Revenue Recognition Essay

The issue of revenue recognition practices is an area that has received a lot of attention from regulators. Whenever there is a report of financial restatements or negative earnings, regulators pay extra attention to review the financial statements in order to verify that that there are not any indications of financial fraud or that the organization overstepped their boundaries in the area of managed earnings. The reason that regulators have taken a special interest in financial accounting and potential fraud is due to the collapses of companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. Regulators and those in the accounting profession are focusing their efforts on the causes of fraud as well as the steps that can be taken to effectively detect and prevent a possible reoccurrence of fraudulent behavior especially in the area of revenue recognition and the overstatement of assets. Revenue recognition refers to the time when transactions are recorded on the books, Per Generally Accepted Accoun ting Principles (GAAP), revenues, and gains, are generally recognized when: 1. Revenues are realized or are realizable 2. They have been earned the substantial completion of the activities involved in the earnings process. Both of these items are typically met at the point of sale, which generally occurs when goods are delivered or when services are rendered to the customer. Usually revenues and assets are recognized simultaneously. However, assets can be received before the conditions of revenue recognition are met. One example would be if a customer pays in advance for goods or services which will be received at a later date. Even though the cash is received and is recorded as an asset in the company’s books, the revenue has not been earned. Typically the revenue is not recognized prior to a sale because either the customer has not paid for the goods yet or because the goods have not been delivered to the customer. The main exception to not recognizing revenue prior to a sale would be when a contract exists that guarantee the sale or that the customer has promised a valid promise of payment such as when both the seller and the buyer are legally obligated to fulfill the term of a contract (Parizek & Findley, 2008). Another exception to the revenue recognition rule occurs when a product or service may be provided to the customer without receiving a valid promise of payment. This typically occurs with a family dentist who provides services to ease a patient’s pain and then tries to collect the  payment later. Also, if a company has a substantial amount of services to provide even though the customer has provided a substantial payment, the company must wait to recognize the revenue. It is not enough that one of the criteria for recognizing revue is met; both items must be satisfied in order for the recognition of revenue. Because every income statement begins with total revenue, how revenue is measured is a fundamental concept in the field of accounting and as such, the topic of revenue recognition has received a lot of attention over the course of the past few years. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has produced specific guides to help with the topic of revenue recognition in specific situations in certain industries. The AICPA Statement of Position (SOP) 97-2, â€Å"Software Revenue Recognition† contained the following four items (Parizek & Findley, 2008): 1. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists 2. Delivery has occurred. 3. The vendor’s fee is fixed or determinable. 4. Collectability is probable. These four items were used as the framework in the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101. The SAB 101 is a very unique and interesting bulletin because it provides specific cases and then proceeds with a questions and answer format. SAB was created in large part to the issues that the staff had encountered in while conducting a review. Because SAB 101 addresses specific situations, it cannot be used as an answer to every instance of revenue recognition, but it does provide a comprehensive guide for companies to use as a form of direction when faced with dealing with a complicated situation such as when there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement, delivery of goods has already occurred or services have been rendered or when the price is fixed or determinable (SEC, 1999). Questions 1 and 2 of SAB address the topic of Persuasive Evidence of an Arrangement and highlight how a seller could be tempted to bend the rules of revenue recognition in order for a more favorable time in which the sale is reported. The first question exhibited the case in which Company A required each sale to be supported by a written sales agreement signed by an authorized representative of both the customer and Company A. This issue was if Company A could recognize the revenue in the current quarter even if the  sales agreement would not be signed until a few days after the quarter had ended. This question highlighted the need for companies to have strong internal controls and the need to a reliable system to be in place for processing contracts. Without a strong internal control structure as well as clearly documented procedures, there is a possibility of managers becoming tempted to adjust how revenue is recognized based on the needs of the quarter. Questions 3 and 4 reviewe d the issue of ownership of goods and when the transfer had effectively taken place. Question 4 reviews the case of Company R that is a retailer that offers layaway sales to its customers. For the layaway option, a customer pays a portion of the sales price and Company R holds onto the merchandise until the customer returns to pay the balance remaining on the merchandise. Once the merchandise is paid in full, the customer can take possession of the merchandise. This case is an example of what is referred to as a ‘bill and hold’ arrangement where the customer is billed for the merchandise but the merchandise is held by the company for release or shipment at a later date. Question 4 is also an example of how some companies could manipulate their inventories at the end of a quarter. A company could