Ever wonder how your city compares to the rest of the world? Well lucky for you there’s a scientific system that will show how your city measures across the globe. The most up-to-date system of international quota and best way to compare cities is the ISO 37120, which works to measure the quality of food, environment, health care, business, government standards, and overall quality of life through a measurement of carefully calculated standards. Here is everything you need to know about ISO 37120, the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards.

What is ISO?

History of ISO

In 1946, 25 countries came together to devise a tool that could track, benchmark, and improve city services and living conditions. Their goal was to improve the quality of cities by “[creating] strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors, and increasing productivity…help companies to access new markets, level the playing field for developing countries and facilitate free and fair global trade.” After a year of collaboration, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) officially emerged and began recruiting more countries to participate in its global effort.

Click here to read the ISO’s full story.

How does ISO work?

The ISO is a non-governmental organization that is financed through the sale of electronic standards to members. It works to create a system of measurements geared toward a city’s performance in different areas of operation and production. ISO conducts an analysis of economics, business, and other fundamental principles of a functional municipality, then creates “requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics, that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose.” ISO then devises several implementation methods for almost guaranteed success and prosperity in a  city’s various industries, such as business, government, food, environment, and energy.

The ISO system is uniform and consistent in its measurements in order to conduct a fair analysis of each city’s quality, and can accurately enact or recommend a specific policy for areas in which certain cities may lack. The system adheres to a specific assessment to assure that the test remains completely objective and results in an accurate measurement. There are six statutes that the ISO agrees to maintain at an international level: transparency; openness; impartiality and consensus; relevance and effectiveness; coherence; and country interests. This allows for a scientific and fair system of evaluation.

Click here to read the ISO in Brief.

Click here to see a visual representation of ISO.

Members of ISO

ISO is funded through the sale of subscriptions to members worldwide. There are 163 member countries, each with one representative who attends conferences and meetings to discuss standards and strategies for implementation. Member countries are separate from their measured cites in that a member country does not designate each city to participate. Cities make the decision to participate independently of their federal governments, and often include the feedback of businesses and local governments, and they are assessed individually, separate from their countries. The role of the country members is to decipher the needs of their cities and create policy to improve overall quality of life.

Benefits of the ISO System 

Cities that participate in ISO 37120 will benefit in the following ways:

• More effective governance and delivery of services
• International benchmarks and targets
• Local benchmarking and planning
• Informed decision making for policy makers and city managers
• Learning across cities
• Leverage for funding and recognition in international entities
• Leverage for funding by cities with senior levels of government
• Framework for sustainability planning
• Transparency and open data for investment attractiveness
• Comparable data for city decision making, insight and global benchmarking

The benefits of being a part of the ISO standard are clear in that cities receive expert advice, regulations, and guidelines; productivity will inevitably increase, and the overall quality of life improves for the city’s residents. Business, government, and society can all prosper when put up against international standards and given a sense of stability and regularity.

Is this system a requirement for cities?

Cities are not legally required to register for ISO 37120, yet they may receive pressure from several different sources to do so. According to former World Bank official Dan Hoornweg, “It’s a potential game changer for world cities and everyone who works for cities, for journalists evaluating city performance, for the World Bank in determining grants and more.” With cities openly sharing information on services, this will create more competition and encourage cities to raise the bar on the services that they provide. Cities want to keep up with this international rat race.

 ISO Technology and Graphic Standards

One way that ISO profits and upholds its mission is by selling its electronically documented standards to cities. A catalog of 19,500 international standards are available for purchase on the ISO website.

ISO is largely based in an online platform. This allows countries to collaborate internationally and to ease technical communications. This focus on technological development also made ISO services more readily available to the less developed countries. In 2013, El Salvador, Uganda, and Rwanda all became members of the ISO online community.  Also in 2013, ISO created online stores; now 19 countries can sell ISO products (graphic decals, standards, and country codes).

Cities that participate in the ISO system have the option to buy graphic decals in virtual or physical form to illustrate how to operate a product or signify its validity based on the ISO system’s standard and seal of approval.

How does ISO 37120 benefit developing countries?

Using the ISO 37120 can have a positive impact on developing nations. This standard gives those countries a model of what standards to strive for. According to ISO: Action Plan for Developing Countries, there are several areas that the ISO would like to work on, including: agriculture, construction, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, distribution, transport, medical devices, information and communication technologies, the environment, energy, quality management, conformity assessment, and services. Working on  issues in developing nations creates a global community in which they receive collaborative support to create a more prosperous and functional community.

One way that ISO works to  encourage development in third world countries is to hold a contest every two years. The German Institute for Standardization, a member of ISO, is  hosting the contest this year for young professionals in developing countries. This year the theme is: ‘Sustainable energy future: How can standards help meet the challenge?’ The winner will receive a trip with paid expenses to the German Institute for Standardization, where they will receive professional training on business and management. Efforts such as this target the youth in less-developed nations, and stimulate thoughts and instills drive in the future of these nations.

Click here to read the ISO Action Plan for Developing Countries

Standards of Evaluation

Click here to see a full list of ISO 37120 indicators.

Health

A city’s overall quality of health is generally measured by the following indicators: A citizen’s average life expectancy; the mortality rate of children who are under the age of five years old; the number of doctors and hospital beds per 100,000 population; the number of people who live in poor conditions or slums (this is also a measure for economic standing ); and the amount of solid waste, both produced and recycled.

• Emergency services and fatalities: How a city responds to emergencies also factors into a city’s quality. The number of firefighters, fire-related deaths, and deaths from natural disasters per every 100,000 population measures the quality of emergency response systems and effectiveness for unpredictable  occurrences. The ISO also measures the number of police per 100,000 people, as well as the number of homicides.
• Issues at the forefront in Health: ISO has made some helpful advancements in health within the past year. In cancer research, an advancement in digital technology was made to help in identifying breast cancer. A mammogram is an x-ray of the breasts that detects abnormal or cancerous cells. The ISO system has successfully made it possible for digital images to be transmitted clearly from facility to facility. Kevin O’Donnell, a technological expert at ISO, said: “Thanks to the standard, images can be read on any equipment. The DICOM format allows these images to be uploaded and reviewed wherever they are taken.  Being able to compare current images to prior images to get a sense of changes and progression, or lack thereof, is vital for radiologists and oncologists.”

Click here to view more ISO issues ISO.

Improving Standards

To improve health standards ISO mainly focuses on upgrading the level of care by implementing new technologies and developing a more efficient and effective system in handling general health and medical crises.

Food Standards

The ISO food standards are constantly being improved. Food regulations include transportation, storage, and production. Academic, research, government, and food industry organizations all participate in this quest to meet and keep health requirements up-to-date.

There are specific sets of standards that apply to organizations, caterers, farmers, and manufacturers. ISO would like to certify as many food institutions as possible in order to eliminate health hazards in the food industry, such as salmonella and listeria.

ISO in the Alcohol Industry

An example of the food trade regulating itself would be the alcohol industry. A large beer company, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia uses ISO to improve its business and increase revenue. By adhering to strict principles and standards of making the alcohol, companies can become more productive and prosperous in their sales and relationships with consumers. ISO standards including “procurement, production, distribution, and after sales service” contributed to the rebirth of this once failing company.

To view how this beer company saved itself from bankruptcy view the video below.

Environment

The benefits of having the environment monitored and regulated include a reduction in the cost of waste management services and products, lower distribution prices, and the improvement of a city’s image.
The general quality of  the environment is measured by two basic standards:

1. Fine particulate and particulate matter concentration and the amount of green house emissions. The amount of open green area is also a feature of measurement in the ISO 37120 system.
2. By monitoring these environmental factors, ISO and cities can work to cut down on air pollution and environmental damage through the increase in energy efficiency and the promotion and development of renewable energy technologies.

Energy

One goal of ISO 37120 is to better conserve energy. This requires a city to first measure and become aware of  its expenditure and the source. Then a feature of ISO, ISO 50001, works to create an energy management system to more efficiently use energy.

To judge the standard of energy in each city ISO uses a few mandatory standards:

• The amount of residential electrical usage
• The percentage of the population that uses an electrical service
• The amount of energy that public venues consume per year
• The amount of energy that is derived from alternative or renewable resources

Transportation

ISO 37120 measures both public and private transportation, as well as the passengers of personal automobiles per the standard 100,000 measurement. These statistics assist ISO in measuring environmental factors in which transportation contributes to the output of environmentally detrimental fumes.

ISO also adheres to a system in which it measures the safety, test methods, engineering, and performance in vehicles.

Water (Sanitation and Waste)

ISO 37120 measures the amount and level of treatment that the city’s water will go through before consumption. It also measures the improvement of sanitary services, the amount of people with potable water service, and the amount of water that is consumed.

One way that ISO is working to make water management efficient is by assessing the “water footprint,” and the cycles and impacts of water usage in cities. This initiative examines a specific environmental factor that works to maximize the usage of a city’s resources and minimize its negative effects on the environment.

ISO is constantly working on ways to improve environmental protection plans, especially with the growing fear of global warming. Right now, ISO is working to “go green,” by trying to cut down on pollution and carbon emissions produced by cities.

Business and Government

Economy

A standard of evaluation for cities participating in the ISO will be judged based on three standards of monetary importance: The city’s unemployment rate, the number of people living in poverty, and the value of the properties. Also, the financial worth of the city is measured by the percentage of debt to the overall revenue.

Government

Two main factors are used to measure the quality of a municipality’s government: The number of eligible voters in the last election, and the number of women who are elected at the city level.

These variables work to measure the level of participation of the city in local legislation. This is especially important to developing countries where governmental participation in vital to the expansion and evolution of an under-developed country.

Education

Education standards are judged by the following criteria: “Primary education student/teacher ratio, percentage of female school-aged population enrolled in school, percentage of students completing primary education, [and] percentage of students completing secondary education.” Once again this statistic is particularly relevant in developing countries, in that education is a primary tool which advances a community intellectually and economically.

Technology

ISO 37120 also measures the number of internet and cell phone connections per the standard 100,000 persons. This measures how technologically advanced a city is, and the level of industrialization they have reached in comparison to the rest of the world.

Issues at the Forefront in Business

An issue that has infected not only consumers but also governments and businesses is the issue of counterfeit drugs and products in circulation. According to the ISO, “Counterfeit products exist in virtually every area – food, drinks, clothes, shoes, pharmaceuticals, electronics, auto parts, toys, currency, tickets for transport systems and concerts, alcohol, cigarettes, toiletries, building materials and much, much more.” When consumers buy counterfeit products they are keeping money from the government and increasing taxes for taxpayers. Also, “financial turmoil for businesses such as low turnover, stolen know-how, lost jobs, wrongful lawsuits caused by counterfeited products and price hikes.”

Ultimately this underground market is devastating the economy. How will ISO combat this detrimental circulation of illegal goods? First off, the organization plans to enact legislation that would enforce regulations across industries to eliminate the illegitimate vendors that are illegally benefiting from a market which that have no rights to. Also, pre-market and market surveillance can help to identify illegal goods before or after they are available to the public; then further action to remove the product and possible legal action would be taken to discourage future frauds. Taking action on an international level is also part of the ISO plan.

