The United States’ War on Drugs declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon and revamped by President Reagan in the 1980s has been an objectively failed initiative with origins based in racism and oppression. After exploring the repercussions of this endeavor for societies and individuals around the world, global researchers and policymakers have declared that the policies and institutions created to fight the battle have left devastation in their wake. Despite high economic and social costs, missed opportunities in public health and criminal justice sectors, and increasing limits on our personal freedoms, all the measures taken to eradicate drug abuse and trafficking have been unsuccessful. Not only that, but militarized police tactics, mass incarceration, and harsh penalties that stifle opportunities for rehabilitation, growth, and change disproportionately harm poor and minority communities. <br/>Because reform in U.S. drug policy is badly needed, the goals of America’s longest war need to be reevaluated, implications of the initiative reexamined, and alternative strategies reconsidered. Solutions must be propagated from a diverse spectrum of contributors and holistic understanding through scientific research, empirical evidence, innovation, public health, social wellbeing, and measurable outcomes. But before we can know where we should be headed, we need to appreciate how we got to where we are. This preliminary expository investigation will explore and outline the history of drug use and prohibition in the United States before the War on Drugs was officially declared. Through an examination of the different patterns of substance use, evolving civil tolerance of users, racially-charged anti-drug misinformation/propaganda campaigns, and increasingly restrictive drug control policies, a foundation for developing solutions and strengths-based strategies for drug reform will emerge.

“Sam’s Emotional Day: A Child’s Guide to Recognizing and Handling Emotions” is a creative project that fulfills the thesis requirement for Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. It is an illustrated children’s book meant to help children ages 4-7 identify, understand, and manage the six basic emotions. The illustrations of the main character throughout the book display clear facial expressions associated with each emotion, which were designed for children to easily identify them. The text in the story portion will prompt children to understand the feelings behind each emotion in a simple matter, and the end of the book provides techniques for them to manage emotions. Research on the importance of teaching children emotions, how to teach them, and similar children’s literature are discussed. Facial expressions and feelings while experiencing an emotion was also researched, which is presented in the creative process. An analysis of the text and illustrations is provided as well.

The goal of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of SAA and body dissatisfaction among freshman undergraduate students between 18-20 years old suffering from self-reported acne. A total of 73 participants in an online survey were asked to complete the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (BPSS), and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS). No significant correlation was found between acne severity and SAAS scores, but a significant, positive correlation was found between acne severity and body dissatisfaction. Moreover, acne sufferers had higher mean scores for the BPSS than non-acne sufferers indicating higher body dissatisfaction, but there was no significant difference in the scores for the SAAS between acne sufferers and non-acne sufferers. There was also no significant difference in correlations between acne severity and SAAS scores or BPSS scores between men and women, however, women had much higher mean scores for SAAS than men. In addition, scores for the SAAS and BPSS were found to have a significant, positive correlation with both depression and anxiety across the entire sample. There is paucity of research on the psychosocial effects of acne, more specifically social appearance anxiety (SAA), so further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings of the current study using a larger sample size ranging in acne severity.