increase revenue by pushing some of its merchandise in the warehouse aside and claim that it has already been sold but were being held for the customer. In order for the company to recognize the revenue they must be able to show that the merchandise is completely separate from its other merchandise and cannot be used for any other order. The company also must be able to show that the customer specifically requested in writing that the company hold the merchandise. Questions 5 and 6 reviewed revenue recognition when the company must perform several activities. Question 5 asks the question as to when Company H should recognize the revenue from an upfront, nonrefundable fee for an extended service contract along with regular, monthly payments. SAB 101 illustrates how the nonrefundable fee cannot be treated separately and must be treated as a part of the overall unit because no one would pay a deposit without expecting additional goods or services to follow (SEC, 1999). The questions 7, 8 and 9 in SAB 101 describe situations where the price may not fixed or determinable in the transaction. Question 8 describes how Company A owns a building and leases it to a retailer. The annual lease payment is $1.2 million plus one percent of all the retailer’s sales in excess of $25 million. It is probable that  sales during the year will exceed $25 million. Should Company A estimate and recognize revenue associated with the one percent of the sales over $25 million on a straight-line basis throughout the year? Because the buyer does not have any fixed or determinable obligation to make a payment until the $25 million sales level has been reached, none of the extra revenue can be estimated and recognized in advance. Question 10 in SAB 101 does not deal with when revenue should be recognized but instead how the revenue should be reported on the income statement. Question 10 discusses the situation where Company A operates an internet site where customers can order the products of another company, Company T. Company T ships directly to the customers and Company A never has any ownership of the merchandise but company A does receive a portion of each sale that Company T makes. Since Company A never takes legal ownership of the merchandise, it would be inappropriate for them to use the gross revenue reporting method where they would report $175 in revenue and $150 in cost of goods sold. Instead Company A should report the money that it earns from each sale as commission revenue. SAB 101 is not the only work that has tried to address the issue of revenue recognition. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working together on joint project that would create a single standard for revenue recognition. The project is intended to solve issues in the differences between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). FASB has listed the following six for the project (FASB,2012): 1. Converging U.S. and international standards on revenue recognition 2. Eliminating inconsistencies in the existing conceptual guidance on revenue recognition. 3. Providing conceptual guidance that would be useful in addressing future revenue recognition issues. 4. Eliminating inconsistencies in existing standards-level authoritative literature and accepted practices. 5. Filing voids in revenue recognition guidance that have developed over time 6. Establishing a single, comprehensive standard on revenue recognition In creating a new revenue recognition standard, the FASB and the IASB have adjusted their focus to realization and earnings approach instead of focusing on an asset and liability approach. To assist companies with the changes, FASB issued a proposal that broke down the revenue recognition process into five steps. The first step would be to match the  contract with the customer. The second step would be for the company to identify each step of the transaction with the customer. Third, the company would have to identify the transaction price of each separate act or obligation. In the fourth step, the company reviews how much it expects to receive for preforming each step with the company recognizing the revenue in the final step once the merchandise has been transferred to the customer (FASB, 2012). The work between FASB and IASB is still a work in progress but has strong support from several groups in the accounting community some of which have already laid a foundation to work from. In 1998 former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt delivered what is now considered to be a famous speech titled â€Å"The Numbers Game† in which he expressed great concern over how many companies engage in the practice of earnings management. In his speech Mr. Levitt identified several major accounting techniques that he thought were being used to undermine the integrity of financial reporting(Levitt, 1998). Mr. Levitt stressed how accounting involves significant judgment and he expressed concern that this judgment was being pushed aside by management due to the pressure that they were encountering to meet the numbers. Mr. Levitt mentioned the standards of objectivity, integrity and judgment in reporting accounting number and stressed that it was these standards that remain an integral part of the public accounting profession’s Code of Professional Conduct and form the foundation by which financial statements are compiled, audited and interpreted. He went on the say that the ethical dilemmas facing businesses and their accountants often revolve around the pressure placed upon companies by investors and creditors. These pressures can sometimes cause management to become involved in â€Å"accounting hocus pocus† (Levitt, 1998). Additionally, because accounting involves judgment, the reported accounting numbers can be significantly different depending on the assumptions made by those that are preparing the financial statements. Mr. Levitt stated that accounting principles â€Å"Allow for flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances† and it was this flexibility that creates many of the ethical issues that accountants are faced with. As companies come under pressure to report  favorable results, accountants also come under pressure to flex those rules almost