City Growth and ISO

A megacity is defined as a growing city with a population of 10 million or more people. Check out this global breakdown of the world’s megacities.

Conclusion

As cities consistently grow throughout the world, they also run into more issues with the massive influx of people. Although the economy can reap benefits, pollution, politics, and  environment become targets of mankind, and the overall quality of life begins to suffer. With the future of developing cities at stake, the ISO can step in to benchmark and ultimately regulate the standards of living on an international scale. The ISO works to oversee and create a plan to manage cities that experience development at a quick and potentially unmanageable rate.

 Resources

Primary

ISO: About

ISO: 10 Good Things for SMEs

ISO: ISO Standards in Action

ISO: We are ISO. 

Additional

Citiscope: Here are the 46 performance measures the world’s cities will be judged by 

GovTech: Finally, Clear Performance Data for Comparing the World’s Cities

University of Toronto: Global Cities Gather in Toronto for Summit and to Launch the World Council on City Data 

Smart Cities: Stakeholder Platform 

CNBC: Megacities’ Explosive Growth Poses Epic Challenges

Global City Indicators Facility: Pilot Cities

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How Does Your City Measure Up Across the Globe? appeared first on Law Street.

A men’s rights movement has gained momentum within the last several years with the goals of reclaiming rights for men in society. One offshoot of the movement, the Red Pill, is accused of being inspired by a largely misogynistic attitude. This accusation is based on the attacks on women for using and abusing men, and essentially being the “evil” of the sexes. In addition to its major presence on social media, Men’s Rights activists have attempted to gain awareness through conferences and rallies. The Men’s Rights Movement, still controversial in nature, has legitimate goals in that it is working to gain equal rights by advocating for the equal treatment of boys and men in professional, educational, and legal situations. Some feel that this is a hidden effort to disguise prejudice against women, yet men continue to protest their desire to be “equal” citizens in a society where they believe that women currently have all the power. Read on for more information about the Men’s Rights movement and its Social Media counterpart, the Red Pill Movement.

What is the Red Pill Movement?

The Red Pill Movement is comprised of a group of men who hold a certain animosity toward women, believing them to be manipulative, unfaithful, and narcissistic. They band together primarily through social media and rant about their hatred of the opposite sex. Men who “take” the red pill are choosing to live a life free of emotional attachment to any a woman for fear that she will use him for his status, money, or emotional stability. The term red pill has its roots in the 1999 movie “The Matrix.” The red pill symbolizes the consumption of the truth, whereas taking the blue pill results in pure ignorance. Advocates for the Red Pill Movement believe that by taking the red pill, or consuming this eye-opening knowledge, they are becoming aware of women and their antics.

Social Media

Reddit, a social media site where individuals can share information such as texts, photographs, and personal opinions, is the main platform of the Red Pill Movement. Here men rant about their misunderstanding of and hatred for the opposite sex. The theme of most threads is how women are cheating, lying, manipulative, and narcissistic. Members often communicate in a verbally violent and insulting manner toward females and share their negative experiences of being taken advantage of, used, and insulted by women.

The Men’s Rights Movement

While the Red Pill Movement is based on the belief that women are wicked in nature, the Men’s Rights Movement actually does have some concrete goals that members would like to accomplish. According to the Huffington Post, goals of  the pro-men’s rights group Canadian Association for Equality, are mainly to bring awareness about “shared custody of children, unhealthy perceptions of masculinity, declining rates of university enrollment, spousal abuse, and suicide.” Since the Men’s Rights Movement is fairly new, there hasn’t been any policy or legislation enacted yet. The main goal of the group is to draw attention to the issues that men face in a society that tend to focus more on gaining women’s rights and recognition.

Rape

The Men’s Rights Movement emphasizes how often they believe men to be wrongfully accused of rape. Members argue that society has created a stigma that victimizes women and paints a picture of men as violently sexual predators. Many posters and arguments of the movement highlight the idea that women are partially responsible for any sexual acts that occur, in that they consume alcohol and choose to have sex with a man who they then turn around and accuse of rape.

Child Custody

The movement argues that women often receive custody in divorce, and men are unfairly assigned the monetary responsibilities.

#Feminist single motherhood in a nutshell #feminismisawful #NoMRA #MRA @Typhonblue @JudgyBitch1 @AlyssMajere @icmi14 pic.twitter.com/uFyOcaWrIL — Chloé J.F. Berg (@ChloeShell18) July 17, 2014

Domestic Violence

The Men’s Rights Movement accuses society of labeling domestic violence as one sided, in that men commit of all of the abuse. Advocates for men’s rights argue that women are just as responsible for violence in the home, yet it goes unrecognized because of the negative stigma attached to men.

Suicide 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Suicide among males is four times higher than among females and represents 79 percent of all U.S. suicides.” The Men’s Rights Movement aims to prevent this alarming epidemic in men. By providing support and encouragement to young men, members believe that this could eliminate some of the suicides that occur in response to emotional and mental disturbances and abuse.

A Voice for Men

A Voice for Men is a website that compiles information on the Men’s Rights Movement. The organization’s argument revolves around the theory of gynocentrism, the belief that males have bent to the demands of women for centuries. In addition to the organization’s website, the group has a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter dedicated to the Men’s Rights Movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxcXldIFsbQ

The International Men’s Rights Conference 

The Men’s rights movement is increasingly gaining popularity on the grounds that women are the more powerful sex. According to activists, men face the adverse effects of a certain stigma that society has ingrained into them throughout history. At the first International Men’s Rights Conference held in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, both men and women gathered to discuss the issue. Men’s rights activists believe that men face difficulty in society, which has forced them to live out life as “second-class-citizens,” and that men are continuously blamed for rape. According to conference attendee Barbara Kay,

“The vast majority of women crying rape on campus are actually expressing buyer’s remorse from alcohol-fueled promiscuous behavior involving murky consent on both sides…It’s their get-out-of-guilt-free card.”

Men also blamed their feelings toward women on their early childhood experiences. According to Stefan Molyneux, “If we could just get [women] to be nice to their babies for five years straight, that would be it for war, drug abuse, addiction, promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases.” Molyneux continued to say that women are responsible for choosing the abuser-types, or in his word “a-holes.” “Women worship at the feet of the devil and wonder why the world is evil,” he adds later. “And then know what they say? ‘We’re victims!”

Watch a spoof video below satirizing how women react to men at bars. All jokes aside, this comedic video is indicative of many of the views expressed by members of the Red Pill Movement.

This movement is not just in the United States but many other countries, as well, particularly in the East. Where feminism empowers women, the Red Pill or Men’s Rights  movement cripples them. In a disturbing piece written by Kim Tong-hyung, a professor of medicine at Seoul National University in Korea, Lee Yoon-seong blames women for the rape epidemic. Yoon-seong says:

“If there is money on the street, somebody will pick it up. If there is a woman walking around with sexy clothing, there will be somebody who rapes her …”

The Men’s Human Rights Rally

A men’s rights rally was organized in Toronto, Canada on September 28, 2013. Participants claimed that men are just as likely to face domestic abuse, have a higher rate of suicide, die earlier, and drop out of school as women. They argued that men make up “90 percent” of the prison population and are less likely to get a job after graduation. Thirty people fought for the movement to gain acceptance and recognition. This was a controversial rally, in that some people felt that it was simply a blow to women and masking an underlying current of misogyny.

Case Study: Elliot Rodger and the Santa Barbara shootings

In May 2014 a 22-year-old Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree in Isla Vist, California that was fueled by his resentment of the women who rejected him and the men who received their affections instead. Rodger left behind a video in which he stated, “You girls have never been attracted to me. I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it.”

Watch the chilling video of Elliot Rodger before his killing spree.

Rodger was reportedly driven to murder because of the rejection he felt from most women. He complains of being a “22-year-old virgin,” and blames his lack of sexual success on the opposite sex. Clearly, there are other mental health issues that contribute to his feelings of rage, yet his outlet is to target what he believed was the source of his depression and anger for a good portion of his life. Rodger was not the only one who had these hostile feelings toward women; Men’s Rights advocates band together to speak of their negative experiences with women and rant about how they have caused them to live a life of misery and deceit. Some of the arguments are extreme, unreasonably blaming an entire sex for the source of a man’s unhappiness in life.

Rape as a Tool

Case Study: Rape Internationally

According to CNN, “rape has too often become the weapon of choice for frustrated young men who blame women, increasingly visible in the workplace, for their unemployment, and who hope to regain jobs by frightening women back home through sexual violence.” Men are being fueled by their anger toward women; they may feel threatened or humiliated by them and are using the most powerful tool that they have to attack in the most sexually aggressive and destructive way possible. Between 2006 and 2011, rape cases in India rose by twenty-five percent. Even more disturbing, only one quarter of the rapists were convicted. Rape is an increasing normality in India and indicative of the lack of support that women receive in the predominantly patriarchal society. Similarly, according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, in the United States, 97 percent of violent rapists will not be convicted and 54 percent of cases are not even reported.

The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence

The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence works to alleviate some of the gender violence conducted against women internationally, specifically in times of war and conflict. Its main goals are to increase services offered to individuals who have been victims of violence and rape, gain justice for victims, and ultimately stop the aggression toward women.

Battling the Red Pill

Social Media to Combat the Red Pill Movement

In response to a society that seems to breed rape culture, the Twitter movement #YesAllWomen has emerged on Twitter. According to Time, the #YesAllWomen hashtag was created “to criticize the way society teaches men to feel entitled to women at the expense of their health, safety and, in [the Santa Barbara shooter] Rodger’s case, lives.” The online campaign was created to empower women, and expand on the belief that women are worth more than their physical appearance. It also brings awareness to how women are constantly placed in sexually offensive and uncomfortable situations. A recent post links to a list of (in)appropriate responses to cat-callers on the street. Tweets such as this one:

Because tweets like this should not exist #YesAllWomen pic.twitter.com/Ng84ItSXjD — Izabella (@izabellaanna_) July 14, 2014

Organizations Against Rape Culture

Organizations such as People Against Rape Culture, are fighting back by attempting to educate, collaborate, and advocate so that people will become more aware of rape culture. There are also organizations that include man’s involvement. Men Can Stop Rape has compiled a list of Men’s Anti-Violence Organizations. The group has also used collaborative methods, such as the Strength Campaign, to educate boys in middle schools, high schools, and universities and assist them in working on relationships with peers, teachers, family members, and members of their community.

Conclusion

Everyone is entitled to a personal opinion, therefore whether or not the Men’s Rights Movement results in any legislation is irrelevant to its existence as a legitimate movement. This holds true for the Red Pill Movement, as well; however, that it is breeding an extreme sense of animosity toward an entire gender. Governments must continue to educate and prosecute those people who violently and sexually violate women, no matter where the source of that anger comes from.

Resources

Business Insider: Inside Red Pill, the Weird New Cult For Men Who Don’t Understand Women

WorldNews Network: Deadly California rampage: Chilling video, but no match for reality

Washington Post: Men’s Rights Activists, Gathering to Discuss All the Ways Society Has Done Them Wrong

Times of India: Low Conviction Rate Spurring Sexual Assault Cases in India

TIME: The Most Powerful #YesAllWomen Tweets

RAINN: 97 of Every 100 Rapists Receive no Punishment, RAINN Analysis Shows

TIME: What I Learned as a Woman at a Men’s-Rights Conference

Southern Poverty Law Center: Men’s Rights Movement Spreads False Claims about Women

Ms. Foundation: Stopping the Violence Against Women 

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Red Pill and the Men’s Rights Movement appeared first on Law Street.

