Magnificence by Estrella Alfon - 5402 Words

MAGNIFICENCE by Estrella Alfon There was nothing to fear, for the man was always so gentle, so kind. At night when the little girl and her brother were bathed in the light of the big shaded bulb that hung over the big study table in the downstairs hall, the man would knock gently on the door, and come in. He would stand for a while just beyond the pool of light, his feet in the circle of illumination, the rest of him in shadow. The little girl and her brother would look up at him where they sat at the big table, their eyes bright in the bright light, and watch him come fully into the light, a dark little man with protuberant lips, his eyes glinting in the light, but his voice soft, his manner slow. He would smell faintly of sweat and†¦show more content†¦Thank him, their mother called. The little boy smiled and said, Thank You. And the little girl smiled and said, Thank You, too. But the man said, are you not going to kiss me for those pencils? They both came forward, the little girl and the little boy, a nd they both made to kiss him but Vicente slapped the boy smartly on his lean hips, and said, Boys do not kiss boys. And the little boy laughed and scampered away, and then ran back and kissed him anyway. The little girl went up to the man shyly, put her arms about his neck as he crouched to receive her embrace, and kissed him on the cheeks. The man’s arms suddenly tightened about the little girl until the little girl squirmed out of his arms, and laughed a little breathlessly, disturbed but innocent, looking at the man with a smiling little question of puzzlement. The next evening, he came around again. All through that day, they had been very proud in school showing off their brand new pencils. All the little girls and boys had been envying them. And their mother had finally to tell them to stop talking about the pencils, pencils, for now that they had, the boy two, and the girl three, they were asking their mother to buy more, so they could each have five, and three at least in the jumbo size that the little girl’s third pencil was. Their mother said, Oh stop it, what will you do with so many pencils, you can only write with one at a time. And the little girl muttered under her breath, I’llShow MoreRelatedMagnificence: Writing and Vicente1141 Words   |  5 PagesI. Title: MAGNIFICENCE II. Author: Estrella D. Alfon Biography Estrella Alfon was born in San Nicolas, Cebu City on March 27, 1917. She went to medical school to finish her medicinal studies but when she was misdiagnosed for having tuberculosis, she had to withdraw from her studies. She finished her education with a degree in Associate of Arts instead. She became the first and only female member of the Veronicans, a group of writers in the 1930s, prior to the Second World War, ledRead MoreLife and Works of Estrella Alfon7175 Words   |  29 PagesMANDAUE EBENEZER ALLIANCE ACADEMY INC. M.L. QUEZON STREET , MAGUIKAY , MANDAUE CITY TERM PAPER IN ENGLISH SUBMITTED BY : ROLLY A. COLINA SUBMITTED TO : MR. LESLIE T. ONES i. ABSTRACT ii. INTRODUCTION Estrella D. Alfon  (July 18, 1917 – December 28, 1983) was a well-known prolific Filipina author who wrote in English. Because of continued poor health, she could manage only an A. A. degree from the  University of the Philippines. She then became a member of the U. P. writers club and earned

Computers and Human-Level Intelligence Essays - 1498 Words

Computers are taking more and more jobs and this trend will accelerate as we approach technological singularity. This is the event â€Å"when computers will attain human-level intelligence† Natalie Wolchover states. The singularity is projected to arrive sometime around 2030 -2040, but it could occur sooner depending on how computer technology develops. Wolchover states: Physicist, author and self-described futurist Ray Kurzweil has predicted that computers will come to par with humans within two decades. He told Time Magazine last year that engineers will successfully reverse-engineer the human brain by the mid-2020s, and by the end of that decade, computers will be capable of human-level intelligence. Corporations are currently thinking†¦show more content†¦Singh, Susheela, and Jacqueline E. Darroch conclude: The trend toward lower adolescent birthrates and pregnancy rates over the past 25 years is widespread and is occurring across the industrialized world, suggesting that the reasons for this general trend are broader than factors limited to any one country: increased importance of education, increased motivation of young people to achieve higher levels of education and training, and greater centrality of goals other than motherhood and family formation