Drug Abuse in Canada :: Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse

Drug Abuse in Canada Introduction Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments. Canada’s Drug of Choice: Marijuana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contrary to popular belief the rate of illicit drug use is actually on the decline. The most commonly used drug in Canada is Marijuana. According to the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey, 44.5% of Canadians surveyed said that that used pot at least once in their lifetime.14.1% reported that they have used marijuana in the past twelve months. Those individuals that have used in the past year varies greatly, with 20.8% not having used at all in the past 3 months, while 204.9% claiming that they have used only once in the past 3 months. 16% reported that they used monthly, 20.3% was weekly, with only 18.1% reporting to be using daily. The province with the highest usage is British Columbia with an average that is significantly higher than the national level, at 52.1%. British Columbia also has the highest past year usage compared to the national average at 16.8%.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As with alcohol, men (50.1%) are more likely than their female counterparts (39.2%) to have used marijuana during their life time. The same sample of men (18.2%) and women (10.2%) have used marijuana in the past year. This is up from 5.7% for men and 2.4% for women in 1993, over three times higher for the men and four times for the women. The younger generations, like men, are more likely to use marijuana, with approximately 70% of those between the ages of 18-24 years old having tired it at least once. The youngest age group sampled, 15-17 years old, almost 30% of them used cannabis in the past year, peaking at 47% with the age group18 & 19 year olds. After this point usage within the past year tends to decline with only 10% of the population surveyed claiming they still use marijuana.

Coaching in the Workplace

DEVELOPING COACHING SKILLS FOR THE WORKPLACE ACTIVITY 1 Introduction In this report I will describe two types of coaching and how coaching can be directive and non-directive. Also, I will explain two differences between coaching and other learning and development methods. I will identify 3 benefits of coaching to the organization and an explanation of 3 ways that coaching can be used to meet organization objectives. Moreover, I will explain the meaning of coaching culture and therefore 2 options for developing it within an organization.And in conclusion, I will identify 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of developing in house coaching. 2 types of coaching * Sports Coaching: This is what many people think of when they hear the word â€Å"coach†. A â€Å"player† is helped to develop their skills by a â€Å"coach†. On the other hand, the term sports coach encompasses a wide range of roles and approaches, from the football manager on the touchline, through one-to-one coaches for athletes and players, to specialist coaches for fitness and health.There are also coaches who focus on the ‘mental game’, helping sports players fine-tune their psychological preparation for high-pressure events. * Executive coaching: is a form of business coaching which is typically aimed at developing senior managers, directors and key players within a business setting. It may enhance current performance, taking skills and abilities to a new level and help individuals adapt to new situations or it may address poor performance. This type of coaching may also be termed Leadership Coaching or Performance Coaching as it tends to target the same audience and similar issues.How coaching can be directive and non directive? 1. Directive: Is where the coach offers you solutions, tools and techniques for moving forward. You may like to be offered solutions however the danger is that the solution may not be appropriate for your situation and consequently may not feel fully committed to the solution provided. 2. Non-Directive: Is coaching in the true sense of the word where the coach simply asks you questions to allow you to find your own solutions. A on-directive coach will certainly not offer you advice and rarely even give you suggestions, although through skillful questioning they will help you to see your situation from a different perspective, gain clarity, uncover options, challenge inconsistencies and hold you accountable to your actions. 2 differences between coaching and other learning and development methods Other learning and development method chosen has been counseling that it means to give advice to someone. It’s a process in which a person is helped to explore the situation and find solution or answers for a problem.Therefore, counseling can be used to address psychosocial as performance issues and coaching does not seek to resolve any underlying psychological problems. It assumes a person does not require a psycho-social intervention. By counseling, the goal is to help people understand the root causes of long-standing performance problems and issues at work and by coaching, the goal is to improve an individual’s performance at work. 3 benefits of coaching * Greater aware about the company objectives * Better communication within teamwork Gives the purpose and vision to go ahead to the good way 3 ways that coaching can be used to meet organizational objectives * An improvement of the personal performance improves organizational performance with an increase of benefits * Improved cross functional interaction and efficiency. People do business with people and that means a better result of sales. * Greater efficiency through less fractious relationships and sulking and that improves staff retention and a creation of a great place to work. Many people would like to work to the company.Coaching Culture * It’s an organizational setting in which not only formal coaching occurs, but also, most or a large segment of individuals in the organization practice coaching behaviors a means of relating to, supporting and influencing each other 2 options for developing a coaching culture within an organization: * Training and developing house coaching: deliver training entirely in house or through fund payment of a consultant to deliver training to some employees as coaches. Basically it’s the internal coaching creates and designed in the company. Buying in coaching expertise: deliver coaching through external coaches’ experts and independents of the company. 3 advantages of developing in house coaching * Cost and available resources (cheaper) * Knowledge of business and industry (vision of the company goals, about what’s going on) * Can be flexible (any moment and any situation) 3 disadvantages of developing in house coaching * Confidentiality (without prejudice to the good faith contract of the company) * Willingness to open up (no feel comfortable) * Qualif ications and experience (risk bad coaching habits)