Mental health and suicide prevention advocates are working to increase awareness of America’s suicide epidemic. In 2011, the most recent year for which there are relevant statistics, more than 39,000 Americans reportedly committed suicide. Suicide by veterans and members of the armed forces have been on the rise since 2001. Although safety nets and other deterrent mechanisms are used to discourage people from taking their lives, it has been proven that the first and most effective step to prevent suicide is recognizing and responding to the signs that signify someone is suffering from depression or mental illness. Advocates and mental health professionals emphasize recognition of trigger behaviors and attempt to provide better services to individuals struggling with depression and mental illness by working with federal, state, and local governments to provide access to essential services.

Click here to see some of the warning signs of suicide.

Here is everything  you need to know about suicide: the causes, policies, and legislation that are used to curb the growing epidemic.

Who is at the highest risk of suicide?

Suicide used to be reported as predominantly affecting teens and much older people, yet according to The New York Times, “from 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent.” Click here to see the most at-risk populations. Suicide also tends to be brought on by life trauma, such as abuse or childhood neglect. People who suffer from depression, mental illness, eating disorders, or have a history of drug use also have an increased chance of suicide.

Suicide Prevention Policies and Legislation

Case Study: Duke Ellington and Taft Bridges in Washington, DC 

Similar to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Duke Ellington Bridge in Northwest Washington, DC is an infamous location for suicides. On average about four suicides a year occur on the bridge, and in 1985, three people jumped off of it within a 10-day period. The busy Rock Creek Park below is a daunting 125-foot plunge. Half of all suicides in the District of Columbia occur on this notorious bridge.

In 1987, the National Trust for Historic Preservation brought a lawsuit against the efforts to build a suicide barrier at the Duke Ellington bridge. The organization claimed that the project was not protected by the Department of Transportation Act and that ultimately the erection of a barrier would ruin the historical and aesthetic appeal of the well-known bridge. The Trust also argued that the barrier served no purpose as people intent on committing suicide would simply migrate to the nearby Taft Bridge. In 1990, Congress vetoed the case to remove the barriers, and they still remain in tact today. A study conducted five years after the barrier construction showed that there were no suicides committed from the Duke Ellington bridge, and the count on the Taft Bridge remained virtually unchanged. In this case, the suicide barrier seems to be effective in the nation’s capital, once again proving suicide to be impulsive in nature.

Duke Ellington Bridge in Washington D.C. [Michiel 1972 via Wikipedia]

Suicide Barrier on the Duke Ellington Bridge [Alyson Hurt via Flickr]

Bullying and Suicide

Case Study: Rebecca Ann Sedwick

In September 2013, Florida resident Rebecca Ann Sedwick committed suicide after being repeatedly bullied throughout her time at Crystal Lake Middle School. Sedwick’s mother, Tricia Norman, pulled her from the school after Sedwick had been attacked by a group of peers. Norman also discovered harassing text messages on her daughter’s phone, and even more shockingly Sedwick had self-inflicted cuts up and down her legs.

After Norman became aware of her daughter’s torment, she moved her to Lawton Chiles Middle Academy to attend the seventh grade. Despite the change in schools, the bullying continued. Most of it came from social media websites such as Kik Messenger, Instagram, and Ask.fm, all of which can be used anonymously. Some of these messages included: “You should die” and “why don’t you go kill yourself?”

Twelve-year-old Katelyn Roman and 14-year-old Guadalupe Shaw were charged with aggravated stalking and arrested as juveniles. Just one month later, the charges were dropped, and the war between Norman and the authorities began. According to CNN, Norman’s attorney said in a statement that he plans to sue both the  Polk County School Board and one or both of the girls who were arrested in the case.

Bullying: Social Media

The main reason that the charges against Roman and Shaw were dropped is because of the lack of available evidence. Many of the sites that Sedwick was bullied on were “disappearing apps,” meaning that the messages would automatically be deleted after a short period of time. In an attempt to gain justice for Sedwick and prevent future online bullying cases from going unidentified, Norman continues to work to develop a safer social media environment. Recently one the websites that Sedwick used, Ask.fm, added a “Safety Tools” page that details its anti-bully safety features.

Click here to read more about bullying and social media.

Rebecca’s Law

In response to Sedwick’s suicide as a result of bulling, Florida is considering Rebecca’s Law, which would punish bullying as a  misdemeanor and aggravated bullying as a third-degree felony. In Florida where Sedwick was a resident, there is no legislation that can punish an individual legally solely based on the loosely defined term “bullying.” If the bill passes, alleged bullies could face fines or in more severe consequences jail time.

This is not the only case that has resulted in the suicide of a school-aged child or teen. In response to the tragedy, the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2013  was proposed to crack down on bullying in schools. Its main purpose is to outline anti-bullying policies, which include creating a comfortable and safe environment at school for every child. The bill calls for the state to submit an annual report evaluating the programs being used to end bullying in secondary and elementary schools. The bill calls for evaluation of training programs for professionals, as well as a survey of parent involvement.

Case Study: Grace’s Law

Fifteen-year-old Grace McComas of Howard County, Maryland committed suicide on Easter Sunday 2012. Similar to Sedwick, McComas was repeatedly harassed on online social media sites, which ultimately drove her to suicide.

In response to the death of McComas, Grace’s Law  was passed in 2013 to end cyber bullying through the banning and regulation of electronic harassment. The law prohibits “a person from using a computer or computer network to disseminate certain data with the malicious intent to psychologically torment or harass a minor.” Anyone who chooses to violate this and bully someone under the age of 18 could be punished with a misdemeanor charge.

Suicide on College Campuses

Suicide at Universities

College is a stressful time for many students; they are in a new environment, have to make new friends, and are under the pressure of maintaining both good grades and the responsibility of extracurricular activity. College can be a balancing act, and often stress, depression, and loneliness can affect and overwhelm students. In extreme cases they resort to what they feel to be the last option, suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death on college campuses” and the Jed Foundation reports that, “half of all college students have had suicidal thoughts.”

Not only does suicide affect the friends and family members if the deceased, it also puts universities at risk for lawsuit.

University Responsibility

Many schools adhere to the No-Duty-to-Prevent-Suicide rule; however, there have been cases in which families of students who committed suicide sue the school based on its mental health policy. One such case, Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County occurred in Maryland. The parents of Nicole Eisel sued the School Board for the middle-school counselor’s failure to report Eisel’s expression of suicidal preoccupation. This case set a standard for both counselors and schools: “School counselors have a duty to use reasonable means to attempt to prevent a suicide when they are placed on notice of a student’s suicidal intent.” A school will not necessarily be convicted in the case of a student suicide, yet if the student expresses obvious signs and the school fails to intervene, it may be held liable. In contrasting cases such as White v. University of Wyoming, Jain v. State, and Bogust v. Iverson, the No-Duty-to-Prevent-Suicide rule held and the schools were ultimately exempt from accountability for student suicides.

Organizations to Prevent Suicide at Universities

The most recognized organization in suicide reform is the organization started by Alison Malmon, Active Minds. It was founded in Washington DC in 2003, three years after Malmon’s brother committed suicide due to mental health issues. Active Mind’s main mission is to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and urge students to seek help.

One parent, whose college-aged son committed suicide created the Jason Foundation, which works to prevent youth suicide through awareness and education. The organization is working to create a smartphone app that will connect people contemplating suicide directly to a hotline to receive support and immediate intervention.

There are also organizations such as the Jed Foundation that focus on student mental health and work to end suicide in the college population through campus counseling and programs. The Jed Foundation is fighting to have congress include a mental health screening within its health reform bills.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers several education and support services for mental health crises, as well as support the battle to end suicide on campuses.

The Campus Suicide Prevention Grants program targets students with mental illness and substance abuse issues. It aims to improve services and expand access to services for students who are at a higher risk of suicide. Both private and public institutions of higher learning can apply for the grant 

Suicide Prevention: National Innovation

Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is a strong backer of the national initiative to decrease suicide in the United States. A National Strategy containing four main pillars has been proposed:

1. Direct a focus to the family, the individual, and the community.
2. Develop better preventative techniques.
3. Provide efficient and easily accessible treatment for mental health.
4. Improve the surveillance of data and enact appropriate and timely methods based on the analysis.

Medicaid has already started to cover depression screenings. According to USA TODAY, “physicians will be rewarded by Medicare and Medicaid for screening depressed patients for suicide risk.” This is an incentive for doctors to follow through with care, and highlights the importance of mental healthcare.

Two bills currently being considered by the House of Representatives are aimed at mental healthcare improvements. HR 3717, the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” covers psychiatric support for families and patients that have the most crucial needs. HR 4574, the “Strengthening Mental Health in our Communities Act of 2014″ includes offering more community-based services accessible to individuals with mental health needs. Organizations such as The National Alliance on Mental Illness, are strong supports of this legislation and are petitioning to have it enacted into law. 

Suicide Prevention: State Level

Case Study: The Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment, and Management Act of 2012

Lawyer Matt Adler committed suicide in February 2011 due to extreme depression and anxiety. In response to her husband’s death, Adler’s wife Jennifer Stuber worked with the state of Washington to take legislative action to prevent future suicides. One year later in March 2012, the Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment, and Management Act was signed into law. The Act requires “mental health professionals, social workers, and occupational therapists to receive six hours of training every six years, as part of their continuing education requirement.“ This mandatory training ensures that professionals are better equipped to identify and handle signs of suicide. 

Click here to see Washington State Bill that requires mandatory training for clinical professionals on suicide prevention.

Almost every state has a plan to prevent suicide, including similar tactics to combat the issue, such as education, suicide-awareness initiatives, survey and analysis of statistical evidence, and improvement of medical and support services are all strategies to fight the epidemic. To see a few of these suicide prevention plans, click on the state link: Colorado , Indiana, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, California, Texas, and Idaho.

Methods of Action

Zero Suicide Academy

Although suicide barriers and hotline support can stop the act of suicide, they do not address the underlying issues at hand — the victim’s mental health. Even if someone is deterred from suicide once, it does not guarantee that the thoughts will be permanently eliminated. People who contemplate suicide tend to have a suicidal tendency based on mental or environmental causes.

In response to the nationwide epidemic, the Alliance for Suicide Prevention held a conference in Washington, DC in June 2014. Participants discussed several methods of identifying risk factors and methods of action to reduce suicide rates. The discussion revolved around the “Zero Suicide Toolkit” that includes six components:

1. Creating the Zero Suicide Culture. This consists of creating efficient and reliable care for people at risk, while also ensuring that the clinicians themselves receive care and compassion in order to maintain a healthy and effective environment for both the patient and the professional.

2. Ensuring Every Person Has a Pathway to Care is an important element in identifying suicidal behaviors and preventing the patient taking action based on their specific risk level and needs. Follow-up care is also an important component in ensuring every patient receives the most effective care.

