KBI, 1997, p.1-2) Clandestine laboratories come in all sizes and are found in a variety of locations. The most common and the fastest growing type of lab is the methamphetamine lab, or crank lab. Methamphetamine laboratories have been seized in homes in residential areas, vehicles, apartments, hotels, kitchens, bathrooms, garages and various other outbuildings. (University of Kansas, 1995, p. 6) There are many different methods for producing Methamphetamines. Each method has its own inherent dangers. Many of the chemicals used are corrosive or destructive, and some of the processes create noxious and harmful fumes. Additionally, many of the chemicals can be found in common household items such as Coleman fuel, some cleaners, and diet pills. The most productive laboratories are commonly located in rural areas, such as farms, rural residences and forestry land. Rural areas are often targeted for laboratory manufacturing to avoid detection by law enforcement. Often these labs are larger and produce strong chemical odors, which could be easily detected by neighbors. (Weisheit, Wells, 1996, p.384) Clandestine laboratories are commonly operated on an irregular basis. Operators often produce a batch, or conduct one step in the process, then disassemble and store the lab, or move the lab to another location to complete the process. This is often done in order to avoid detection by law enforcement. (KBI, 1997, p.2) Methamphetamine labs are increasingly becoming a public safety hazard. Even months after a lab has been closed, chemical residue that has seeped into carpet or wood can be dangerous. (Gallon, 1998, p.48) Police

High-stepping Stepchildren

High-stepping Stepchildren High-stepping Stepchildren High-stepping Stepchildren By Maeve Maddox English has several idioms that employ the words step and stepping. As a verb, step means to lift the foot and set it down again on the ground in a new position. As a noun, step is the act of stepping. baby steps and giant steps A â€Å"baby step† is a step that covers a very narrow distance: Still, a year after Mr. Shumlin’s call to arms, progress can be measured only in baby steps. A â€Å"giant step† is one that covers a wide distance, either forward or backward: One of those amendments would address Citizens United which, [Stevens] wrote, was a giant step in the wrong direction. goose-stepping To goose step is to march in such a way that the legs swing sharply from the hips, and the knees are locked. Soldiers marching in this way resemble mechanical toys. Because this type of marching was a feature of Nazi military display, it is associated with fascist power. Goose-stepping in unison may have been used by the Nazis to help brainwash people into following their cause, a new study suggests. India and Pakistans aggressive border closing ceremony has been stopped after soldiers complained the high goose-stepping was wrecking their knee joints and causing foot injuries. Confess that guns hold absolutely no interest or appeal for you, and youre a leftist, a radical who wont be happy until the jackbooted thugs of The New World Order are goose-stepping down Main Street, trampling Our Sacred Freedoms. â€Å"Goose-stepping† always has a negative connotation, but another idiom, â€Å"high-stepping,† can be positive or negative. Literally, â€Å"high-stepping† describes the act of lifting the legs high while walking. Because horse fanciers admired the gait of a high-stepping horse, a fashionable or attractive person came to be known as â€Å"a high-stepper.† Sometimes the term is used in a negative sense to refer to someone who lives extravagantly, or who aspires to a higher social status: Dona had come to town as a schoolteacher.   She was pretty, vivacious, and in the parlance of the time, a â€Å"high-stepper.† Leo Donnelly, always at his peak in silk-lined, low-comedy, high-stepping crook roles, is here at his best. The following sentence spoken by an NPR regular seems to confuse high-stepping and goose-stepping: Nazi soldiers’ high stepping casts a fog over the event. Note: The word fog is also jarring; perhaps the announcer was reaching for pall. Two more idioms that have literal and figurative meanings are â€Å"to sidestep† and â€Å"to step up to the plate.† The literal meaning of sidestep is to step aside, as if to avoid some physical obstacle: Climbing from the carriage, she held her bag against her chest and  tried to sidestep  a puddle  the size of a small lake. Figuratively, â€Å"to sidestep† is to avoid involvement or responsibility: Jefferson Township Sewer Authority  hopes to sidestep  big expense with grant money. â€Å"Step up to the plate† comes from the game of baseball. Note: Home plate is a 5-sided rubber slab at one corner of a baseball diamond at which a batter stands when batting and which must be touched by a base runner in order to score. When it’s a player’s turn to bat, he â€Å"steps up to the plate.† Figuratively, the expression means to come forward and accept responsibility for something that must be done: Community members stepped up to the plate and raised more than $2,700 for the Harmon Killebrew Miracle Field at a recent fundraiser. Unrelated to the verb step in the sense of moving the feet is the affix step- as in stepchild. This step derives from an ancient Germanic word element that was placed before the word for a family member â€Å"to form designations for the degrees of affinity resulting from the remarriage of a widowed parent.† For example, a widow who married a widower would become the stepmother of the widower’s children. They in turn would be her stepchildren. Stepmothers in all the fairy tales I’ve read are notorious for their ill treatment of their stepchildren. Consider, for example, the stories of Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel. Because of the stereotype of the wicked stepmother, the word stepchild has acquired the figurative meaning of â€Å"someone or something that is neglected, undervalued, or abused.† Here are some examples: â€Å"Its a sad fact that P.E. is  educations  ugly  stepchild,† said Goldstein. Rarely is open space seen as more than an afterthought. It truly is a stepchild of planning when it should be a catalyst and spatial organizer for development.   A fairly recent embellishment of stepchild in the sense of an object of abuse and neglect is the expression â€Å"redheaded stepchild.† The earliest evidence of the phrase in the Ngram Viewer is dated 1923. An article at World Wide Words references an example from 1910. Like stepmothers, redheaded people do not fare well in folklore. If a stepchild is undervalued, then a redheaded stepchild is the object of special negative attention: We then learned that Waukegan is apparently  the North  Shores  red headed stepchild.   The South is the  red-headed stepchild  in the American story.   Note: The adjective is hyphenated in the OED, but spelled as one word in Merriam-Webster. 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†Driver License vs. Driver’s LicenseTypes of Ignorance

