How Gambling, Chemical Dependency, and Racial Discrimination Affect Urban Community - Essay Example

? How Gambling, Chemical Dependency, and Racial Discrimination Affect Our Urban Community Reliable estimates concerning the prevalence of gambling in Ohio reveal that an adult population of 2-5% has become pathological or problematic gamblers. The great numbers of casinos, which are operated at close proximity to residents, raise the likelihood to have at least 3% of total adult population living in the urban areas, develop gambling addiction at some stage in life. Ohio administrations have a very high budget record on the resources set aside to management of gambling addiction through treatment as well as through counseling. Associated to the gambling menace have been the overindulgence in alcohol and other chemical substance whose effects are wholesomely detrimental not only to the individuals in addiction but also to the state at large (ONDCP, n.d., 1-4). Dependence on chemical influence has been in the rise with efforts to curb the menace in the city raising costs of living. Addiction to chemical and substance abuse in Cleveland have been pointed to raise levels of unemployment and in effect poor standards of living. The resources committed to management of these vices by the authorities have detrimental effects to the economy and the outcome is retarded growth to the economy and failure to offer basic services to the citizens. On the other hand, racial prejudice in Cleveland, Ohio has long history with adverse effects recorded. For instance, the issue of racial discrimination fueled the Cleveland Hough uprising of 1966. In like manner to the vices of gambling as well as the overindulgence in chemical substance, the racial discrimination has been associated with great adverse effects to the healthy living of the urban dwellers in Cleveland and the entire Ohio. Discussion In view of the existence of addiction into gambling, chemical substance use as well as the prejudice in racial orientation within Cleveland, this paper seeks to evaluate the effects resultant to the communities living in the urban areas. In particular, this paper will analyze the social, economic as well as cultural impacts that the three vices have on the communities living within the urban areas in Ohio especially in Cleveland. A significant population of the adults in Ohio suffers gambling addiction and the estimate is projected to keep rising every year with increase in Casinos. The gambling disorders are projected to keep rising in years to come with the probability of many adults developing these disorders at one point in their lives. The social economic effects of the conditions developed in gambling disorders include high levels of debts among others. These are seen to increase the likelihood of these persons to file bankruptcy protection through research support to link gambling and the personal bankruptcy is yet to be revealed. Study have shown that persons with chronic gambling problems suffer high unemployment rates with research revealing that the addiction counts for 8% of the total unemployment problems for these persons. In matters of crime and incarceration within the urban community, the people with the gambling complications have higher likelihood to have been victims at least once in their lives. People with the gambling disorders have higher chances of exhibiting physical ailments, high divorce rates, high suicidal rates, familial abuse as well as higher divorce rates as compared to the rest of the urban dwellers. However, this has not had any empirical evidence as per se. besides, the gambling problem cost the society highly in matters of caring for the economically unproductive (dependent) working populations as addicts to gambling. Many resources are also directed towards treatment and counseling such persons which in essence affects development, which would otherwise be realized through such resources. Koo and friends in a report show that Ohio in general has not committed enough resources to the management of the gambling problems noted within the state despite the commitment to help the victims of gambling addiction. However, despite the adverse effects that are suffered by the urban dwellers because of gambling, Cleveland has shown an outstanding effort within the state to care for her problematic gamblers thorough social meetings and assistance. The effects of gambling in Cleveland has been adverse prompting the authorities to adopt programs that would target young children in schools as well as within juveniles in bid to control the effects at later stages of development. Increased education as well as awareness has been pointed out to be the most effective tool to be adopted in mitigation of the effects of gambling problem. The education has proved beneficial to not only the gambling victims but also to victims of chemical and substance abuse (Koo et al., n.d., 3-4). Urban territoriality and racial violence are the common features that describe the community living in Cleveland. A mix of the African American races as well as the white Americans occupies the region, which has deep-rooted prejudices against each other. The Hough riots experienced in the later years of the 20th century illustrate the bad relations that exist between the races in occupation of the urban region. Michney in a study to understand the 1966 uprising in Cleveland shows how the natives are dividing into territories based on racial affiliation and which describes the perceptions by which each group views the other. The incidence that led to the arising was when a white American shot fatally an African American in Hough within Cleveland to illustrate the high levels of racial anxieties that existed between the races in occupation of the land then. He found out that such conflicts often hit the town in a bid of either of the races to ‘mark’ own territory and in the process restrict the other from frequenting the locality (Michney, 2006, 404-407). This therefore meant that in such a locality where the whites settled, hardly would you get African Americans visiting, let alone settling there. When such territories are created, great effects in social as well as economic aspects are felt. For instance, segregation of housing and schools within the territories would influence the interactions and social ties, which are health for competition and subsequent development. Distribution of resources by the authorities would be equally hampered by the racial discrimination and hence, far reaching effects concerning economic performance in the urban set-up would be realized. Urban uprising and riots is therefore the most common phenomenon within such a set up where discrimination becomes most prevalent. The early years of 1963-64 have a history of great schooling segregation in Cleveland in Ohio, which took the determination and efforts of the African Americans living there then to fight against the segregation. With reactions through mass demonstrations, picketing, boycotts, sit-ins as well as through the formal legal action, the African Americans communicated their grievances towards the state authorities. Despite the fact that this led to realization of moderately few reforms, they failed to realize the ultimate intention of their grievance. The city suffered preferential public school treatment for the African Americans living within the city. Racial discrimination in Cleveland city in the past has been associated with poor physical planning, inadequate social services and amenities