3. Developing a Competent Workforce  is key to keeping employees mentally healthy. This consists of developing a system where there is “collaboration, team approaches, and effective communication” in place. Employees and behavioral health staff should be aware of suicidal signs and react in a supportive manner. The behavioral staff, should be trained and able to provide the mental health needs of staff at risk. 

4. Identifying and Assessing Suicide Risk Level is important in understanding each individual’s specific situation and reacting based on a plan tailored to that person’s specialized treatment needs.

5. Using Effective, Evidence-based Care  focuses on keeping the individual out of a hospital setting if possible. This consists of collaborative therapy with a focus on behavioral and problem-solving strategies.

6. Continuing contact after care is a vital component in ensuring that the patient will remain healthy. Follow-up services and support groups are a key element in maintaining an individual’s well being after initial care.

Click here to see the conference framework in its entirety.

Conclusion

There is progress being made toward slowing the suicide epidemic in this country, including action at the local, state, and federal levels to decrease the rate of suicide. Education, awareness, and supportive services for families, communities, and mental health professionals are all part of broad framework to combat suicide. Suicide is a mental health issue with subjective impulses, so it is to completely eliminate, yet as a society we have started to recognize the signs and are taking policy and legislative action to combat this epidemic.

Resources

Healthy Children: Help Stop Teen Suicide 

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Preventing Suicide 

UCLA Center: School Interventions to Prevent Youth Suicide

ABC: Mom of Suicide Tween Rebecca Sedwick to Sue ‘Those Responsible’

Crimesider: “Rebecca’s Law” aims to punish bullying in Fla.

SPRC: Success and Inspiration at the Zero Suicide Academy 

The New York Times: The Urge to end it all 

Action Alliance: Zero Suicide in Health and Behavioral Health Care

USA Today: Surgeon General Urges new Focus on Suicide Prevention 

USA Today: Suicide Prevention the Focus of new Government , Campus Programs 

Huffington Post: How to Prevent Your Ivy League Student From Becoming Suicidal 

USA Today: Recent has University Reflecting on College Stress 

CNN: Police file raises questions about bullying in Rebecca Sedwick’s suicide

Baltimore Sun: Grace’s Law, a cyberbullying bill, called ‘landmark legislation’

Fordham Law Review: Keeping Students Alive: Mandating On-Campus Counseling Saves Suicidal College Students’ Livesand Limits Liability

UNC Law: Student Suicides and School System Liability

Ledger: Lakeland Girl Commits Suicide After 1½ Years of Being Bullied

CNN: Sheriff: Taunting post leads to arrests in Rebecca Sedwick bullying death

USA Today: Surgeon General Urges New Focus Prevention on Suicide Prevention

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Suicide Prevention Policies Aim to Curb Epidemic appeared first on Law Street.

Childhood and adult obesity is highly reported as a growing epidemic in the United States, yet less often do we hear of the negative psychological and physical ramifications of eating disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anorexia nervosa is the most fatal mental disorder, “[with] an estimated mortality rate of around 10 percent.” According to the National Eating Disorder Association, “20 million women and 10 million men [in the United States] suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life.” Although these types of disorders may not always be obvious, they are taking a toll on many young Americans who suffer in silence until it is too late.

What is an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a life consuming mental illness that forces an individual to consciously diet or consume to an extreme, detrimental point. People who are affected by an eating disorder constantly obsess over calories, food, and their body weight. In the case of anorexia, the person limits his or her calorie intake to an extremely low and unhealthy number and adheres to a strict diet only consisting of “safe” foods. An individual with bulimia binges until he or she is uncomfortably full, then purges by vomiting. These disorders cause serious physical and psychological damage and can ultimately result in death. They are fueled by personal angst, trauma, and are essentially a way to cope with negative feelings, including personality disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive and extreme perfectionist tendencies. Eating disorders go beyond the surface desire of wanting to be thin. If left untreated through cognitive therapy and support, eating disorders will progressively consume the victim, until his or her entire life revolves around appeasing this internally violent illness.

What is a Pro-Ana/Mia website?

A Pro-Ana/Mia website is a public forum on which people, the majority of whom are women, with eating disorders share tips for maintaining an anorexic or bulimic lifestyle. Members share diet, beauty, and fitness tips that revolve around the theme of being thin. Discussions are not all illogical, yet the majority of them are fueled by the intense desire to remain in control, with the ultimate goal of reaching the most emaciated state possible. The sites often feature photographs of extremely thin people whose bones protrude and bodies that appear sick and gaunt. According to Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics, “there are now over 400 pro-ana/mia websites.” These sites encourage people to embrace their disorders as a lifestyle and assure victims that they are not abnormal or alone in their choice to live with an eating disorder. They promote and enhance the typically negative image that eating disorders support. Woman offer each other support to fuel the disorder, continuously telling it that the body is not (and never will) be thin enough. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders characteristics of a pro-ana site include:

• The glamorization/idolization of images of emaciated or very thin individuals

• The implication that food and weight are the enemy

• Encouragement and teaching of dangerous eating disorder behaviors

• Promotion of thinness at any cost, denial of the seriousness of the illness

• Insistence that eating disorders are choices rather than illnesses

• Attempts to mask toxicity by being exclusive and elite

What the investigative report below on the dangers of pro-anorexic (pro-ana) and pro-bulimia (pro-mia) websites.

Do Pro-Ana/Mia Websites constitute free speech?

Eating disorders continue to carry a negative connotation despite their increasing popularity among teens and young women. This doesn’t stop women from openly spilling their diet and exercise secrets, no matter how extreme and unhealthy. The pro-ana maxim is “thinspiration.” Girls motivate one another to maintain their eating disorders and are virtually assisting each other in a prolonged suicide.

This information is accessible to children. Girls mature faster than boys and are susceptible to the influence of their peers as early as the age of eight. If curiosity about weight loss becomes appealing, the individual has this controversial information right at her fingertips. Proponents of the movement feel that if these websites are not censored they will continue to corrupt youth and increase eating disorders among younger generations.

Watch the video below of four recovered women sharing the harm Pro-ana/mia websites can inflict on someone struggling with an eating disorder.

According to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right, “[The right of freedom of expression may] be subject to certain restrictions…For the protection…of public order or of public health or morals.”  Pro-Ana/Mia websites portray anorexia and bulimia in a positive light and increase the likelihood of individuals who view them developing an eating disorder. This could be considered a danger to the overall public health, and gives government the incentive to block or censor them.

Pro-Ana supporters argue that the “thinspiration” movement gives individuals the opportunity to gain support and share tips with others who are experiencing the same thing, yet all of the exchanges on these sites seem to be negative. People motivate one another by saying things like they need lose more weight, and giving them tips on how to achieve that dream state of being virtually weightless and emaciated. The sites lack any positive effect on the community or individuals suffering with an illness. Therefore, they have little to argue regarding their need to stay accessible to the general public or their effect on the community.

Case Study: Valerie Boyer’s Bill (Ban on Pro-Ana)

A short clip from the documentary about the pro-anorexia movement in France, and the legislation to make it illegal:

France passed legislation in 2008 outlawing the portrayal of extreme thinness in the media as a desirable or positive trait. Additionally, Valerie Boyer, a  right-wing member of the lower house of Parliament, created a bill to enforce the elimination of Pro-Ana websites. The bill called for media outlets to face potential fines and possible jail time if they embraced the message that emaciation and eating disorders are attractive. The bill did not pass, yet it helped to draw more attention to the issue and awareness in both France and the United States has been increasing since the proposal. In the United States, servers such as Yahoo have worked to ban several pro-anorexia websites from their server.

Case Study: Social Media Bans Pro-Ana

In an effort to stop the glamorization of eating disorders throughout social media, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr all updated their policies in 2012 to ban some of the attention that pro-ana websites receive online. Tumblr issued a statement outlining its plan to eliminate blogs that actively promote self-harm. If a user types in a trigger word such as “anorexia” on Tumblr, instead of receiving diet tips or images of emaciated models, a message urging you to seek assistance will appear. On Pinterest, although pro-anorexia images still exist  upon searching “anorexia”, results are displayed below the following message:

“Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices, they are mental disorders that if left untreated can cause serious health problems or could even be life-threatening. For treatment referrals, information, and support, you can always contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or www.nationaleatingdisorders.org”

Although more passive in nature, this message is meant to urge the user to recognize the dangers of the disorder, and to seek professional support as oppose to the negative motivation from others who suffer from a similar illness.

Instagram issued a new policy, to eliminate the promotion of self-harm on Instagram. The policy reads:

“Don’t promote or glorify self-harm:

1. “While Instagram is a place where people can share their lives with others through photographs and videos, any account found encouraging or urging users to embrace anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders; or to cut, harm themselves, or commit suicide will result in a disabled account without warning. We believe that communication regarding these behaviors in order to create awareness, come together for support and to facilitate recovery is important, but that Instagram is not the place for active promotion or glorification of self-harm.”

Instagram does not follow through with its former ban. When searching “anorexia” on Instagram, results display a long list of users who share photos of their gaunt collarbones, protruding hips, and non-existent  thighs. One photo, under the user “anorexianervosa_depression,” reads:

“Call it a sickness, call it an obsession, I don’t care, I call it perfection.”

There have been petitions to eliminate “thinspiration” tags on Twitter, yet when searched several photographs of overtly thin thighs and tiny waists appear. On Facebook, pages such as “Anorexia Tips” are easily accessible to anyone with an account. To see how websites measured up to their policy proposals, Buzzfeed compiled a list of all of social media sites efforts to ban pro-ana, and graded them based on how effectively they have eliminated the “thinspiration” movement across the web. Most of the sites received a low grade, in that most of them still permit much of the pro-anorexia community’s antics and do little to stop the community from continuing to infiltrate the social media stream.

Users have discovered loopholes. The bans do not necessarily stop users from continuing to post pro-ana material; in order to remain accessible, users can simply use different taglines in order for the material to appear when searched.The only way to truly minimize the value of the “thinspiration” movement is for people to stop liking the material, then it will eventually fade away.

Social media platforms run into some problems when they ban one type of body fad and not others, such as body building. Any extreme body manipulation could be considered a dangerous mental illness, therefore singling out a specific movement could cause the networks freedom of speech problems. To consider one group more dangerous than another becomes constitutionally complicated in that one group should not be favored over the other if they all do pose a potential threat to society. Eating disorders can be a very subjective experience and the line between the sharing of a personal experience and advocating for a disease is very thin. If pro-ana sites were to be censored or banned, would people who are simply telling their story be penalized?

The battle to remove these sites rages on between concerned medical experts and parents; yet pro-ana reigns on as a form of freedom of speech, and will continue to taint the minds of eating-disordered individuals until they are stopped.

Resources

Primary

DHS of Iowa: Pro-Anorexia/Pro-Bulimia Websites: A Dangerous Influence

Additional

ANAD: Eating Disorders and the Internet

Sociology of Health and Illness: Pro-anorexia, weight-loss drugs and the internet: an ‘anti-recovery’ explanatory model of anorexia

The New York Times: French legislators approve law against Web sites encouraging anorexia and bulimia

About Kids Health: Starved for attention: pro-anorexia websites glorify eating disorders

Body Space Society: Banning Pro-ANA Websites? NOt a Good Idea, As Web Censorship Might Have a ‘Toothpaste Tube Effect’

CBS: Despite social media bans of “pro-ana” websites, pages persist

Huffington Post: Why Blocking ‘Pro-Ana’ Sites Is a Bad Idea

Johns Hopkins University: Study Examines Pro-Anorexia and Pro-Bulimia Websites

Eating Disorders Recovery Today: Call to Ban Pro-Ana Websites

The New York Times: Point, Shoot, Retouch and Label?