for young women. This shows that education and even knowledge of other opportunities, contraception and abortions can lower the population rate allowing fewer burdens on the government over austerity especially in countries where financial responsibility is not valued as much. Emotions may help develop morals for human being coexistence. The more we interact with robots, the more we develop emotional attachment to it. This can even be exploited for profit with Artificial Intelligence as smart as pets marketed as pets with minimum care, more targeted ads or functions that can help people. We still have the choice of how to advance computers. The only issues relating to singularity against are how to divide the power of computers between different social classes in the world. Corporations want to keep aShow MoreRelatedComputer Vs. Artificial Intelligence926 Words   |  4 PagesHumans and computers both originate from man whether it be biologically or mechanically. Both humans and computers A man can have a plethora of children and also build a computer. As both his Both computers and man are a creation of man. When faced with a problem, human and computers seem to come to a solution in similar ways. In both cases, information is â€Å"placed† in hum ans and computers by other humans. However, knowing information does not making a single being intelligence, understanding andRead MoreThe Moral And Ethical Issues Of Artificial Intelligence1151 Words   |  5 Pagesfertilization, surrogate motherhood, and human cloning once were considered immoral, but since moral codes changed due to cultural settings, they became interweaved into the culture’s fabric and became acceptable. The key to understanding the moral and ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence are the four levels on which intelligent artifacts raise ethical and moral problems. The first level concerns the ethical uses of computers and how humans respond to a world that is constantly beingRead MoreHow Ai Can Bring On A Second Industrial Revolution1360 Words   |  6 Pagesmore intelligent, what I talking about is artificial intelligence, or AI. I think that in the next two decades, this will be the most influential development trend and driving force in s ociety. 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Intelligent computer systems can and do benefit us all; however people have constantly warned that making computers too intelligent can be to our disadvantageRead MoreArtificial Intelligence Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesArtificial Intelligence Introduction Today, people are interacting more and more with computers. Life is running at a microchip speed. If all computers are stopped for a day, complete civilization comes to a halt! Fifty years ago, this mightve been a science fiction, but today it is a reality. Further, with Computers being embedded in all of our life accessories like mobiles, watches, cars, even our bodies and brains there is no indication that this microchipRead MoreThe Invention Of Artificial Intelligence1668 Words   |  7 Pageslives today, we all use some form of Artificial Intelligence daily. Some of these activities include: using cellular apps (Google Maps, Siri, Cortana), playing video games, and listening to music. Although the use of Artificial Intelligence has made human life more efficient and effective, it has also insinuated reliance and unsuspecting ignorance into our minds as well, and we do not even see it coming. The history of Artificial Intelligence dates back to the 1950s. Approximately fourteenRead MoreA Critical Evaluation Between Technology And The Human Brain1467 Words   |  6 PagesArtificial Intelligence: A critical evaluation between Technology and the Human brain Humans are continuously trying to develop a technology that will give artificial intelligence to machines (Gupta, 2013). People have been comparing the human brain to different technologies such as computers and smart devices. Recent years have seen an explosion in mobile web use (Entertainment close-up, 2013). Most devices and apps are capable of completing multiple tasks such as; entertainment, communication,Read MoreArtificial Intelligence : The Science And The Future Utilization Of The Ai1349 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Artificial Intelligence in the diverse fields and the future utilization of the AI which achieves the level of human knowledge in the propelled fields of the day by day attempt and how it suffocates us into its innovation are discussed in the paper. 