to the point of breaking. Mr. Levitt gave credit to the Code of Professional Conduct for providing guidance to the public accounting profession members when they are faced with difficult issues (Levitt, 1998). Addressing the issues and establishing new policies and procedures is not enough in ensuring that companies are adhering to changes in methods. Communication must be maintained with those that work in the accounting profession so that they are also complying with the latest methods. In October of 2000, the Chief Accountant of the SE, Lynn Turner, wrote a letter to Ms. Arlene Thomas, the Vice President of the Professional Standards and Services office of the AICPA in order to inform auditors of topics that the SEC had been focusing their attentions on. Amount several topics that Ms. Turner included in her letter was the topic of revenue recognition. The letter discussed the issue of revenue fraud and how over half of the revenue frauds that were identified were due to companies that overstated their revenue because that had reported revenue either too early of deceptively (U.S., 2000). Ms. Turner stressed the importance for auditors to test cut off dates and stressed how auditors must place special focus and conduct testing that is above and beyond the reviewing of a few transactions. Ms. Turner also wanted to bring to of Ms. Thomas the issue that was raised with companies having â€Å"side agreements† with their customers which could alter the terms and conditions of the original contract. These adjustments could result in revenue being improperly recorded and that auditors should conduct thorough testing of contracts. This testing is important because it could assist the auditor with identifying if and side agreements exists and then can test the revenue accordingly. Ms. Turner went on to give praise to the AICPA for a document that they issued entitled â€Å"Audit Issues in Revenue Recognition† and stated how this document should be used by auditors for guidance when it comes to properly auditing revenue. Ms. Turner stated how some organizations can be quite complex and conduct several complex revenue transactions and by reading the terms and conditions of the contracts, auditors would be able to determine  the best course of action for conducting a proper and thorough audit (U.S., 2000). The topic of financial reporting fraud is one that will continue to remain the focus of the SEC, FASB and ISAB for some time to come. Revenue recognition will play a large role in the process as it encompasses two primary factors; management will need to use their own judgment in determining how their revenue should be recognized and that management should be prepared to have their judgments analyzed and questioned. By maintaining focus of the issues that have been identified, and keeping an eye out for possible future issues, the authorities can be certain that investors are making decisions based on accurate information. Constant training and communication between all agencies will ensure that the scandals and financial collapse of companies will not be repeated. References American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Accounting Standards Executive Committee Statement of Position 97-2, (1997) Software revenue recognition, p.08. FASB. (2012, October 13). Revenue recognition—joint project of the fasb and iasb. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/project/revenue_recognition.shtml Levitt, A. (1998, September 28). The numbers game. Retrieved from http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/speecharchive/1998/spch220.txt Parizek, G., & Findley, M. (2008). Charting a course: revenue reconition practices for toda’ys business environment. Journal of Accountancy, 20(3), 15-22. SEC. (1999, December 3). Sec staff accounting bulletin: No. 101 – revenue recognition in financial statements. Retrieved from http://sec.gov/interps/account/sab101.htm U.S., SEC. (2002, October 13). Letter: 2000 audit risk alert to the american institute of certified public accountants. Retrieved from http://www.sec.gov/info/accountantts/staffletters/audrsk2k.htm

Drug Abuse Prevention Essay

The term drug abuse most often refers to the use of a drug with such frequency that it causes physical or mental harm to the user or impairs social functioning. Although the term seems to imply that users abuse the drugs they take, in fact, it is themselves or others they abuse by using drugs. Traditionally, the term drug abuse referred to the use of any drug prohibited by law, regardless of whether it was actually harmful or not. This meant that any use of marijuana, for example, even if it occurred only once in a while, would constitute abuse, while the same level of alcohol consumption would not. In 1973 the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse declared that this definition was illogical. The term abuse, the commission stated, â€Å"has no functional utility and has become no more than an arbitrary code word for that drug presently considered wrong.† As a result, this definition fell into disuse. The term drug is commonly associated with substances that may be purchased legally by prescription for medical use, such as penicillin, which is almost never abused, and Valium, which is frequently abused, or illegal substances, such as angel dust, which are taken for the purpose of getting high, or intoxicated, but actually have no medical use. Other substances that may be purchased legally and are commonly abused include alcohol (see alcoholism) and nicotine, contained in tobacco cigarettes. In addition, in recent years, chemists working in illegal, clandestine laboratories have developed new chemicals that have been used for the purpose of getting high. (These are called â€Å"designer drugs†.) All of these substances are psychoactive. Such substancesÑlegal and illegalÑinfluence or alter the workings of the mind; they affect moods, emotions, feelings, and thinking processes. Drug Dependence Drug abuse must be distinguished from drug dependence. Drug dependence, formerly called drug addiction, is defined by three basic characteristics. First, users continue to take a drug over an extended period of time. Just how long this period