PBS: Fighting social media ‘thinspiration’ with messages of self-acceptance

ABC: Pro-Anorexia ‘Thinspiration’ Photos Shouldn’t Be Banned from Social Media

Huffington Post: Can Thinspiration Really Be #Banned From Instagram?

 Debate: Should pro-anorexia websites be censored?

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Madeleine Stern (@M3estern) is a student at George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Evelina Zachariou via Flickr]

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Bones Are (Not) Better: The Battle to Ban Pro-Ana Websites appeared first on Law Street.

Many prisons use solitary confinement as a mechanism to control their prison populations and minimize the threat of danger to other inmates and prison staff. Yet extreme isolation is an unnatural punishment and can cause severe psychological, or sometimes even physical, damage. The effectiveness and methods of solitary confinement has been debated since its modern day inception as a form of punishment in the 1800s, yet it was not until recent years that states began to question the constitutionality of the matter. As convicts, prisoners have little sympathy from the general population; yet there are arguments for the release of prisoners who are placed in solitary confinement for indefinite amounts of time and for non-violent reasons. The argument in favor of regulating or eliminating the age old method is that these people are being placed under “cruel and unusual” circumstances, and are being released back into society in an even worse condition than before they were incarcerated. As of 2013, the United States holds roughly 2.3 million inmates in federal, state, and local jails, 80,000 of which are in solitary confinement.

What is Solitary Confinement?

There are two main types of solitary confinement that are primarily used in the United States. Disciplinary solitary confinement is used to punish an inmate for a violation of minor jail rules or protocol; administrative solitary confinement is used to isolate dangerous prisoners from the rest of the prison population and staff. Often prisoners who are placed in the latter group will remain in Supermax cells for months to years, sometimes for an undetermined length of time.

Typically solitary confinement is reserved for the most threatening and aggressive inmates, so the conditions are not cozy. Cells are typically “80 feet [10 by 8 feet], not much larger than a king-size bed,”  and sometimes even smaller; they do not have any windows and the floors are hard concrete. The door is typically heavy metal and locks with massive bolts.  Prisoners are isolated for 23 hours out of the day, and receive one hour of heavily monitored recreational activity in another slightly larger cell. Meals are slid through a small space in the door so prisoners remain completely isolated even during meal times.The cell is left bare, so prisoners often resort to habitual pacing and sometimes create routines to mimic life outside of prison. Prisoners may receive an early release from the designated amount of time if they practice “good behavior” and attend classes to improve themselves.

 History of Solitary Confinement

Solitary Confinement is thought to have started in a Philadelphia jail in the 1800s. The Quakers felt that by placing criminals in isolation they would have time to read the Bible and repent for their sins. The original idea behind solitary confinement was to reform inmates, as opposed to violently punishing them.

The Invention of Solitary Confinement — The Eastern State Penitentiary:

Another early prison that used a form of solitary confinement was the New York jail, Auburn. There, the “Auburn System,” a method of punishment in which prisoners were required to do manual labor all day in silence before being sent off to solitary confinement for the remainder of the night, was developed. This system gained popularity in prisons across the country. During this time, Auburn and other prisons also used forms of torture as a punishment. One popular method was the “shower bath.” This consisted of placing a prisoner under a constant flow of an excessive and painful amount of water. The flood would beat them over the head, getting into their eyes and mouths, nearly drowning them. Sometimes the shock would cause prisoners to fall dead moments later.

Psychological Effects and Ethics

It is hard to think of people who have committed heinous crimes as actual people, yet putting them under such harsh conditions can be embarrassing, alarming, and disgusting. Many times inmates display suicidal tendencies and harm themselves with makeshift weapons. Others resort to odd and erratic behaviors such as rubbing feces on themselves, pacing mindlessly, or cutting themselves. If solitary confinement is supposed to teach a lesson, it may be counterintuitive to its original purpose. Prisoners who are placed in solitary confinement will experience several psychological and physical effects of being in isolation for an extended period of time. According to Frontiers in Psychology, “One’s own existence is something that one experiences in the kinds of pragmatic projects that one shares with others.” When deprived of the basic human need of socialization for long enough, people begin to display mentally unstable and even insane behaviors.

Prisoners in solitary confinement may begin experiencing:

Visual and auditory hallucinations

Hypersensitivity to noise and touch

Insomnia and paranoia

Uncontrollable feelings of rage and fear

Distortions of time and perception

Increased risk of suicide

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

The development of crippling obsessions

When prisoners do not experience any interactions with other people they begin to lose a sense of reality. Their internal thoughts become a blur with the external world, which they have ceased to experience. Not only is this inhumane, but it also defeats the purpose of punishing the guilty. Integrating the prisoner back into society becomes more challenging, and they become a product of isolation. This is not only detrimental to the individual, but also society.

According to International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, in 1890 the United States Supreme Court  began to note the inhumane and damaging effects that solitary confinement has on the prisoners:

“A considerable number of prisoners […] became violently insane;  other still, committed suicide, while those who stood the ordeal better were not generally reformed and in most cases did not recover sufficient mental activity to be any subsequent service to the community.”

ABCNews personality Dan Harris voluntarily spends 48 hours in solitary confinement:

Prisoners’ Rights

The Eighth Amendment includes the cruel and unusual punishment clause and serves as the basis for civil rights advocates’ arguments against the use of solitary confinement in American prisons. The fact that prisoners have little to no human contact, let alone see daylight for months to years, could be considered cruel and unusual. The argument that solitary confinement violates a prisoner’s constitutional rights prevails as the center controversy for advocates and courts. While incarcerated, prisoners are provided with medical and mental services, although whether they are adequate or not is debatable, and many cases regarding health care and general prison conditions have been brought to the forefront within the last 20 years.

To view the document outlining prisoner’s medical, dental, and mental health rights click here.

Case Study: Pelican State Bay Prison  (Ashker v. Brown)

The case Ashker v. Brown was sparked by a  2011 hunger strike led by prisoners at Pelican State Bay Prison in Crescent City, California. The strike drew attention to the unpalatable conditions that prisoners in solitary confinement experience. In an extended effort in May 2012, the  Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit against Pelican State Bay Prison for allegedly violating the Eighth Amendment as well as the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.  Many prisons lack adequate medical care, and prisoners are denied an in-depth review of their cases before being placed in solitary confinement.

Case Study: Nicole Guerrero v. Wichita County

Pregnant inmate Nicole Guerrero was placed in solitary confinement in a Texas jail in 2012. While in ‘the hole’ she began to experience excruciating pain and intense cramps due to labor. The medical staff at the prison reportedly ignored her for hours. She was forced to give birth alone, and when the prison medical staff finally came to the scene the baby was dead due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around its neck. This case supports the argument noting the lack of medical attention prisoners in solitary confinement receive, and brings states closer to regulating the controversial practice.

Peoples v. Fischer

In June 2012, the New York City Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of prisoner Leroy Peoples. Peoples spent three years in solitary confinement for filing false legal documents. Violating any of the codes that the prison regards as against protocol has the potential to send a prisoner into solitary. According to the Civil Liberty Union, “only 16 percent of isolation sentences from 2007 to 2011 were for assault or weapons.” Solitary confinement served the original purpose of protecting staff and other inmates from potentially dangerous prisoners; now prison systems are abusing the extreme form of punishment, and overusing solitary confinement for reasons other than violence. Another issue that the NYCLU addresses is the fact that solitary confinement is used as a source of punishment for juveniles, pregnant inmates, and the mentally ill. The Union argues that this is inhumane and more permanently damaging to these more vulnerable groups of inmates. Currently, the outcome of the case is in reconsideration, and “if the process fails, the NYCLU will resume litigation.”

Click here to see the Institutional Laws of Conduct.

Innovation in the Prison System

Recently Colorado signed into legislation a law that bans prisons from placing mentally ill inmates in long-term solitary confinement. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Maine and New Mexico have taken steps to reduce their use of solitary confinement, and Nevada and Texas are studying the issue.” Similarly in a document, New York has decided to “remove  youth, pregnant inmates and developmentally disabled and intellectually from extreme isolation.”

Click here to see New York’s agreement to reform solitary confinement in the prison system.

Some opponents of the practice suggest alternative methods; instead of placing inmates in solitary confinement,  they could be sent to a mental-health care unit within prison where the individual can be treated instead of punished. Of course, this idea receives strong opposition, yet New York has decided to enact a version of it.

Resources

Journal of Constitutional Law: Prolonged Solitary Confinement and the Constitution

NYCLU: Peoples v. Fischer

Correctional Association of New York: Shining Our Spotlight on Auburn Correctional Facility

CNN: Solitary Confinement: 29 Years in a Box

PBS: Solitary Confinement and the U.S. Prison System

Pennsylvania Prison Society: Violence in the Supermax: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Washington Post: Va. Prisons’ Use of Solitary Confinement is Scrutinized

The New York Times: New York State in Deal to Limit Solitary Confinement

Center for Constitutional Rights: Ashker v. Brown

NYCLU: Lawsuit Secures Historic Reforms to Solitary Confinement

CNN: Texas Wom Claims She Gave Birth Alone in Jail, Baby Died

Wall Street Journal: Colorado Becomes Latest to Back Ban on Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill

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Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Evolution of Solitary Confinement in the United States appeared first on Law Street.

Suicide is one of the ten most common causes of death in the United States. In fact, suicide is such a common  incident that locations to commit the act actually begin to trend. The New York Times reports that, “an estimated 1,600 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge.” Are the many deaths a coincidence, or does that bridge serve as some sort of morbid invitation that pulls people to their deaths below? In a less publicized issue, a man recently shot himself at Arlington Cemetery–a well known final resting place for veterans. We all know that suicide is caused by untreated depression and mental illness, yet it is unclear why people choose similar or symbolic places to end their lives. Most importantly, how can this epidemic be stopped?

How Local Government Can Help  

Despite San Francisco’s typically moderate temperatures and sunny skies, the Golden Gate Bridge can be a dark and ominous site. It is the number one spot for suicides in the United States, with 46 suicides reported last year alone.

Recently, the directors of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District voted to erect a “suicide barrier,” in hopes of minimizing attempts and deaths. The “suicide barrier,” would be a 20 foot wide net, made from stainless steel, and located 20 feet below the bridge. The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge all have barriers, so placing one in the top location for suicide in the U.S. is a comprehensible idea. In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a bill which allowed funds to be designated to the project. According to the Times-Herald, “under the funding plan Caltrans would contribute $22 million, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission $27 million and the state $7 million.”

There are several controversies that surround this innovation. Many people who are friends and family members of Golden Gate Bridge suicide victims support this effort, and would like to see the city take action to prevent more individuals from jumping to their deaths. Yet others feel that funds toward this development would be a waste. Their argument is that a person who has a suicide plan will commit the act one way or another, so why waste government funds on the safety net? But according to helpguide.org, “most suicidal people are deeply conflicted about ending their own lives.” Therefore if the impulse is caught, the victim may decide to abandon their plan.