1.INTRODUCTION: (J.Nilsson, 2008) It is seen that computerized reasoning is assuming an extraordinary part in the research of advanced science and operational research regions.In the future intelligent machines will supplant human capacities inRead MoreAn Analysis Of Edgar Allen Poes Maelzels Chess Player 1609 Words   |  7 Pagesa chessboard whose pieces were moved by a mechanical human figure whose arm made the movements. Poe argued that the machine was a fraud and that there was a man inside the cabinet making the moves. Turns out, he was right. His thesis was that in principle no machine could ever play chess. He argued that they could perform mathematical calculations but that there is an unbridgeable gap between playing chess and performing calculations. Computers follow a fixed mathematical or algebraic series. EvenRead MoreArtificial Intelligence Essay658 Words   |  3 PagesArtificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence is a broad topic, consisting of different fields, from machine vision to expert systems. Nowadays with the use of high level techniques, computers have been programmed to solve many difficult problems, but the products that are available today are only a sample of what is coming in the future. AI has an interesting history and has always been on the pioneering end of computer science. In order to classify machines as thinking

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 18 Free Essays

string(32) " and no gray in his black hair\." My dream-self sprinted out of the kitchen and toward the sound of the crying. Aubrey and the mystery cat jerked their heads up, surprised at my sudden movement. On the other side of the living room, the little girl sat on the floor beside an end table with sharp corners, a small hand pressed to her forehead. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 18 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tears streamed down her checks as she wailed. In a flash, my dream-self was on her knees and had wrapped the little girl up in a tight embrace. I could feel what the other Georgina felt, and I nearly wept as well over the feel of that soft, warm body in my arms. My dream-self rocked the girl, murmuring soothing, nonsensical words as she brushed her lips against the silken hair. Eventually, the girl’s sobs stopped, and she rested her head against my dream-self’s chest, content to simply be loved and rocked. I opened my eyes and stared at Seth’s plain white ceiling. He lay beside me, curled up near my body and still smelling like the massage oil. Even awake, the dream’s images were still strong and so real. I knew exactly how my daughter’s hair had felt, the way she smelled, the rhythm of her heart. My own heart pined so much for her that I could almost ignore the fact that last night’s energy was now gone. This was turning into a real problem. I sat up, gently pushing Seth off of me. But as I tried to figure out what to do about this latest dream, a strange thought kept pressing into the back of my head. Erik. I couldn’t stop thinking about Erik. It was nothing in particular, either. No specific problem. But, whenever I tried to think about something else – my job, the energy loss, Seth – it was Erik’s face that appeared in my head. I didn’t understand it, but it worried me. Seth’s arms reached for me as I slipped out of bed, but I skillfully avoided them. Grabbing my cell phone out of my purse, I headed off toward the living room. No one answered when I dialed Arcana, Ltd. It was almost ten†¦usually he was open by then. I called information in search of Erik’s home number, but it appeared to be unlisted. A sense of dread was building in me. Desperate, I dialed Dante’s store. â€Å"Dante, I think something’s happened to Erik, but I don’t have his home number and – â€Å" â€Å"Whoa, whoa, succubus. Slow down. Start from the beginning.† Backing up, I explained how I’d dreamed again and woken up obsessed with Erik. â€Å"Maybe it’s nothing, but after the drowning thing†¦I don’t know. Do you have his home number?† â€Å"Yeah,† Dante said after several moments. â€Å"I do. I’ll†¦I’ll check on him for you and give you a call back.† â€Å"Thanks, Dante. I mean it.† I disconnected as a sleepy Seth stepped out of the bedroom. â€Å"Who’s Dante? Was that a collect call to the Inferno?† â€Å"They won’t accept the charges,† I murmured, still troubled. Seth’s face turned serious. â€Å"What’s wrong?† I hesitated, not because I was afraid to tell him about Dante but because I didn’t know if I wanted him caught up in all of this. â€Å"It involves immortal intrigue,† I warned. â€Å"And the higher workings of the universe.† â€Å"I live for those things,† he said wryly, settling into an armchair. â€Å"Tell me.