is depends on the drug and the user. Second, users find it difficult to stop using the drug. They seem powerless to quit. Users take extraordinary and often harmful measures to continue using the drug. How dependency-producing a drug is can be measured by how much users go through to continue taking it. Third, if users stop taking their drugÑif their supply of the drug is cut off, or if they are forced to quit for any reasonÑthey will undergo painful physical or mental distress. The experience of withdrawal symptoms distress, called the withdrawal syndrome, is a sure sign that a drug is dependency-producing and that a given user is dependent on a particular drug. Drug dependence may lead to drug abuseÑespecially of illegal drugs. Psychoactive, or mind-altering, substances are found the world over. The coca plant grows in the Andes of South America and contains 1 to 2 percent cocaine. The marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa, contains a group of chemicals called tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. This plant grows wild in most countries, including the United States. The opium poppy is the source for opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine. It grows in the Middle East and the Far East. Hallucinogens (such as LSD), the amphetamines (speed), and sedatives, such as methaqualone (Quaalude, or ludes) and barbiturates, are manufactured in clandestine laboratories worldwide. As a result, psychoactive drugs are used for the purpose of intoxication practically everywhere (see drug trafficking). Classification of Psychoactive Drugs Pharmacologists, who study the effects of drugs, classify psychoactive drugs according to what they do to those who take them. Drugs that speed up signals passing through the nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord, and produce alertness and arousal and, in higher doses, excitability, and inhibit fatigue and sleep, are called stimulants. They include the amphetamines, cocaine, caffeine, and nicotine. Drugs that retard, slow down, or depress signals passing through the central nervous system and produce relaxation, a lowering of anxiety, and, at higher doses, drowsiness and sleep, are called depressants. They include sedatives, such as barbiturates, methaqualone, and alcohol, and tranquilizers, such as  Valium. Constituting one distinct kind of depressants are those which dull the mind’s perception of pain and in medicine are used as painkillers, or analgesics. These drugs are called narcotics. They include heroin, morphine, opium, and codeine. In addition to their painkilling properties, these depressants also produce a strong high and are intensely dependency-producing. Some drugs cannot be placed neatly in this stimulant-depressant spectrum. Hallucinogens include LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. Such drugs produce unusual mental states, such as psychedelic visions. Marijuana is generally regarded as not belonging to any of these categories but as a drug type unto itself. History of Drug Abuse in the United States During the 19th century there were virtually no controls on the importation, sale, purchase, possession, or use of psychoactive drugs at the federal level and very few at the state level. Dangerous substances such as opium, cocaine, and morphine were basic ingredients in patent medicines that could be purchased by anyone for any reason, without a prescription. These nostrums were used to cure headaches, toothaches, depression, nervousness, alcoholism, menstrual crampsÑin fact, practically every human ailment. As a result of the ready availability of addicting drugs, and as a result of their heavy use for medical problems, many individuals became addicted to the narcotics contained in these patent medicines. In fact, in 1900, there were more narcotics addicts, proportionate to the population, than there are today. At that time, most of the users who became addicts were medical addicts. Very few abusers took drugs for â€Å"recreational† purposes. In 1914, in an effort to curb the indiscriminate use of narcotics, the federal government passed the Harrison Act, making it illegal to obtain a narcotic drug without a prescription. During the 1920s the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that maintaining addicts on narcotic drugs, even by prescription, was in violation of the Harrison Act. Approximately 30,000 physicians were arrested during this period for dispensing narcotics, and some 3,000 actually served prison sentences. Consequently, doctors all but abandoned the treatment of addicts for nearly half a century in the United States. The use of narcotic drugs dropped sharply in the United States between the 1920s, when there were as many as half a million addicts, and 1945, when the addict population was roughly 40,000 to 50,000. The recreational use of other drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, hallucinogens, and sedatives, which are used so frequently today, also remained at extremely low levels during this period. The 1960s, however, was a watershed decade. The widening use of illegal drugs accompanied increased tolerance for a wide range of unconventional behavior. The period saw the growth of movements that stood in opposition to the Vietnam War and to mainstream American culture, the coming into popularity of rock music, and enormous publicity devoted to drugs, their users and proselytizers. During this time some social groups viewed drug use in positive terms and believed it a virtue to â€Å"turn on† someone who did not use drugs. Although media attention to drugs and drug use declined between the late 1960s and late 1970s, the use of drugs did not. The late 1970s and 1980s represent another turning point in the recreational use of marijuana, hallucinogens, sedatives, and amphetamines. Studies show a large drop in the use of most drug types through the 1980s, but a significant increase since 1990. The 1980s witnessed the development of a new form of an old drug (crack), the widespread use of a drug that was not previously taken on a recreational basis (â€Å"Ecstasy,† or MDMA), and the resurgence of a drug that was widely abused in the 1960s but then fell into disuse for