A sign for the Suicide Hotline on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Yellow Line.

Many popular places to commit suicide have taken initiative to place Suicide Hotline signs up, yet it has been proven that physical barriers are the most effective intervention technique, because suicide is impulsive in nature.

Suicide is a tough issue that affects roughly 38,364 people a year. A question that prevails is whether or not the government should interfere. In the case of the Golden Gate Bridge, the government stepped in and chose to use funds for preventative action toward the suicide epidemic in San Francisco. Little can be done to prevent a person from taking their own life, other than funding mental health facilities and programs, yet victims families, and mental health advocates remain hopeful.

How the Federal Government Can Help  

In a more recent case, the media chose to tread on the topic lightly to prevent a domino-effect from occurring. On Friday, June 20, a man was found in Arlington Cemetery, near the Pentagon Memorial–a memorial to honor the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. His method of suicide was a gunshot to the head. In an effort to discourage a trend from developing, newspapers have steered clear of heavily covering the June 20 occurrence; little has been reported on the motives for the suicide or the victim’s personal information other than he was a 92-year-old retired Air Force colonel.

Veteran suicides are on the rise–an average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day.

In order to address this issue, legislation requiring soldiers be examined before discharge was introduced in April of this year. According to the National Journal, this examination would include testing for, “nightmares, flashbacks, changes in personality, sleeping disorders, and suicidal thoughts.” Another provision to the bill allows for soldiers to be eligible for health care up to fifteen years after their service in the military has ended.

It’s a sad truth that suicide is becoming increasingly popular among Americans. Suicide is usually a result of depression and mental illness, yet there are steps that can be taken to increase the services offered to individuals suffering. Campaigns to increase awareness can be organized, services for individuals suffering can be improved and made more easily available to lower income families, and the availability of lethal medications and weapons can be more heavily monitored and withheld from precarious individuals. There’s still a lot of work to be done.

[The New York Times]

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Madeleine Stern (@M3estern) is a student at George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [rafael-castillo via Flickr]

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Suicide Prevention: New Policies Hope to Slow Trends appeared first on Law Street.

With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington, people who choose to smoke marijuana for recreational purposes will not face criminal charges. But they could be at risk of losing their jobs. This ongoing debate between employees and employers continues to be fueled by state legislation and employment drug testing policy. The courts must now analyze and settle questions regarding the controversy. Although in certain states, employees are not breaking the law by using marijuana, employers continue to implement pre-screening and routine drug tests. Workers are beginning to take action against what they believe to be violations of their rights. This leads to an inherent disconnect between the law and companies’ policies – so here is everything you need to know about marijuana, employment, and drug testing policies.

History of Drug Testing

In order to explain the divide between state law and employee drug testing, let us examine the history of testing policies and procedures. Surprisingly, not all workplaces require drug testing; the power to choose whether or not to implement the procedure is given directly to the corporation. According to Drug Testing USA, there are three factors that are taken into consideration regarding employee drug testing laws:

“1) who can be tested and under what circumstances (pre‐employment, random, etc.), 2) how testing is to be conducted (in a law, via on‐site devices, etc.), and 3) the procedures to be observed by the testing entity.”

As a result, companies have the power to alter and update their employee requirements to align with state legislation. Yet, in recent cases, companies chose to adhere to their original methods. Later, we will examine how the courts respond when employees challenge employers’ practice.

Who is tested?

If employers do not require mandatory drug screenings, do they have the right to single out individuals and conduct a test based on “reasonable suspicions?” If they do, employers must be sure to adhere to a strict guideline of how they define suspicious behavior in order to avoid a lawsuit. According to the Northwest Justice Project, “it is legal for a private employer to require a drug test of its employees, unless the employer uses the test to discriminate against certain people.”

Who conducts the tests?

There is a discrepancy between the law and employee protocol. Although Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana, this does not mean that businesses have to follow suit. In a company’s defense, retaining a safe and efficient system is vital to the company reputation and prosperity. But an individual could argue that employee drug testing is a violation of their privacy. Since drug testing lacks federal legislation, and designates most of the power directly to the businesses themselves, it is a corporation’s decision whether to drug test or not.

Ethics: Is an employer testing for marijuana a violation of privacy?

Technically, drug testing is classified as a form of search and seizure. When employers choose to test employees, they are compromising the individual’s Fourth Amendment rights which read, “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” A common argument is that what an individual does on their own time should not be used against them professionally. The concept of employee drug testing is similar to employers researching their employees’ social media accounts. If a person chooses to party and live promiscuously on their own time, should employers have the right to judge the employee even if they are a capable and efficient worker? The employer could argue that this is a practical and fair assessment in evaluating employees. However, the employee could dispute that they have the right to privacy within their personal lives, and should not have to change their habits or filter their social media on account of being judged by an employer.

Case Study: National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989)

In a 1986 case, National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, the National Treasury Employees Union argued that drug testing was violating their privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment. Originally the State Court of Eastern Louisiana ruled in their favor, yet the case ultimately went to the United States Court of Appeals. There, the court ruled that the government’s policy on drugs surpassed the desires of the union. Although testing potentially violated employees’ rights, “balancing the individual’s privacy expectations against the government’s special needs” became the basis for enacting the tests. The ruling outlined several factors which the employer must abide by to protect the employee’s rights and ultimately upheld the standard that, “no privacy invasions should be permitted unless some good end is served.” This case made drug testing legally applicable to businesses if they choose to enact such as policy as long as they abide by the ruling’s contingencies.

Case Study: Johnson v. City of Plainfield (1990)

 “Even if drug testing is found to be constitutional, we must measure what we have gained in finding the guilty against what we have wrought upon the innocent.”

-Johnson v. City of Plainfield

In Johnson v. City of Plainfield, the courts questioned the constitutionality of employee drug testing, and decided that it must be decided on a case-by-case basis. In 1986 in New Jersey, the City of Plainfield Fire Department employees were subjected to an abrupt urine test. Sixteen of the firefighters tested positive for unspecified drugs and were fired without pay. Several of the firefighters felt that accusations were false, and that certain medication could have tainted the urinalysis since no information was provided about those present substances. Additionally, they felt that their privacy had been violated because a member of the same sex had monitored them during the urine test. Finally, they argued that their morales were tainted by the positive drug tests. In the ruling, “[the] court suggest[ed] that the factual findings in this matter should cause us to pause in the nationwide rush toward massive and mandatory drug testing.” This case illustrated a shift from a more conservative stance on employee drug testing to a more reformed view.

Case Study: Colorado

Although marijuana is now legal in Colorado, not all businesses condone recreational usage. Section 6 of Amendment 64, which legalized recreational marijuana, states that:

“Nothing in this section is intended to require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale or growing of marijuana in the workplace or to affect the ability of employers to have policies restricting the use of marijuana by employees.”

Legally, employees can be tested for marijuana. According to The Denver Post, “despite marijuana’s legal status in Colorado, courts have ruled that employers have the right to fire workers for using pot, even off-duty.” There is no protection against losing your job because of marijuana use, so employees must make wise decisions when partaking in recreational use or they could be at risk for losing their jobs.

Does that violate employees’ rights and the law? According to Amendment 64, Colorado marijuana legalization, “specifically gives employers the right to have a Zero Tolerance Policy.” Therefore companies who choose to enact the policy are abiding by not only federal, but also state law.

Fox Business discusses how Colorado and Washington employers are wrestling with new marijuana laws:

Medical Marijuana

While Colorado and Washington have fully legalized marijuana, a more applicable nationwide debate is medical marijuana. Only a handful of states have provided legal protection to individuals with a prescription for medical marijuana. How do employers handle individuals who smoke to ease the symptoms of painful and sometimes crippling illnesses?

History of Legislation

The 1990 American with Disabilities Act protects individuals with disabilities. It assures that disabled citizens will receive protection from discrimination in the workplace and have the freedom to use certain aides to function in the workplace; yet it does not cover medical marijuana.

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 gives individuals some protection against criminal charges, such as possession, when they use cannabis for medical purposes. However, it does not include any safeguard for employees from being terminated for violating a company’s drug policy.

Finally, in the 2008 case, Ross v. RagingWire Telecommunications, individuals who used cannabis for medical purposes were denied protection from being terminated from their job.

However, there are some loopholes that certain states provide; in California, a smoker who uses medical marijuana can negotiate with the following letters:

1. Pre-employment Negotiation Letter (.doc).
2. Negotiation Letter for Currently Employed Patients (.doc)
3. Termination Negotiation Letter (.doc)

These letters do not guarantee an employee defense against termination, yet they give an employee a chance to petition to preserve their job.

To see a debate about the legality of medical marijuana in the workplace, click here:

Case Study: Brandon Coats v. Dish Network

In a 2010 Colorado case, a quadriplegic man, Brandon Coats, was fired from the Dish Network for testing positive for marijuana. Coats smoked medical marijuana to alleviate severe pain he experienced on a regular basis. When Coats brought the case to the Colorado Court of Appeals  in 2013,  the court confirmed that Dish had the right to fire Coats for violating company drug policy. When Coats appealed, the appellate court ultimately ruled that: “federal law trumps state law.” Montana, Oregon, and Washington also heard similar cases. All cases resulted in the same ruling– federal law overrides state law, and employers can choose to terminate employees if they do not abide by the company’s drug policy.

Employers retain the right to test and terminate employees for testing positive for THC regardless of the circumstances.

Future Amendments

Will the legislation amend the requirements for employers to accept the use of medical marijuana? Individuals that suffer from chronic illnesses are put in potential financial jeopardy. Yet employers are liable for mistakes made on the job due to marijuana use. As of now, employers have no intention of changing the policy, and legislatures are leaving the power to the businesses. Is this ethical? It has been scientifically proven that marijuana can help with extreme illnesses in a way which no other medication can. Employers are putting individuals who are already in a precarious situation in jeopardy. On the other hand, businesses have a reputation to maintain and would like to remain efficient in a competitive field.

Legal Inconsistency Throughout the States

Currently, every case regarding employees’ rights to marijuana use has been overruled by federal law, which still sees marijuana as illegal. This legal generalization may not suffice with the innovations to state laws that continue to develop. Legislation needs to take into consideration all of the ripple effects that marijuana will have on businesses. When drug testing was deemed constitutionally appropriate, marijuana was distinctly illegal. Now with all of the unique exceptions and amendments to state laws, there are constant inconsistencies. National businesses are now also put in an difficult situation when dealing with the marijuana laws unique to their state– how does a nationwide company handle state-to-state laws regarding their policy on employee drug testing?  Legislation needs to step up and tie up all the loose ends to protect employees as well as protect corporations from being sued by individuals who feel that their rights are being challenged.

Resources

Primary

US District Court, New Jersey: Johnson v. City of Plainfield

US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit: National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab

Department of Labor: Drug-Free Workplace Policy Builder

California EDD: Misconduct MC 270

Additional

Regulate Marijuana: Amendment 64: The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012

MAPI: Changing State Marijuana Laws and Employer Drug Testing Policies

The New York Times: Creating Confusion in the Workplace

Americans for Safe Access: Employment 

Huffington Post: Employers Can Fire You For Using Marijuana, But Brandon Coats’ Case Could Change Everything

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post After Marijuana is Legalized, What Limits Can Employers Impose? appeared first on Law Street.