† So, I did. He knew about my first energy loss but not the rest. I didn’t tell him about the content of the dreams, merely that they drained me of energy. I also explained about the self-fulfilling prophecies and how I’d woken up damp one morning and thinking about Erik today. When I finished, I stared at the cell phone accusingly. â€Å"Damn it. Why isn’t he calling?† â€Å"Why do you always tell me this at the last minute?† asked Seth. â€Å"It’s been giving you trouble for a while. I thought it had been a one-time thing.† â€Å"I didn’t want to bother you. And I know how funny you are about immortal stuff.† â€Å"Things that affect you – that may be harming you – don’t bother me. I mean, well, they do, but that’s not the point. This all goes back to commun – â€Å" The phone rang. â€Å"Dante?† I asked eagerly. I hadn’t even bothered to check the number. But it was him. His voice sounded grim. â€Å"You need to come over here. To Erik’s.† â€Å"The store?† â€Å"No, his house. It’s close to my place here.† â€Å"What’s going on?† â€Å"Just come over.† Dante rattled off an address and directions. With quick shape-shifting, I was dressed and ready to bolt out the door in an instant. Seth told me to wait, and in less than a minute – not as good as me, though still good – he was ready too. I’d never thought much about Erik having a home of his own. To me, he just always sort of existed in his store. The address was about a mile from Dante’s, in an old, yet well-maintained neighborhood. Erik’s house was one of the small bungalow types so common in Seattle neighborhoods, and the front yard was filled with roses gone dormant for the winter. As we walked up the steps, I entertained a brief vision of Erik out there tending the flowers in the summer. Dante opened the door before I could knock. I wondered if he’d sensed me or had simply seen us through the window. He displayed no particular reaction to Seth’s presence and ushered us in toward the house’s one bedroom. The house’s interior looked like it hadn’t been updated in a while. In fact, a lot of the furniture reminded me of mid-twentieth-century styles. A plaid sofa with rough fabric. A worn velvet armchair in seventies gold. A TV that dubiously looked capable of color. None of that triggered any sort of reaction in me, though. What startled me was one framed picture sitting on a bookshelf. It showed a much younger Erik – maybe in his forties – with fewer wrinkles in his dark skin and no gray in his black hair. You read "Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 18" in category "Essay examples" He had his arm around a thirty-something brunette with big gray eyes and a smile as large as his. Dante nudged me when I stopped, an odd look on his face. â€Å"Come on.† Erik lay in bed. To my relief, he was alive. I didn’t realize until that moment just how worried I’d been. My subconscious had feared the worst, even though I’d refused to let it surface. But alive or not, he really didn’t look so great. He was sweating and shaking, eyes wide and face pallid. His breathing was shallow. When he saw me, he flinched, and for half a second, I saw terror in his eyes. Then, the fear faded, and he attempted a weak smile. â€Å"Miss Kincaid. Forgive me for not being able to receive you properly.† â€Å"Jesus,† I gasped, sitting on the bed’s edge. â€Å"What happened? Are you okay?† â€Å"I will be.† I studied him, trying to piece together what had taken place. â€Å"Were you attacked?† His gaze flicked over to Dante. Dante shrugged. â€Å"In a manner of speaking,† Erik said at last. â€Å"But not in the way you’re thinking.† Dante leaned against the wall, appearing a little less grave than he had earlier. â€Å"Don’t waste her time with riddles, old man. Spill it.† Erik’s eyes narrowed, a bit of fire flaring in their depths. Then, he turned back to me. â€Å"I was attacked†¦mentally, not physically. A woman came to me tonight†¦wraithlike, inhuman†¦wreathed in energy. The kind of beauteous, enthralling energy I see you glow with sometimes.† It was a sweet way to describe my post-sex glamour. â€Å"Was she bat-winged and flame-eyed?† I asked, recalling Dante’s long-ago joke about the mythological description of succubi. â€Å"Not a succubus, I’m afraid. That might be easier. No, this†¦I believe†¦was Nyx.† â€Å"Did†¦did you say Nyx?† Of course that was what he’d said, but I’d been waiting for him to launch into a discussion of Oneroi, not their mother. Nyx made no sense. It was one thing for dream spirits to appear in your bedroom and in your dreams. It was an entirely different matter for a monstrous primordial entity of chaos who had been instrumental in creating the world as we know it to appear in your bedroom. It was like saying God had stopped by for waffles on the way to work. Maybe Erik was still delirious. â€Å"Nyx,† he confirmed, no doubt guessing my thoughts. â€Å"Chaos herself. Or, more accurately, Night herself.