a time (methamphetamine, or â€Å"ice†). Crack is a smokable derivative of cocaine that began to be used on a widespread basis starting in 1985; heavily abused in the inner cities in the late 1980s, it has since fallen off in use. Chemically related to amphetamines, MDMA was developed early in the 20th century as an appetite suppressant; it is not easily classified, although most observers regard it as a hallucinogen. In the 1980s it had a brief vogue among college students, intellectuals, and psychiatric patients seeking spiritual and therapeutic insight; its use has declined into the 1990s. Methamphetamine had a brief run among â€Å"speed freaks† in the late 1960s, who took huge intravenous doses on a compulsive, addicting basis. In 1989 â€Å"ice† emerged on the West Coast as  a drug of choice. Its use has been far greater in some areas than others, and no national epidemic of methamphetamine abuse has developed. Patterns of Drug Use The illegal use of psychoactive drugs is extensive in the United States. Some 78 million Americans age 12 and over have tried at least one or more prohibited drugs for the purpose of getting high. The illegal drug trade represents an enormous economic enterprise, with annual gross sales estimated to be $40 to $100 billionÑmore than the total net sales of the largest U.S. corporation. About 60 percent of the illegal drugs sold worldwide end up in the United States. By far the most commonly used illegal drug is marijuana. Roughly half of the total of all illegal drug use involves marijuana alone. There was a substantial decline in all measures or levels of marijuana use throughout the 1980s. In 1979, 31% of 12-to-17-year-olds and 68% of 18-to-25-year-olds had at least tried marijuana; by 1990 the comparable figures had shrunk to 15% and 52%. Since 1990 the use of marijuana has risen significantly, especially among schoolchildren. In 1990, 27% of high school seniors had used marijuana during the past year, while in 1996 this was 36 percent; the rise among eighth- and tenth-graders was even sharper. Cocaine is the second most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. In 1995 there were roughly 1.5 million monthly or more cocaine users in the United States, a decline from 5.7 million in 1985. Heroin is less widely used, but it has been used at least once by roughly one American in 100. Most people who have taken illegal drugs have done so on an experimental basis. They typically try the drug once to a dozen times and then cease using it. Of all illegal drugs, marijuana is the one users are most likely to continue using. Discontinuation rates are very high for drugs such as methaqualone, sedatives, barbiturates, heroin, and LSD. Even most regular users of illegal drugs are moderate in their use. The typical regular marijuana smoker is an occasional user. Still, a sizable minority does use the drug frequently, to the point of abuse. In 1996 about 5% of all high  school seniors used marijuana daily or nearly daily (20 or more times in 30 days). A pattern of episodic, regular use characterizes nearly all drug use for the purpose of recreation. This does not deny the problem of the heavy, chronic abuser of these drugs. Drug Law Enforcement In 1970 the Congress of the United States passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act (Drug Control Act). Most of the states followed suit, basing their state legislation on the federal model. The Drug Control Act distinguishes among several categories of drugs based on their supposed abuse potential and medical utility. Drugs that supposedly have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use, including heroin, LSD and the other hallucinogens, and marijuana, may be used legally only in federally approved scientific research. In roughly half of the states, marijuana has been approved for medical use, but it remains illegal by federal law. In practice, the criminal justice system distinguishes between â€Å"hard† and â€Å"soft† drugs; it is unlikely that a first-time offender arrested for small-quantity marijuana possession will ever serve a prison sentence. Drugs such as morphine, cocaine, the amphetamines, and short-acting barbiturates are also regarded as having great abuse potential, even though they have accepted uses in medicine. Rigid prescription procedures maintain extremely tight controls over use. Drugs such as long-acting barbiturates and nonnarcotic painkillers are considered to have a lesser abuse potential, although they may lead to low physical dependence or high psychological dependence. These drugs have more relaxed controls, as do tranquilizers, and are classified as having low abuse potential. There has been a notable drop in the number of prescriptions written for psychoactive drugs that were most often abused in the 1960s and early 1970s. By the mid-1990s the number of prescriptions written for barbiturates and the amphetamines was one-tenth of what it was in 1970. Many other countries have also placed severe restrictions on the prescribing of drugs by doctors and have thus greatly reduced the frequency of their abuse. Restricting psychoactive pharmaceuticals brought about a reduction in the number of legal prescriptions written for them. A decline in the illegal street use of these same drugs lagged a few years behind the decline in legal prescriptions. In 1975, 11% of high school seniors said that they had taken barbiturates for nonmedical purposes during the previous year; in 1996, that figure was 5%. For methaqualone, completely outlawed in 1985, the comparable figures were 5% and 1%. The illegal use of amphetamine in the mid-1990s is half of what it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, many forms of nonmedical drug use among the young have risen since the early 1990s. The demand for drugs for illegal purposes remains high despite law-enforcement efforts. In 1996 there were about 1.5 million arrests on drug violations in the United States; drug arrests have nearly doubled over the past decade. Each year there are roughly 300,000 arrests on marijuana charges, and nearly 80% are for simple possession. The risk of arrest does not deter substantial numbers of Americans from selling and using illegal