A Review of Tom Piazza’s City of Refuge Essay

It was mid-August on a hot summer day hurricane Katrina damaged a city, New Orleans, possibly for a lifetime. The novel: City of Refuge by Tom Piazza gives readers an omniscient point of view of two families lives during this tragic event. The Williams family from the Lower 9th Ward and the Donaldsons originally from the upper Midwest who had made their way to New Orleans share the same traumatic experience; in different ways of the levees breaking from hurricane Katrina changed both of their lives forever. On Friday morning Craig Donaldson saw on the news that Hurricane Katrina had moved into the Gulf, heading in their direction. Craig and Alice, his wife contemplated leaving the following day or the day after for Oxford, Mississippi. Saturday morning started out rocky. Malcolm, their son, woke up with a burning fever. With all of this going on Craig prepared for their evacuation by getting the house in order before Katrina hit on Sunday. Around mid-day they decided to get on the road; unfortunately, the highway was backed up. Craig then decided to take a different route on a two-lane highway; traffic flowed at first but that too got backed up. Due to the extensive amount of traffic and the effects of the storm, they stopped at a hotel. They had wanted to stay with Alice’s parents but there were too many complications of not having enough room space, so her mom says. They waited at the hotel until the weather was clear enough for them to continue driving. Alice’s mother insisted she call her Aunt Jean and Uncle Gus who lived in Chicago. After Alice made the phone call, they decided to make their journey back to the Midwest. When they arrived in Chicago her family presented them with great hospitality and said they could stay as long as they needed. Alice decided to enroll Annie their daughter into school. During this time Alice was still taking care of Malcolm and helping her aunt and uncle around the house. The hurricane took a toll on Craig. One particular day while at his favorite cafe shop called Blue Horizon he noticed everyone appeared to be in a â€Å"happy-go-lucky-mood,† and this began to irritate him. He became upset because everyone took their lives for granted; no one was experiencing what he was going through. Craig became depressed and easily irritated. There would be times where he would take a deep breath and tears would run down his face and he would not know why. He recognized these symptoms and labeled himself as having Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. He started to accept that his home in New Orleans would never be the same. Alice comforted him during this time, even though she was going through the same experience. After time went on, things started turning from bad to good. Craig received a phone call from his old college friend, Peter. Peter suggested that Craig write a column for the â€Å"CHI EYE†. They felt this would be a good way for Craig to vent and write about his evacuation experience as well as his experiences in Chicago. Peter told Craig he would receive $1000 a week for 1500 words. When Craig received his first check, he took Alice out on a romantic date. As weeks went by Alice settled in Chicago; she secretly started searching for apartments and houses. She looked at Chicago as the place where her growing family lived before they went to New Orleans. Alice enjoyed living back in the Midwest; she did not feel that the damaged city of New Orleans was a good place for her kids, and she did not want to live like an â€Å"urban pioneer† for the rest of her life. She was ready to settle down and New Orleans was not the place for her at the time. Alice brought to Craig’s attention that they could not live in her aunt and uncles attic any longer. She told Craig she was looking into their future by house hunting. Craig took the new information as a stab in the back. He felt hurt and betrayed by his wife because she did not want to move back to New Orleans. Craig felt that their family might not be able to make it during this rough time. He contemplated on whether he should leave and return back to what he called home (New Orleans) and break up the family or stay for the kids’ sake and feel like a disintegrate parent. Craig and Alice sat together and started expressing their feelings about how they felt on their current living situation. The heart to heart conversation made him realize he was making the wrong decision for his family. He was caught between starting a new life and returning to their old one. They both experienced self-knowledge during this time and achieved a new basis for themselves. They both realized that they were experiencing the same struggle, stress, and both wanted to be a happy. Although Alice had her opinion of New Orleans, she did miss the town but deep down Craig also wanted to start a new life. Craig has come to accept the idea of walking away from New Orleans; he saw how his friend, Bobby, experienced difficulty letting New Orleans go. Bobby and Jen, friends of the Donaldsons, became defensive when they heard Craig did not want to return to New Orleans because of Alice and their kids and also Alice’s concerns for the overall city. Craig tried to explain from Alice’s point of view why they should not return so that Bobby and Jen would understand. Craig and Bobby had different perspectives on the situation and completely different life styles. Bobby and Jen needed to realize that this was not a safe environment for Craig and Alice’s kids. They remained friends even with their new life differences. Craig returned to New Orleans acknowledging a new perspective; the importance of why he loved the city remained during Mardi Gras.