† From the corner, Dante laughed softly. â€Å"We’re all fucked now.† â€Å"She’s the mother of the Oneroi,† Erik reminded me. â€Å"And, although dreams aren’t her sole domain, she too is connected to them.† â€Å"Then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I tried to grasp the implications. â€Å"Are you saying she’s been responsible for what’s been happening to me?† â€Å"It almost makes sense,† said Dante. Erik apparently agreed. â€Å"She’s linked to time and all the myriad potential fates that exist for the universe. Fate and time are forever moving closer to chaos – to entropy – and that’s what she feeds off of. She’s trying to create more of it in the world, to bring us that much nearer to ultimate disintegration. But she’s a long way from bringing anything like that about, so she settles for small acts of chaos.† I wasn’t following. â€Å"My dreams and energy loss are acts of chaos?† â€Å"No.† Erik glanced at Dante again. â€Å"We believe you’re her instrument. Since she’s connected to time as well as space, she has the ability to see pieces of the future. And there is no greater way to cause chaos in this world than by revealing the future to mortals. Such visions prove consuming, and if crafted in a certain way, they can drive a person to madness. That person will obsess on it, struggling to either stop it or bring it about in a way it’s not actually meant to unfold. Both acts are futile. The future plays out as it is meant to. In trying to alter it, we only make it happen that much more quickly.† â€Å"Like the Oedipus story,† noted Seth. â€Å"His father’s attempts to change the prophecy’s outcome are what actually made it happen.† Erik nodded. â€Å"Exactly.† I understood now too. â€Å"Just like the cop who saw his partner getting shot. And the man who saw his family benefiting by him swimming the Sound.† â€Å"It’s how Nyx operates. Everything she shows them is true†¦just not true in the way they expect. The ensuing madness and destruction brought about by showing mortals their futures – futures that they end up bringing about – feeds her.† â€Å"But where do I fit in?† I demanded. â€Å"She isn’t showing me my future or making me do crazy things.† â€Å"That’s where the theory ends, succubus,† Dante said. â€Å"You’re part of it, absolutely. And she needs you to do all this†¦but we don’t know the mechanics of it.† â€Å"This is insane,† I said blankly. â€Å"I’m the instrument of an all-powerful primordial deity’s wave of chaos and destruction.† â€Å"That’s kind of extreme,† said Dante jovially. â€Å"It’s not like you work for Google or anything.† Seth gently touched my shoulder. â€Å"Can I ask a question here? I’m confused by†¦like, how is it possible that you’re just now realizing that this†¦Nyx†¦is out there? I mean, if she’s as powerful as you claim†¦I don’t know. Why didn’t you think of her right away? Why hasn’t this happened before?† â€Å"Because she’s locked up,† I said. â€Å"Or well, she’s supposed to be. Heaven and Hell have their own agendas for the world; they don’t want her running loose and messing it all up. If this is her, I have no idea how she got loose. She’s supposed to be guarded by angels, and if there was ever a group that could – † I let out a gasp that turned into a groan. The others stared at me. â€Å"What’s wrong?† asked Seth. â€Å"That’s why they’re here,† I said. â€Å"I’m such an idiot. There’s a monstrous regiment of angels in town. I knew they were looking for something, but I didn’t know what.† That would also explain Vincent’s interest in local news – he was looking for Nyx-patterns that would provide them with a trail. He’d even started to pursue my knowledge of the cop story, but Seth’s shooting and his outing as a nephilim had distracted us all. â€Å"Yeah, well, they’re doing a bang-up job,† said Dante. I rose from Erik’s bedside. â€Å"I have to tell them what we know. Maybe they’ll understand what she’s doing to me.† â€Å"Be careful,† Erik warned. â€Å"She’s suspicious now†¦I think that’s why she came after me. I was looking into this, and she didn’t want me to succeed.† Something else suddenly occurred to me. â€Å"Erik†¦did she show you a vision?† He nodded. â€Å"What was it?† It must have been horrible, whatever it was. He’d clearly been in shock when Dante had found him. Erik looked at me, and for an instant, I saw a flash of the terror he’d shown when I first walked into the room. Then, it was gone. â€Å"It doesn’t matter, Miss Kincaid. She wanted to scare me, to stop me from helping you†¦but it didn’t work. The future will unfold as it’s meant to.† Seeing my doubtful look, he smiled again and pointed toward the door. â€Å"Stop worrying about me. I will be fine. Go find your angel friends before anything worse happens.