drugs. Treatment From the 1920s until the 1960s treatment for drug abuse in the United States was practically nonexistent. Following the enforcement of the Harrison Act during the 1920s, few physicians were willing to treat addicts. During the 1930s two Public Health Service prison hospitals were opened, but their patients had a relapse rate of roughly 80%; during the 1970s the federal government closed them down. Since the 1920s the primary treatment program for most addicts has been no treatment at all; until recently, arrest has simply resulted in incarceration and therefore forcible detoxification. The dramatic explosion in the use and abuse of a number of illegal drugs during the 1960s demonstrated the weakness of this approach. As a result, a range of treatment programs, developed largely in the 1960s, have been widely used. Methadone is an addictive synthetic narcotic used to combat narcotic addiction. A hospital or a clinic administers the drug, usually dissolved in  artificial orange juice drink. Taken this way, the addict does not get high. Methadone blocks the action of narcotics so that addicts cannot become high, even if they were to inject heroin. According to the program’s rationale, addicts will then stop taking heroin. Although patients remain addicted to methadone, they can live a normal life, since the drug supply is steady and secure. Plus, they are no longer exposed to health risks like AIDS and hepatitis from shared needles used for injecting drugs. Because the program is inexpensive to administer, methadone has become a very popular form of treatment; roughly 100,000 narcotic addicts in the United States are treated in this program. The drug naltrexone has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating alcoholism and heroin addiction, in concert with an appropriate counseling program. Naltrexone reduces cravings for alcohol and heroin, thereby decreasing relapse rates. Therapeutic communities (TCs), such as Daytop Village in New York and Walden House in San Francisco, advocate a completely drug- and alcohol-free existence. Addicts live in the therapeutic communities, and many of the administrators are ex-addicts, who can best understand the addict residents. The view of all TCs is that the addict uses drugs as a crutch. TCs attempt to resocialize the addict by inculcating a value system that is the opposite of what prevailed on the street. Discipline in therapeutic communities is strict, penalties for breaking rules are severe, peer pressure is unrelenting, and the program benevolently dictatorial. Because of the strictness, many residents leave against the advice, and without the permission, of the staff. TCs seem to be effective for a limited segment of the addict populationÑthose who are young, middle-class, and highly motivated to quit drugs. The programs are expensive to administer; there are far fewer patients in them than in methadone-maintenance programs. The Legalization Debate In the 1990s there has been a strong call among some experts, politicians, judges, and government officials for the removal of all criminal penalties  for the sale, possession, and use of illegal drugs. This development has taken place at a time when public opposition to such a policy has actually grown. The legalization or decriminalization program rests on three assumptions: drug abuse will not rise significantly under legalization; these illegal drugs are less harmful than the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco and are less harmful than generally believed; and the current policy of arresting and imprisoning for drug possession and sale does more harm than good. No one can know for sure whether drug use and abuse will rise, fall, or remain stable under legalization. In nine U.S. states and in the Netherlands, where small-quantity marijuana possession has been partially decriminalized, there has been no sharp rise in the use of this drug. Evidence suggests, however, that criminalization of some drugs has produced lower use and abuse, and that legalization, if accompanied by lower cost and ready availability, might result in a significant rise in use and abuse. For example, legal controls on certain prescription drugs has been followed by a decline in their illegal street use. In addition, the continuance rates of the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco are strikingly higher than for illegal drugs. For the most part, the use of the illegal drugs tends to be more sporadic and occasional, and more likely to be given up, than the use of legal drugs. In the United States, outlawing the sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 21 has produced a significant decline in its use, as well as in the number of alcohol-related fatalities in this age group. Many current users, abusers, and addicts state that they would take drugs more frequently if drugs were legalized and readily available. And contrary to the stereotype, evidence suggests that, during prohibition (1920-33), alcohol consumption dropped significantly. There is much information to indicate that the abuse of drugs might very well rise under a policy of legalization or decriminalization. The prolegalization groups are almost certainly right that crime and certain medical maladies among drug abusers would decline if drugs were legalized. Perhaps a â€Å"third path† somewhere between the current punitive policy and  full legalization would be most effective. Needle exchange programs have cut down on drug-related AIDS transmission in Liverpool, England. The Dutch policy of de facto decriminalization for marijuana and hashish has not resulted in a rise in use or abuse. Perhaps the guiding policy on drug use ought to be on harm reduction rather than waging a war on drug abuse. Some aspects of this policy should include a flexible or selective enforcement, vastly expanding drug treatment programs, needle exchange programs, a distinction between â€Å"hard† (cocaine and heroin) and â€Å"soft† drugs (marijuana), expanding antidrug educational efforts, and focusing on reducing the use and abuse of tobacco and alcohol. The first priority should be to make sure that the users and abusers harm themselves and others as little as possible.