Stories about marijuana and alcohol abuse on university campuses seem to consume the media, but what about prescription drug abuse? Students who abuse prescription pills tend to be overlooked because many of them do not fit the “criminal” profile; yet Adderall and other medications can be incredibly dangerous and very addictive.

Although many cases easily slide under the radar, in April of 2014, University of Colorado officials decided to crack down when two students were arrested for selling Adderall at their school. Christopher Valentine and Graham Hankin will be facing felony criminal charges for selling their prescriptions, at $4-$5 per pill.

According to CNN, “researchers estimate about 30 [percent] of students use stimulants non-medically.” This is becoming an epidemic in universities, and has even trickled down into middle school and high school communities.

These teens and young adults are not drug addicts; they are students with motivation and goals. As a matter of fact, many of them go to Ivy League schools and have professional plans. But good intentions can quickly turn bad when an innocent pop of a pill becomes a dangerous addiction. The scary thing about prescription drugs is that one might assume that they are safe because they are regulated by the FDA. However, assuming that prescription drugs are harmless is very dangerous–Adderall is an amphetamine, comparable to cocaine or speed, and when taken in non-regulated doses it can be lethal.

How Does Adderall Work?

Adderall creates a constant flow of dopamine. It continuously sends a supply of the feel-good neurotransmitter to the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which regulates behavior, emotional processing, and cognition. According to Synapse, Penn’s Undergraduate Medical Connection research center, “stimulating this region of the brain predictably causes increased alertness, wakefulness, and concentration.”  These chemical reactions cause the high that students report feeling.

What are the Side Effects Associated with Unregulated Use?

The side effects of excessive usage are not pretty. Because of the “speed” like qualities and caffeine in Adderall, it has been linked to “cardiovascular complications.” In extreme cases Aderall abuse can lead to a stroke. More common side effects include heart palpitations and a rapid heart beat. Physically, Adderall can cause teeth grinding, and since it’s an appetite suppressant, it can cause extreme weight loss.

Psychological disturbances such as depression, paranoia, and anger have also been reported. When a regular user decides to quit the drug, they will experience symptoms similar to those felt by recovering narcotics addicts. According to a source from Study Drugs, “I slept an hour a night for a week straight [while on Adderall.]” Once she stopped taking the drug, she slept and ate non-stop for several days in a row to compensate for her loss of sleep. At the rate at which her brain was processing information, the source claims that, “she wasn’t living in the moment.”

To hear three personal perspectives from students check out this clip:

How do so Many Students get Their Hands on Adderall?

Many students are prescribed Adderall for ADHD; yet those students can sometimes function without their medication, so they sell their prescriptions for an elevated price. The dealer makes a profit, and the student buyer has a steady dose of Adderall to get them through exams and papers.

Here’s a shorts news clip and interview on the fad:

Just as any fad catches on, someone who tries Adderall talks about the success that they have with the drug and their grades. The word spreads, and other students begin to seek out someone who has a  prescription. Students that have never even touched alcohol or narcotics want the drug for its practical purposes. They have very little knowledge of what they are taking; or even if they do, they feel that the positive effects of the drug outweigh the negative health and psychological effects. Sometimes it’s too late, and similarly to any addiction, the users’ decision-making becomes overpowered by their desire to have the drug.

Who is to Blame for this Epidemic?

According to the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids:

Recent media reports underscore the massive surge in the prescribing of prescription stimulants to our nation’s children. Combine the existing daily damage from prescription opioid abuse together with a range of other medicines that are abused, and we ourselves have created this crisis.

In 2009, youth abused marijuana the most, but prescription drugs ranked second. Acquiring prescription pills is not difficult for the average student. Students can easily go to a psychologist and claim that they are experiencing ADHD-like symptoms and receive a prescription. Whether the student abuses their own prescription or buys from a friend, prescription stimulants are not regulated or penalized nearly as often as they should be.

How do we stop it?

On June 11, there was a conference held at Temple University in Philadelphia to promote the safety and regulation of prescribed pills at universities.  Michael Botticelli, the  director of National Drug Control Policy, led the conference and spoke about methods to manage the abuse of prescription pills. A few of his tactics included pharmaceutical regulation and personal assessment of the distributor and the situation. He also suggested the importance of “disposal programs,” which emphasize throwing away prescriptions after the patient is finished with the bottle.

A less passive way to regulate the illegal sale of Adderall would be to crack down on the overall drug trafficking on campuses. Search and seizure policies have led to students being kicked out of universities for many years. If campuses crack down, there will be a large number of students who will face either educational consequences, or in more extreme cases, criminal convictions. Legal action will cause students to take the issue more seriously; they are more likely to stay away from these illegal behaviors if there is a clear consequence.

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Madeleine Stern (@M3estern) is a student at George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Simone via Flickr]

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Adderall Epidemic: Speed for Success appeared first on Law Street.

With all of the recent issues in the media, Satanism has become a unique topic of discussion. Rarely spoken of, it tends to be a controversial taboo, and a typically condemned ideology. Despite all of the negative debate, it is interesting to analyze the legality behind such a forbidden topic, and see how the controversies surrounding recent incidences are handled by the courts.

Part of what the United States was built on was the freedom to freely practice the religion of one’s choice. According to the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” There is no amendment which excludes or singles out a particular religion as not applying to the constitution. According to John Farina, a professor of Religion and Law at George Mason University, “The state is incompetent to make judgments about what is a good religion and what isn’t.” Legality of religion is not about morality or ethics, it is about breaking the law. So where does Satanism fall within this spectrum. Here is an in depth look at the legality of Satanism.

What is Satanism?

According to Contemporary Religious Satanism, “Satanism of today is atheistic[…] Satanic ideology states that one should pursue one’s own satisfaction.” There is discrepancy between how scholars define the religion and how the organization defines it themselves, but Satanism can loosely be defined as more of a philosophy than a religion that focuses on “empowerment, self-realization, actualization, [and] assertion or development […] a general opposition to all traditional and modern institutions of authority.”  Satanists do not embrace evilness per se, yet they embrace rebellion and prefer not to adhere to the conformity of traditional religion. Many Satanists feel that that have been wronged by society, and choose to resort to this alternative lifestyle.

Case Study: The Black Mass at Harvard University

At Harvard University, there was a planned Satanic ceremony, called Black Mass to occur in May 2014. The mass would mock the classic Catholic mass, with the students intent of “exercising their First Amendment rights.” The Cultural Studies Club wanted to explore and demonstrate a new realm of religious expression. According to CNN, a cultural studies club student at Harvard said,  “Our purpose is not to denigrate any religion or faith, which would be repugnant to our educational purposes…but instead to learn and experience the history of different cultural practices.” Some students felt that this was a very innovative and enlightening idea; others were extremely upset and wanted to put an immediate end to what they felt was an an attack.

The Harvard Extension School said in a statement that it encouraged students to assemble freely. However, “we do not agree with the student group’s decision to stage an event that is so deeply disturbing and offensive to many in the Harvard community and beyond.” As a university, a private institution, Harvard does not owe this group of students the right to hold a religious ceremony. The Constitution does not require nor regulate an educational establishment; and a private institution has the right to oversee and set precedent for the students’ public activity on the account of preserving a safe environment, that is conducive to learning. The fact that the Black Mass caused such an extreme backlash from a large portion of the student body and staff gave Harvard more than enough reason to put a halt on the ceremony before it started.

To see an interview with one of the participants of the Black Mass click here:

Case Study: Oklahoma Satanist Group Attempts to Erect a Statue in Celebration of Satanism

In Oklahoma, a Satanist group is currently battling to have their statue erected in front of the Oklahoma State Capitol. The statue is being built in a studio in New York City, and is almost in its final form. The statue is a seven-foot tall demon-like man with a goat’s head; the figure has long horns, a beard, and wears a partial smirk. Two children statue look up admiringly at the demon-like man.  The group argues that they should be able to place their statue on the grounds because the Ten Commandments are displayed there. If a religious symbol is already placed on public grounds, how can the state block the Satanist group from displaying their statue? According to CNS News, Lucien Greaves, a representative for the Satanic Temple argued, “We would have never suggested that a Satanic monument should be represented on Capitol grounds if it weren’t for the fact that the 10 Commandments were already there. The idea of a solitary monument, related to any one religion, standing on Capitol grounds is offensive. “

According to ABC 15, “In December, state lawmakers told CNN that the satanists’ message wouldn’t fly in their Bible Belt state, where nearly two-thirds of the population are Christian.” In 1947 Everson v. Board of Education, the courts ruled in an establishment clause that a federal nor a state government “can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another.” Justice Black also ruled that there can be no official church of the state established. Religion is an independent facility, and should be treated accordingly. Oklahoma’s legislators are contradicting the basic principle which is established in the case; by erecting a statue symbolizing one religion’s values, yet denying another the right to display their symbols publicly. Farina says, “The court has to balance that religious freedom right against the compelling interest of the state.” In this case, it is clear where to majority lies, yet seems to contradict the separation between church and state clause. In fact, neither the ten commandments nor the demon statue should be displayed on public grounds. Religion should remain a private entity, and be confined to a religious establishment.

This First Amendment and the Establishment Clause, banning any “law respecting an establishment of religion,” was made applicable to the states by due process and the Fourteenth Amendment. In terms of religion, the only way that the government can intervene and regulate is when there is illegal activity or criminal action resulting from the religious practices.

An example of this scenario was Gonzalez v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal (2005). In this case, which was brought to the Supreme Court, O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal (“UDV”), a Brazilian religious group in the United States, claimed that they needed to import a hallucinate tea which included the drug DMT for a part of their religious ritual. According to Farina, UDV won the case and was able to continue to import the tea on account of traditional religious purposes tied to the consumption of this mind-altering tea.

Case Study: Van Orden v. Perry

Another case that supports the preferential treatment of certain religions is the Van Orden v. Perry case in 2005. In this case former lawyer, Van Orden, sued Texas for the display of the Ten Commandments on state capitol grounds. He claimed that the statute violated the Establishment Clause, in which the government is banned from making an official religion or favoring one over the other. In this case, the state won on the grounds that “the Ten Commandments have an undeniable historical meaning.” The fact that the monument included historical context that applies to national history, outweighed its secular purpose. According to Legal Information Institute, this where an inherent is a contradiction lies, “One face looks to the past in acknowledgment of our Nation’s heritage, while the other looks to the present in demanding a separation between church and state.” Yet, one has to argue what is history truly . Although, we have a very mainstreamed view on what is taught in the educational system, what one may deem important is subjective to that person’s background and upbringing. Anything that is suggested for a secular purpose can easily offend anyone with opposing personal view.