† I gave him a quick hug before stepping into the other room with Seth and Dante. Once again, I paused to study the picture of Erik and the woman. Just as I’d always imagined Erik living in his store, I’d also never pictured him having any sort of personal life. Obviously, that was a foolish thought on my part. Who was this woman? Wife? Lover? Just a friend? Beside me, Dante held out his hand to Seth and introduced himself. The two men sized each other up. â€Å"I’ve heard so much about you,† said Dante cheerfully. â€Å"I never heard of you until this morning,† remarked Seth. My eyes were still on the picture. Near the edge of the frame, I noticed a crease in the photograph. I don’t know what made me do it, but I picked the frame up and pulled the picture out. The right-hand third of the photo had been folded, obscuring another person who had been with Erik and the woman. Dante. I looked up in surprise. Dante took the picture and frame from me and reassembled them. â€Å"There’s no time for this, succubus.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"We have more important things to deal with than your own curiosity right now.† I cast an uneasy look at Erik’s closed bedroom door. Dante was right. â€Å"Do you think you could maybe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dante sighed, anticipating my question. â€Å"Yes, succubus. I’ll check in on him today.† For a moment, I thought I saw something in his face†¦something that wasn’t just him grudgingly humoring me. Like that maybe – maybe – he cared about Erik too. It was weird, but then, they’d all looked pretty happy in the photograph. The worst enemies were often those who had been friends. This Erik-Dante puzzle just got weirder and weirder. I started to turn away, then Dante called, â€Å"Oh, hey. I can probably make your charm, now that we know what this is.† Hope surged up in me at the thought of finally having safe dreams again. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"If you still want me to,† he added warily. I presumed he was subtly referencing my skepticism – which hadn’t entirely abated. Still, now that I had a name for my predator, I was more anxious than ever to take whatever protection I could get. â€Å"Definitely. If you think it’ll work.† â€Å"In theory, at least. Nyx isn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill spirit. I’ll see what I can do.† I drove Seth back to his condo, anxious to let him off, so I could do some searching. â€Å"I have to go find the angels,† I told him. â€Å"I’ll catch up to you later.† â€Å"So†¦no movie tonight?† â€Å"I – what? Oh, damn it.† I’d forgotten about the plans we’d made. He’d gotten tickets for an indie movie that was showing one night only here. â€Å"I’m sorry†¦I really am†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well,† said Seth wryly, â€Å"considering life and death are literally on the line, I think I can forgive it this time.† â€Å"You know what you should do? You should take Maddie. You still owe her a date.† He smiled. â€Å"I have the best girlfriend in the world, always trying to push me into the arms of another woman.† â€Å"I’m serious! She’s feeling unwanted. She thinks you don’t like her.† â€Å"I like her a lot. The whole thing is just weird, that’s all. I think I’m going to see if Terry can go to the movie. Don’t give me that look,† he warned. â€Å"I’ll still take her somewhere. Just not to this.† We kissed good-bye, and Seth promised to check on me later. Once he was gone, I set out to find my guardian angels. How to cite Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 18, Essay examples

AGAINST MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Essay Example For Students

AGAINST MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Essay Against marijuana legalizationShould Marijuana Be Legalized? In society today, many people look for a feeling of freedom. Many people go on vacationand spend money. The most common gateway for people is drugs. Our American society is facing a tremendous drugproblem. In order to eradicate the drug problem, a public debate is going on to find some solutions to this drugdilemma. It has become a highly controversial issue whether drugs such as marijuana should be legalized or not. Somepeople advocate this issue and believe that legalization is the only solution left for the nation while others opposebecause it will increase the number of drug users and drug related crimes. Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in theUnited States. This drug as you know is bad and causes severe side effects to your brain and body. Scientist have foundthat smoking marijuana can cause you to loose your memory. Marijuana has many psychological and physical effects. People usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it also can be mixed with food and beverages. Short-termeffects of marijuana include both psychological and physical reactions. These reactions usually last for three to fivehours after a person has smoked marijuana. The psychological reaction, known as a high consists of changes in theuserOs feelings and thoughts. Such changes are caused mainly by THC. The effects of a marijuana high vary fromperson to person and from one time to another in the same individual. In most cases, the high consists of a dreamy,relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses and feel that time is moving slowly. Sometimes, however,marijuana produces a feeling of panic and dread. The different reactions result partly from the concentration of THC inthe marijuana. Other factors, such as the setting in which marijuana is used and the userOs expectations, personality,and mood, also affect a personOs reaction to the drug. Long-term effects of marijuana are not completely known, butstudies have shown that some people have used marijuana regularly for several months or longer have develop seriouslong-term problems. Among males, marijuana use can reduce the production of sperm and of the male sex hormonetestosterone. Among females, it can cause menstrual irregularity and reduced fertility. Extended use of marijuana alsohas a long-term psychological effect on many people. These individuals loose interest in everything. However, accordingto scientific experiments, marijuana is known to be beneficial in medicine. The question is should marijuana belegalized? One of the consequences of legalization will be a tremendous increase in drug users. Right now, drug usershave fear of law enforcement agents, but if drugs were to be legalized, they no longer will have fear and will feel that itwill be okay to use drugs. Over twenty years ago, estimates of drug use among Americans went as high as 24 million,but we now estimate that the number of Americans ho use illegal drugs is down to some 11 million. And a recent studydone by my office shows that Americans are spending less on illegal drugs, not more. In 1993, Americans spent $49billion on illegal drugs, down from $64 billion in 1988 (Brown 629). This decline is due to more officers on the streetsand drug awareness programs. An increase in drug use will result in an increase in drug related crimes if drugs arelegalized. Supporters of drug legalization believe that crime and violence would decrease if drug use was legal. Statistics tell us that almost half of those arrested for committing a crime test positive for the use of drugs at the timeof their arrest. Making drugs more readily available could only propel more individuals into a life of crime and violence(Brown 629). Also drug users turn to crime to pay for their habits because they are stimulated by drugs and thereforeact violently. If drug is sold legally, it will become easy for users to buy it around the corner. Thus, it will increase thealready existing problem of crime. Church mentions that every year drug lords make over twenty billion dollars fromcocaine and marijuana business, and legalizers believe that legalization will wipe out their major sources of funds(Church 12). However, drug use is a matter of supply and demand. As long as demand exists, someone is going tosupply it, either legally or illegally. Supporters of legalization believe that if government regulate drugs such as cocaineand marijuana by imposing taxes, then the black market will be eliminated (Church 12). However, the higher the taxrate, the higher the price of the drugs, and not many users can afford to buy high priced drugs such as marijuana andcocaine. Therefore, they will have to go to drug gangs who sell marijuana and cocaine under the market price. Inaddition, children and teenagers will be obviously banned from purchasing marijuana and cocaine just as they areprohibited from buying beer and liquor. Nevertheless, there will be drug pushers who will continue to encourage theyoungsters and try to get them hooked to marijuana and cocaine. Hence, legalization will encourage a growing criminalblack market. The main benefit of marijuana legalization can be in medicine and will give patients with severe anddangerous diseases a new and effective medicine to help them. Yes, marijuana can help in medicine. Marijuana is oneof the safest therapeutically active substances known (Nagorney 1). One of marijuanaOs greatest advantages as amedicine is its re markable safety. It has little effect on major physiological functions. Marijuana is also far less addictiveand far less subject to abuse than many drugs ( Grinspoon and Bakalar 1875). Marijuana as medicine has beenstudied for many years. In some cultures, it is already used as medicine. There are many good uses for marijuana to beused as medicine which will be discussed. The problem is that in order to be used in United States as medicine,marijuana must be legalized. Many doctors already recommend that their patients break the law and get marijuana. .