Drugs

Jul 27, 2010

SHE made the headlines by stomping on the roof of a taxi early this year and then lying down in the middle of Hougang Avenue 9, causing vehicles to come to a screeching halt.

On Tuesday, Huynh Thanh Ha appeared contrite in the dock of a district court. With tears running down her cheeks, the Vietnamese national pleaded guilty to taking drugs the night before her bizarre behaviour and was jailed six months for drug consumption.

The 19-year-old, who is married to a Singaporean, was also jailed two weeks for endangering public safety by acting rashly and lying down in the middle of a road. As the second sentence was ordered to run concurrently, she will serve only six months behind bars.

Asking the court to impose a lenient sentence on Huynh, her lawyer Tan Cheng Kiong told the court that his client had marital woes. She had married a 39-year-old Singaporean man in July last year but found it difficult to settle down here. She would try to drown her sorrows with liquor and on Feb 15 she met a Vietnamese woman who passed her a red pill which her new friend claimed would make her feel much better.

Instead, Huynh ended up intoxicated and committing offences such as lying on a busy road the next morning, the lawyer said. Two other charges for causing damage amounting to $428 by stomping on the roof of the taxi and ignoring police warnings to calm down, were taken into consideration by the judge when sentencing.

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Conclusion: Huynh Thanh Ha stomped on the roof of a taxi and laid down in the middle of Hougang Avenue 9, causing distruption to the traffic after drugs consumption and she was jailed for 6 months and charged $428 for the damage of the roof of the taxi.

People take drugs because they like what the drugs do to their brains. All drugs of abuse, from nicotine to heroin, cause a series of temporary changes in the brain that produce the "high" feeling.

One of these changes is the rise in available levels of certain neurotransmitters associated with feelings of pleasure. Among these is dopamine, a naturally occurring neurotransmitter that some scientists now think is implicated in most of the basic human experiences of pleasure.

A bowl of favorite ice cream or a compliment may all be related to a rise in dopamine levels in the normal person's brain. Also, drugs boost dopamine levels. When a person takes cocaine, or a cigarettem, the drugs cause a rise in dopamine levels in the brain, a rush of euphoria, or pleasure. Although it's not the only chemical involved in drug abuse, experts believe that dopamine is the crucial one.
Dopamine teaches" people to repeat the behavior of abusing drugs mainly because of the euphoric effects.


Although some drugs can be helpful such as atibiotics, they are a lot of other harmful drugs which can cause serious health problems if taken in large amount.

Drugs not only causes health problems, it affects out ability to make rational decisions hence we should not abuse drugs as not only they did not solve our problems, they would add on to our problems.

Suicides rise in S'pore

Jul 26, 2010


SUICIDES rose in Singapore last year as the economy went into a recession. A total of 401 people took their own lives, up from 364 in 2008.

In the latest statistics released on Monday by the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS), a helpline dedicated to suicide prevention, the rate of suicide went up from 8.76 per 100,000 residents in 2008 to 9.35 last year as Singapore battled its worst recession.

While suicide rates have been known to rise during bad times, the SOS statistics are showing more worryingly, that suicide rates among youths are on the rise as well.

The total number of suicides among those aged 10 to 19 years reached a six-year high in 2009, with 19 youths taking their own lives. This is a stark 58 per cent jump from a year earlier when 12 suicide cases among youths were reported.

Based on statistics from 1991 to now, there has been three clear peaks in suicide rates among youths in Singapore, occuring in 1998, 2001 and 2009, all of which coincided with the economic instability.

During the Asian financial crisis in 1998, youth suicides jumped from 22 deaths from 14 the year before. Similarly, youth suicides hit a record 27 deaths in 2001 during the economic downturn.

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My opinions: The summary of the article is that all three peaks in suicide rate among youths from age 10 to 19 coincided with the economic instability, and that sucidide among youth is increasing. Also, in 2008 there were 12 youths committed suicide and the number jumped to 19 this year.

Economic poses stress on people. When people are faced with problems, they seek solution and if can't, they think that suicide is the only way out.

However, suicide is not a permanent solution.

It not only destroy your own future, it is a very irresponsible act to your family members, relatives and friends.

Before we do anything rash or silly, we have to think of our family members, especially our parents who raise us up. Who will take care of them when they are old and weak?

Hence, we should not seek suicide as it is irresponsible, and it's not the only solution.

If we see people who are prone to seek their own lifes, it's best to ask them about their problems or refer them to an adult they can trust, or even a counsellor, as it is best to talk things out before they do anything impulsive.