Tax Exemption

According to Farina, there really is no such thing as a legal religion. The only thing that would make a religion “valid” would be their status with the IRS and whether or not they receive exemption from paying taxes. In the 2001 case, ESA v. Rylander,  the Ethical Society of Austin applied to the courts to get tax exemption for being a religious organization; they were initially granted the benefit by the courts, yet the decision was revoked when the courts decided that in order for it to legally be considered a religious organization the religion must worship a “supreme being.” In 2010 Oklahoma granted the Satanist church tax-exemption. According to Pro Con, “A tax exemption is a privilege, not a right. Governments have traditionally granted this privilege to churches because of the positive contribution they are presumed to make to the community, but there is no such provision in the U.S. Constitution.” This statement may cause Satanist establishments issues when applying for tax exemption in their state. On the other hand, according to TCI College Law Review, “there is no adequate definition of a protected religion or religious tax exempt activity […] religious institutions are not obligated to perform services to the community in return for the tax exemption.” Also, tax exemptions are not required by the First Amendment, therefore the state courts are left to handle the decision, which leads to inconsistency in the state’s legislation.

 Private vs. Public Interests

What it really boils down to is religion is truly a private entity. As the constitution supports the idea that people should be able to worship freely, it does not support the public involvement in the matter. Religion is personal; no religious organization should have the freedom to express their beliefs in an aggressive manner. Legally, Satanists should have the right to practice their religion (as long as they do not break any laws). The issue for most people seems to be more about morality, when we bring up a religion that has such a negative connotation.

Resources

Primary 

Charters of Freedom: Bill of Rights

Harvard: Statement on ‘Black Mass’

Supreme Court: Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing

US Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit: Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal

SCOTUS: Van Orden v. Perry

Additional

USA Today: Satanic ‘Black Mass’ at Harvard canceled

Boston Globe: Amid Outcry, Black Mass at Harvard is Called Off

Fox News: Satanic Group Says Oklahoma Must Give the Devil His Due

Cornell Law: Establishment Clause

Boston Globe: Satan Statue Should be Welcome in Oklahoma

New York Daily News: Devil-Worship Group Unveils Satanic Statue Design for Oklahoma State Capitol

ABC 15: Satanists Unveil Design for Oklahoma Statehouse Statue

Time: ‘Black Mass’ on Harvard Campus Canceled

CNN: Update: Harvard’s Satanic ‘Black Mass’ Cancelled

ProCon: Should Churches (Defined as Churches, Temples, Mosques, Synagogues, etc.) Remain Tax-Exempt?

Jesper Aagaard Peterson: Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Giving the Devil His Due: the Legality of Satanism appeared first on Law Street.

Imagine this: The year is 2024 and there are humans living on Mars. Sounds like a chapter right out of a sci-fi novel, but this is a real mission that will officially launch ten years from now. In 2011, co-founders Bas Lansdorp and Arno Wielders came together to start a Netherlands-based non-profit organization with the mission of conceptualizing plans for establishing a permanent human colony on Mars. They collaborated with aerospace organizations in the USA, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom to solidify a plan. Click here to view a full list of suppliers. In April 2013, a press conference was held in both New York and Shanghai to launch the mission into action.

Click here to view the history of Mars One:

Mars One: The Basics

Applications Process

Starting in 2013, applicants were able to apply to be a part of the one-way mission. Every year a new batch of astronauts will join the group and begin the eight-year training process before the departure to Mars. There are five traits that the Mars One mission deems vital in its astronaut selection: “Resiliency, adaptability, curiosity, ability to trust, and creativity/resourcefulness.” Applicants must be free of both health and mental illness, as well as possess an adequate level of physical fitness.There are four rounds to the astronaut selection process. The first round begins with the submission of an online application. The application will consist of a letter to Mars One, which will include a resume and one-minute video outlining the candidate’s reasons for applying. If selected to proceed to round two, applicants must submit a record of medical health. After the committee reviews the documents, applicants will meet with the selection committee. Round three will incorporate a reality show aspect in which 20-40 candidates will participate in challenges to test their ability to survive on Mars. The selection process will be aired on television and the internet, and will conclude with the selection of one astronaut per region. The rest of the applicants will be selected by the Mars One committee. On the Mars One website, videos of applicants and supporters are open for the public to view.

Training

The training for the first group of applicants will begin in 2015. To prepare for a life on Mars, trainees will be kept in groups of four (to simulate their mission group) and will learn how to become self-sufficient in an isolated environment. Astronauts will go through three phases of training, including technical, personal, and group. At least two people from every group must be fluent in technical training, which will consist of the knowledge of medical equipment, geological studies, and exobiology (the study of alien life). Other specialties will include physiotherapy, psychology, and electronics. As the population on Mars increases, each person will bring more individual expertise to the community, and training time may be decreased accordingly. Personal training will focus on the astronaut’s ability to survive the psychologically straining components of this new environment and lifestyle. Group training consists of simulating life on Mars. Astronauts will learn to grow crops, retrieve water, and maintain their life support systems.

Cost and Finance

Mars One is a nonprofit, non-governmental funded project. It receives funding via donations, contributions from sponsors, and the sale of Mars One merchandise. The estimated cost of the project is roughly $6 billion.

1. Click here to see a full list of sponsors.
2.  Donations can be made on Mars One website.
3. Merchandise can be bought on the Mars One website.

Regulations and Policies

Basic Necessities

Astronauts will reside in living units that produce oxygen; they will grow their crops for food and water will be extracted from the soil and put through a treatment process. Astronauts will reside in inflatable living tanks that will be filled with breathable oxygen, and will eliminate Carbon Dioxide from the unit. Each astronaut will have 20 m3 of personal living space. According to Mars One, “this system will be very similar to those units (that) are fully functional on board the International Space Station.”

Communication

Astronauts can communicate with family and friends on earth via text, voice, or video. Connection can take up to 20 minutes, so direct phone calls are not a practical form of communication.

Technology

Astronauts will have access to television and internet with a three-minute delay from Earth. Astronauts must request a certain broadcast in advance, so that it can be uploaded to the server.

Government

The astronauts will also have to spend time configuring a system of organization for their colony. They will have the responsibility of deciding on a democratic set of rules to appease the community and help avoid chaos or, in the worst case, a demise of the colony. There will be no religion to dictate principles; decision making will be based on the individual’s system of ethics and free choice.

Reproduction

As of now, the policy on conception states that pregnancy is not advised. Scientists are unsure if the conditions — gravity in particular — is conducive to pregnancy. According to Mars One, the issue of retaining the society’s population count will have to be researched more in depth in later years.

Is Mars One Ethical?

A One-Way Trip 

At this point, astronauts who decide to partake in this project will not be coming back to earth. This means that if conditions fail to meet the astronaut’s expectations, they do not have the choice to abort the mission and return. “All those emigrating will do so because they choose to.” Also, astronauts will go through extensive training to ensure that they know what to expect. They have the option to abandon the mission at any point before departure. Mars One ensures that they will attempt to offer the highest quality of life as possible.

Roles on Mars

Mars One assumes that the astronauts will naturally figure out a system of governance. Is it ethical to send people to space with no structured code of governance or appointed officials? Naturally, roles of the colony will evolve based on factors such as personality, intelligence, and physical strength; yet with no strict system, there is no way of telling how the colony dynamics will develop. This poses an ethical issue regarding the safety and happiness of the individuals involved. This issue will have to be addressed once the astronauts establish themselves.

Space Law

Not only is there a question of ethics regarding the colonization of Mars, but we also have to ponder the legal aspect. Generally speaking, Mars One will not violate any legal standing regarding international space law. According to nhbar.org, one fundamental principle of international space law is “that all nations are free to conduct scientific investigation in space.” The plan for 2024 to colonize Mars is experimental; and as long as it remains free of a military presence and does not have a negative impact on the environments of Earth or Mars, it broadly falls in the confines of international space law.

The Outer Space Treaty: Environment

According to nhbar.org, “The Outer Space Treaty obligates States to preserve the environment of outer space in the course of their activities.” In a statement from Mars One, they outline the steps they will take to ensure an environmentally safe project: “Mars One will take specific steps to ensure that the Mars environment will not be harmed. The Mars base will be forced to recycle just about everything, and pay close attention to its energy use and minimize the leakage of materials and energy.” Currently, Mars One ambassadors are speaking with the ICSU Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) to decide how they will successfully protect Mars’ environment. There are currently two major components that will help to protect the environment of Mars:

1. Solar panels will be installed  in 3000 square meters of power-generating surface area.
2. Production and recycling of water and oxygen will be a mandatory practice for astronauts to follow on Mars.

Legal Responsibility

According to Mars One, “Mars One is a private and not a governmental initiative.” This statement does not necessarily protect state actors from legal responsibility; yet, where the sole duty lies is unclear at this time. In the case of Beattie v. U.S., the courts noted in the Outer Space Treaty that “the basic principle is that in the sovereignless reaches of outer space, each State party to the Outer Space Treaty will retain jurisdiction over its own objects and persons.” The project is a “Dutch-based” nonprofit initiative, and is funded by 94 countries worldwide. Mars One is a non-governmental multi-national collaboration; and although one nation may not claim sovereignty to a celestial body, they may be  liable for damage or misconduct in space. If the Outer Space Treaty and international space law is violated, who will be held accountable? Since the project is independent, yet funded internationally, where will legal action be directed if there are violations of international space law? Does this mean that space law has to be updated to accommodate where the responsibility lies? At this time the legality of Mars One remains unclear due to the unique nature of the project.

Legal Protection

Another issue that the Mars One team fails to address is the legal structure on Mars itself. Currently, the astronauts are held responsible for the creation of a government body upon their arrival on Mars; the future colonized Mars is to be collaborative and democratic, yet who will enforce this newly conquered planet’s young and weak system? Who will be prosecuted if there are faults in the general system? Are astronauts held responsible for their actions in space under the laws that govern earth, and if so, whose laws will govern them? Are these astronauts signing away their souls to space research, and lacking any legal protections? According to Mars One, “Mars One identifies two major risk categories: the loss of human life and cost overruns.” The astronauts are agreeing to enter a potentially dangerous situation where there is no law to serve as a buffer between them and a potentially life-threatening situation for the sake of science. There is little stability in terms of a governmental and legal system on Mars, and to trust a small group of average citizens to form an effective operating society seems to be a disaster waiting to erupt.

To hear more from co-founder Bas Lansdorp click here for a full interview.

Resources

Primary 

Mars One: Homepage

Additional

New Hampshire Bar Journal: International Space Law: An Overview of Law and Issues

CTV News: The New Space Pioneers

ABC: Company Offer One-Way Trip to Mars

NBC News: Mars One Pares Down Its List of Red Planet Settlers to 705

MSN: Private Mars One Colony Project: 705 Astronaut Candidates Pass Latest Cut

Huffington Post: On Mars, Who’s in Charge?

Washington Post: Would you Take a one-way Ticket to Mars?

CNN: NASA: Yes, Mars Could Have Hosted Life?

University of Nebraska–Lincoln: The Treaty on Rescue and Return of Astronauts and Space Objects

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Madeleine Stern (@M3estern) is a student at George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Kevin Dooley via Flickr]

Madeleine Stern

Madeleine Stern attended George Mason University majoring in Journalism and minoring in Theater. Her writing on solitary confinement inspired her to pursue a graduate degree in clinical counseling after graduation. Madeleine is an avid runner, dedicated animal lover, and a children’s ballet instructor. Contact Madeleine at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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