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .postImageUrl , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:hover , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:visited , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:active { border:0!important; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:active , .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u871f58612286b2df1528ce0bb7dc638e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Malcolm X EssayThatOs because there is a very strong evidence that marijuana works as a medicine. Marijuana is often useful in thetreatment of the following diseases: Cancer: Marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused bythe chemotherapy treatment. AIDS: Marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite caused by thedisease itself. Glaucoma: Marijuana by reducing intraocular pressure alleviates the pain and slows the progress of thedisease. This disease damages vision by gradually increasing eye pressure. It is the leading cause of blindness in UnitedStates. Multiple Sclerosis: Marijuana reduces the muscle pain and spastically caused by the disease. Epilepsy:Marijuana prevents epileptic seizures in some patients and allows more fresh areas of bronchi to open up. ChronicPain: Marijuana reduces the chronic often debilitating pain caused by a variety of injuries and disorders. In order to beeffective, marijuana must be taken daily. It seems to be the most effective three hours after dosage, and last for fivehours. Some critic contend that after taken for a period of time, the person may become tolerant to the drug andreduce effectiveness. This is true for a lot of pain relieving drugs. A person cannot rule out marijuana because it hasnot been proven that a person will develop tolerance. Marijuana could benefit as many as five million patients in theUnited States (Nagorney 2). This situation to many people is intolerable. Those patients who choose to stay within thelaw suffer and die, both from disease and from many prescription drugs that cause side effects. Nearly all medicineshave toxic, potentially lethal effec ts, but marijuana is not such a substance (Nagorney 2). This successful use ofmarijuana has given many patients a much more positive outlook on their treatment. There is now an enormousamount of public support of medical marijuana. A scientific survey of oncologist (cancer specialist) found that 54% ofthose control medical marijuana availability and 44% have already broken the law by obtaining marijuana illegally. Thirty-four states letting patients with certain conditions smoke dope (Foreman 25). States such as Texas, California,Massachusetts, etc., have recognized marijuanaOs therapeutic potential and have passed legislation supporting itsvalue. These reforms could be passed throughout the nation with the help of people like you. Meanwhile, the only wayfor patients to gain legal access to marijuana as medicine is from the doctor. The patient must get a written note fromthe government and participate in a special program setup for them. We know that legalization is neither a reasonablenor rational policy for this country. One of the things that bothers me most about legalization argument is the mixedmessage it sends to our young people. The legalization will advance a laissez-faire attitude about drugs. I believe thatwe must change public attitudes toward drugs and focus on prevention and treatment, but we must also maintain thelaws that make drugs illegal. Some of the drugs such as marijuana and cocaine should be legalized for medicalpurposes. Polls and voter referenda have repeatedly indicated that the vast majority of Americans think marijuanashould be medically available (Grinspoon and Bakalar 1875). A final important prevention strategy is to enforce thelaws against illegal drugs in order to control their availability. There are many uses for marijuana, and many areunexplored. Actually some are explored in depth because of interest and others are left behind. There are probablymany other uses that have not been found because of the lack of experimentation on the drug as a whole. If marijuanais legalized there will be much more research done on the drug, and hopefully the drug will begin to be approved foruse.