as well as the deep-rooted education problem. This was the situation in the yester years especially within the African American territories while the reverse served right concerning the white territories. They enjoyed improved social services and amenities, better housing as well as improved learning environments in schools. These have been among other effects that the urban populations in Cleveland suffer in effect of racial segregation. The long run effects are detrimental not only socially but also economically in that productivity is hampered by the prejudice. Production capacity would vary on races due to prejudice in employment, competence and skills as well as the effects of boycotts, uprisings and the general poor working conditions (Moore, 2002, 135-140). Other studies on the effects of racism show that it has great effects on other aspects of human lives such as in wealth creation and accumulation, employment and general economic performance. In favoritism, racism is blamed of creating and increasing poverty rates in such urban set-ups as Cleveland in having the rich class of a given race continuously amass wealth while limiting the other race. When the means of production are concentrated in one race, then poverty is evident in the other where inequality is the result. Racism encourages discrimination in employment opportunities, which in effect explains why some races would be favored over the other. Poverty and the lack of employment opportunities would explain the reason of rising cases of crime, drugs and addiction and general state of insecurity, which causes instability. Increased crime in a city hampers investment and productivity, which contributes to worsen the economic state of the city. This would therefore explain the economic status of Cleveland when compared to other states, which do not condone the racial discrimination as is prevalent here. Smedley through a painstaking study actually confirms the adverse effects of racism and defines it as a cause of deadly disease (Smedley et al., n.d., 9-10). Social economic classes of persons are the resultant of such racial discrimination, which would only have solution from abolition of the discrimination. In Cleveland, the chemical substance and drug business is highly concealed and thus hard to curtail. In order to avoid the regulation and possible taxation of such substances, they are packed and sold under misleading names and other deceiving labels. Bath salts and incense (commonly called K2 or spice) are among other highly addictive chemical substances that are in use in Cleveland. It becomes overwhelming for medical practitioners to understand why people would indulge in the use of salts as well as smoking incense. However, the effects are clear as outlined above and hence the need for appropriate frameworks to be sought to combat the increase in chemical dependence among the natives of the city. Reports indicate that at least 21% of youths in the state attest to have used the ‘synthetic lethal intoxicating drugs’ at least once in many of the occasions of leisure and parties in the town (Jerry, Collins and Streem, 2012, 258-260). Drug and substance abuse in Cleveland city has been notably high with effects spilling over to merely all sectors of the economy and social life. Poverty and the availability of such chemicals have greatly contributed to the increase in dependence on them by majorly the youths. Escalating unemployment rates among the youths, which is blamed on low levels of education increases the opportunities of the youth in the city to indulge in the drugs and other chemical abuse. However, a cycle would be pointed out in the low level of education leading to increased chances of unemployment where the unemployment equally leads to high risks of indulgence in chemicals and drug abuse. In conclusion, therefore, Cleveland has been shown to lag more into the issues surrounding racism, chemical dependence as well as in addiction to gambling. Racism is seen to date far back into history with efforts to curb it being relatively futile. There is the existence of territories, which define the occupants and are a display of social classes. The whites are always favored against the African Americans, which explains the economic stratification within the city. The whites are richer and enjoy higher living conditions while compared to the African Americans. The economic effects of racism as seen are the creation 0of social economic classes, which indicate the quality of life lived. Increase in crime and such vices have been associated to the effects of class stratification. Gambling on the other hand has been rampant with individuals suffering addiction. This has led to misery resultant from bankruptcy, which leads to the utilization of much of public/family resources in treatment and counseling of these patients. It is therefore seen as a vice towards economic development in that resources channeled towards management of the conditions resultant from such addiction would be otherwise used for the common good. The addiction has also some link into drugs and substance use, which ultimately would lead to increase in crime and social disorder. Finally, the dependence of chemical substances has been seen to take a lead in the urban set-up equally. Weakness in regulatory mechanisms would be highly blamed where such chemicals as the SLIDs get into circulation and thus people get easy access to them. The use and indulgence into drugs and chemical substances leads to massive losses within an urban set-up as Cleveland in that crime rate rises, economic instability results as well as many resources would be employed in treatment and management of the conditions resultant (Bogie and Triolo, 2003, p. 469-470; Grinstead, 2002, 1-9). These are among many other common effects of gambling, chemical dependence as well as racial discrimination in Cleveland. References Bogie K. M. and Triolo R. J. (2003). “Effects of regular use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on tissue health”. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 40(6):469–476 Grinstead, S.F. (2002). “Managing Pain Medication in Recovery”. Journal of Addictive Disorders. Retrieved from :< http://www.breining.edu/jad02sg.pdf> Jerry, J., Collins, G. and Streem, D., (2012). “Synthetic legal intoxicating drugs: The emerging ‘incense’ and ‘bath salt’ phenomenon”. Cleveland clinic journal of medicine, 79(4): 258-264 Koo J., et al., (n.d). “The social costs of casino gambling for Ohio: a review of what is known and estimates of future expenses.” Retrieved from: < http://stoppredatorygambling.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CSU-Ohio-impact-study-2008.pdf> Michney, T. M., (2006). “Race, violence, and Urban territoriality: Cleveland’s Little Italy and the 1966 Hough Uprising”. Retrieved from:< http://academic.csuohio.edu/tebeaum/courses/local/michney.pdf> Moore, L. N., (2002). “The school desegregation crisis Of Cleveland, Ohio, 1963-1964.” The Catalyst for Black Political Power in a Northern City. Retrieved from :< http://tebeau304.clevelandhistory.org/files/2010/03/Moore_schooldesegregation-1.pdf> ONDCP, (n.d). “Ohio drug control update”. Retrieved from: < http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_profile_-_ohio.pdf> Smedley B. et al., (n.d). “Race, Racial Inequality and Health Inequities: Separating Myth from Fact”. Briefing paper. Retrieved from:< http://www.emfp.org/MainMenuCategory/Library/ResearchResourceLinks/RaceRacialInequalityandHealthInequitiespdf.aspx> Read More