The Definition of Subject Matter for Inventions and Patents

Definition: Subject matter is what something is about. In artwork, the subject matter would be what the artist has chosen to paint, draw or sculpt. In patent law, the subject matter would be the technical content of a patent or patent application found in the description, claims, and drawings. In other words, the subject matter is what the inventor has chosen to invent, and in a patent application, the inventor must reveal the subject matter (invention) in a way dictated by law. Examples: Example 1 The specification must conclude with a claim particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention or discovery. Example 2 The distinction between patentable and unpatentable subject matter continues to be a topic of debate among software developers, academics, lawyers, and USPTO examiners. Example 3 The patented subject matter and additional subject matter still pending in the US and foreign patent offices includes claims to methods and devices for delivering medicinal substances to the interior of cells in various body tissues

The Is The Greatest Technological Age Yet - 2237 Words

We are the greatest technological age yet. Which means we are going to make things that were only dreamed of years ago. One of these dreams talked about long ago and still today is cloning -making an exact identical match of something- in the book Jurassic Park they show this with dinosaurs taking DNA from bones and eggs and creating an exact match. Although the book showed how terribly wrong this could go it also exemplifies how great cloning can be. The book starts with an entrepreneur with a dream, so they take an island way off the coast and use scientists to experiment with cloning DNA to make dinosaurs this eventually works and they build a park or an attraction where people can come see these creatures and learn more about them†¦show more content†¦They started with the idea of cloning and everything in the book would revolve around this throughout the book. To show that this is an issue they took a bad side effect of what could’ve happened if dinosaurs were created and held for attraction. Although dinosaurs being cloned still sounds unrealistic says someone on the learn genetics website located in Utah (learn genetics, 2). cloning has begun on mammals such as the first mammal ever cloned and it would be named dolly the sheep. Dolly would later die of causes that were not related to the experiment according to scientists who looked after her. (cloning, 1) â€Å"The real issue is what Dolly died from, and w hether it was linked to premature ageing. She was not old--by sheep standards--to have been put down. --Dr. Patrick Dixon, expert on ethics of human cloning. Cloning although may seem simple â€Å"a clone is a genetically identical copy of an organism, and it may be naturally occurring or created in the lab. Through the process of asexual reproduction, organisms such as bacteria (and some plants) create offspring that are genetically identical to the parent.† (cambell, 1). Dolly portrays positive effects of cloning such as testing drug responses. Alternatively, with animals such as chicken and cows being cloned they can be used for food and other medical question they would be almost impossible to solve if we did not have two

A Complex Behaviour Change Failing to Address the Habit...