Patient verification Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patient verification - Research Paper Example Alternatively, the patient can physically present a document of identification like a driver’s license or social security card. These credentials or documents locate a stored biometric template usually linked to it from a previous enrollment. After provision of the credential or document, the patient scans his or her biometric. The captured template gets compared against the stored template which has been located with the documents. After this, what follows is the confirmation or denial of the patient’s claimed identity by the biometric scan which gets supported by verbal confirmation to an identification name. The main area where patient misidentification may occur is during blood transfusions, surgical interventions and drug administration. Patient verification occurs when a healthcare worker can confirm that the identity documents given by the patient match those on the patient’s identity documents. Statistics Recent statistics show that there have been forty percent cases of patient misidentification. In the entire healthcare industry, lack of proper patient verification results in the wrong person procedures, discharge of infants to the wrong families, medication errors, testing errors and also blood transfusion errors. According to the United States Patient Safety Agency, there were more than 100 cases of patient misidentification between 2000 and 2003. ... This can be attributed to new technologies like bar coding that have improved the process of patient verification. Such interventions have proved to be quite cost effective in the healthcare industry. Implications Since patient misidentification has been noted to be the cause of many root errors, various measures have been taken to control the problem. The Joint Commission of the United States made improvement of patient identification accuracy its focus in the National Patient Safety Goals introduced in 2003 (Marie, 2009). This still continues to be a requirement for accreditation. The National Priorities Partnership and National database of nursing quality indicators show that patient misidentification poses as one of the most serious risks to the safety of patients. It cuts across the entire healthcare practice and, therefore, is an issue of major concern. The implication of patient misidentification is that thousands of people get injured by the health system the seek help. This increases the need for limiting working hours for health care members whereby an increased number of workers care for each patient (WHO, 2007). The National Patient Safety Agency decided to incorporate the NHS number in order to reduce and possibly mitigate the risks of patient misidentification. Enhancing quality There are various ways that enhance quality concerning patient verification. This can get done by ensuring that all aspects of the management of patient verification comply with the existing recommendations from the National Safety Agency. There must be clear procedures and standards for healthcare workers involved in patient verification (Medscape, 2013). These standards provide a framework for the required work ethics and, therefore, mitigate the risk of