I found through self-exploration that out of the seven Dimensions of Wellness my emotional wellness was the area that seemed to be the unhealthiest. I realized that I was a very stressed person and that it affected me in almost all areas of my life. I was able to ascertain that my stress was a direct result of ignoring my own limitations on work load therefore taking on far more than I could handle in the amount of time I had to use. I attempted to decrease my stress through acknowledging my time constraints and taking on projects that would fit easily within my schedule. Through decreasing my workload I expected my relationship with friends and family to become healthier and less strained; as well, I foresaw that I would be happier,†¦show more content†¦I also spoke with my employer and finally came to the realization that I needed to actually terminate my job in order to gain some of the stress-free lifestyle that I was striving for. However, while I freed my nights fro m a paying job I then filled it with the un-paying requests of friends and coaches. The reinforcing factors of my initial plan were to investigate the amount of time needed to complete the tasks prior to committing to them, however this as well never came to fruition, instead I accepted them blindly with little or no regard for time constraints. Originally I had planned on using a strategy of breaking the process of change down into smaller goals so that I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed and would be able to experience success throughout my behaviour change. Unfortunately I did not do this, instead I took one giant leap in quitting my job thus creating what I thought was a multitude of free time to complete other tasks not employment related. Instead of experiencing small successes along the way I ended up with instant gratification which quickly went away as I began filling up that time with other new tasks not previously on my to-do list. I had also planned on speaking to fr iends in hopes to find some peer support in this endeavour, however first I quit my job and then went to speak with them. AsShow MoreRelatedSelf Defeating Behaviour2650 Words   |  11 Pagestreatment of self-defeating behaviour. The approaches should be selected from those introduced in module 5.† 2530 Words â€Å"Self-defeating behavior is the idea that sometimes people knowingly do things that will cause them to fail or bring them trouble. It is defined as â€Å"any deliberate or intentional behavior that has clear, definitely or probably negative effects on the self or on the self’s projects.† (Wikipedia: Self-Defeating Behavior) The concept of and theories behind why a person behavesRead MoreDeath like life is an inevitable occurrence in the human experience and according to Sigmund Freud,2300 Words   |  10 Pagesthe onset of symptoms. This definition is commonly used in Jamaica. It can occur in infants and adult alike and in any environment. 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Additionally, it can be stated that most of the shareholders in a given privateRead MoreThe Effects of Advertising on Children33281 Words   |  134 Pages...................................... 21 Attention, recognition and recall................................................................................................. 21 Australian Communications and Media Authority 1 Preferences and behaviour .......................................................................................................... 22 Repetition and advertising effectiveness..................................................................................... 22 ConclusionsRead MoreThe Issues Of Companies Act Of 20067516 Words   |  31 Pagesrelationship of shareholders (V.H., 2008). Given that relational breakdown tends to occur because of various underling factors and these are the main causes of disputes among shareholders of a firm. 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Haiti free essay sample

This essay looks at the history of Haiti, the revolution, how it is governed, and its leaders. This paper examines the concepts of nationalism, democracy and revolution in the context of Haiti. The author explores the creation of the countrys statehood, the first autonomous Caribbean nation to overthrow colonial power. The paper also discusses the history of Haitis government and its leaders. The Haitian Revolution of 1789 is among the best examples of revolutionary change in history. In thirteen years of both internal and international strife, a colony populated predominantly by plantation slaves overthrew both its colonial status as well as its economic system and in doing so established a new country. This new country was made entirely up of free people, many of whom had been slaves, constituting the political authority. Being the first Caribbean state to claim its independence, Haiti was not only dealing with France , they also needed to overcome the fact that it was distinctively alone in terms of its situation. We will write a custom essay sample on Haiti or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The nature of the recent Revolutionary War in North America was more political than social or economic and so it provided no model for Haiti to follow. There was no other country to turn to for support. Despite the obstacles, the Haitians successfully revolted against the French and established a new nation.

The elf and the vampire Review Essay Example

The elf and the vampire Review Paper Essay on The elf and the vampire Familiarity with samizdat became for me an acquaintance with the authors of Russian fantasy, one of the first in the list was Yelena Cartura. Started reading the book in electronic form, I like the old-fashioned lady, hurried to find her on paper. What do we have in the end? Adventure novel in the fantasy world of the series: our there, or simply popadantsy. Popadanka in this particular case the girl Nastya, nevovremya met in mortal life with icicle (which is very important for our present urban reality) and, as it turns out later, just in time with an experimental necromancer from another world. Through the efforts of this pundit, she received the body of an elf like, all right, but the thing now it is a boy, and sitting in the same cell with a vampire! But, as befits any decent heroine, Anastasia will solve this problem. How? Thats right, with the help of his neighbor vampire. On this about the story all begin debriefing. We will write a custom essay sample on The elf and the vampire Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The elf and the vampire Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The elf and the vampire Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The book seemed patchy, in some places too stretched and artificially-dynamic (action is not always good, sometimes you want to, and the inner world of the characters to learn more), and places of it could not be put down. In terms propisaniem worst mid it was when visited thoughts: Do not throw the reading? Like, not entirely nonsense, and the heroes are buried in a sea of ​​adventure but something is missing. But I had survived the crisis, and for good reason the final pleased Language.. I have big issues to the Editor, and smaller to the author. Honestly, I got my permanent yeah at the end of sentences and repetition of the phrase good kalamburchik 3 pages in the first section. Thank God kalamburchik by mid-ended, and aha thinned out a bit. Jokes. There are some places funny Emphasizing skirmish with Tay Eulmont and the description related to them, Anton, but in general not Ilf and Petrov. Too much strained his ears, though elfyachi)))) Summary: a good book to pass the evening. Spitting will not, can even re-read, but to your favorite list it is unlikely to fall. Just fun well made mean fantasy, which, in itself, is not bad.