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Don't become dependent on

» The negative effects of alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and other recreational drugs

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

Db" are bad.

It’s a statement
commonly given to us by
teachers, counsellors, and
after-school specials. We're
told that drugs can lead to
jail time, serious addiction,
or even death. Nevertheless,
drugs are frequently used and
abused by a good chunk of the
population, especially by the

 

truth is, drugs are addictive,
harmful, and detrimental to a
user’s life in almost every way
possible. Few drugs can be
used positively, but most drug
users fail to see the side effects.
Instead, they focus on the

: high they get, downplaying or
: ignoring the other parts.

Keep in mind that not all

: drugs are illegal, so the legal

: status of them isn’t the only

: factor here. Some are even

: socially accepted: alcohol

: and caffeine are both used in

: abundance by many. Caffeine

: is the most commonly used

: psychoactive drug worldwide.

: Probably many of those reading
: this (myself included) are

: addicted to the stuff. Could you
: go three days without having

: any caffeine in your system? If

: : not, congratulations—you're
college-aged demographics. The addicted to a drug. Caffeine,
: like other drugs, can lead to

: high blood pressure, overdoses,
: dependence, and withdrawal.

: Other drugs, though

: immediately more harmful,

: are still legal and in common

: use. Cigarettes and alcohol can
: both seriously damage your

: organs and kill you, but they’re
: in common usage and sold

: everywhere.

Harder drugs are pretty

self-explanatory. Few mess with
: cocaine and heroin, although

: both are more common than

: many might think. Regardless,

: there are still those who

: choose to use them, it’s unclear
: whether they don’t know the

: risks or simply choose to ignore
: them in favour of the high.

: While it’s true that many who

: try drugs don’t get addicted

: to them, addiction does not

: discriminate, and anyone

: can become dependent. Why

: choose to try something that

: can literally kill you—just fora
: bit of pleasure?

There are the softer

: drugs that many indulge in
: for recreational purposes:

: marijuana, mushrooms, ecstasy, :
: and LSD all produce kinds :
: of euphoria. Although these

: drugs aren't going to kill you or
: turn you into an addict, they’re
: still drugsand they still have —:
: harmful side effects. “Bad trips,” :
: panic attacks, and even the :
: unlocking of mental disorders
: can occur by taking “soft” drugs. :
: Marijuana in particular has

: more side effects than most

: users would care to mention,
: considering its widespread

: usage: itcan become incredibly : . ;
psychologically addictive. Many : motivation. It’s called dope for
: users can’t get through the day
: without a bit of weed, and end
: up functioning while high.

: They drive, do their jobs, and

: are generally lower functioning
: members of society because of

Many users can't
get through the
day without a bit of
weed, and end up
functioning while
high.

: the drugs they take. Yes, weed is
: probably one of the safest drugs
: to take, but it’s still a drug at the
: end of the day. It can become

: addictive, make you stupid,

: and drain all your energy and

+: areason.

Drugs are just like alcohol.

: They can be fun in the proper

: social situations, but it’s far too

: easy to fall into their trap. In the
: end, it’s probably best just to

: say no to drugs.

 

She puts up with a lot

» Etiquette from both sides of the counter

Anna Graham
Contributor

uring these last four

months (and counting),
I’ve finally experienced life
from behind the till. Thus
far, working as a cashier has
presented some important life
lessons: you come to recognize
when service is actually good
or bad, what you can and can’t
haggle yourself out of, and
what you do and don’t have to
put up with—as a customer or
otherwise.

As a late bloomer in the
world of retail, ’'ve wracked my
brain to recall when I might
have been a horrible or at least
difficult customer. I’d like to
think human decency has
stopped me in the past from
ever yelling, snapping, or being
rude to an undeserving cashier,
but I doubt that actually ever
stops anyone who hasn’t done
the job.

One would think it’s
common sense, particularly
among young adults, to
not order food with their
headphones blasting in their
ears, or to not dump Ziploc

: bags full of coins (including

: pennies) onto the counter to

: pay, or to not outright threaten
: their server for one reason or

: another. There are annoyances,
: like bags of coins, that are

: inconvenient, but aren’t the

: end of the world. There are

: issues, such as headphones,

: which can cause a transaction

: to go horribly wrong, but can

: be fixed. Then there are difficult
: situations, such as threatening
: or harassing an employee—

: this last one, regardless of the

: customer’s reasons, I refuse to
: find fair ground on.

But the point of this piece

: is not to rant about the crap

: we've all been through. Rather,
: I’m attempting to implore any
: readers of this piece to just be

: more aware of their actions

: towards those on either side of
: the till.

I’m not shocked when an

: elderly person is difficult; I’m

: disappointed, seeing as I and

: other people employed to serve
: them are oftentimes much

: younger, but I’m not surprised

: that there is a generation gap to
: overcome during transaction.

: What does surprise me is when

for the money

: young adults are difficult, rude,
: verbally aggressive, or even

: violent to the cashier. There

: could be dozens of reasons for

: why a younger customer might
: act in those ways, but if the

: person is fully aware of their

: actions—as apologizing after

: would imply—why cross that

: line to begin with?

Most customers’ immediate

: reaction to anything going

: wrong is to blame the employee
: serving them. Employees

: make mistakes all the time;

: as a customer, a lot of those

: mistakes are indeed annoying,

: even more so when it concerns

: money. It’s impossible to be

: patient or considerate of others
: all the time, but it’s important

: to keep in mind that there are

: few people who would actually

: go out of their way to be

: downright lousy—they certainly :
: exist, as customers and cashiers,
: but they’re far from everybody.

Regardless of what

: menial or pointless tasks my

: job entails, I still take it very

: seriously, and I actually don’t

: mind it. Not until very recently
: though have I begun to find

: dealing with people draining,

: customer service workers
: are seen as the thing
: to release all one’s

: aggressions on,

: and that goes for

: customers and even
: some managers. So
: while I do stress

: that customers

: have the right

: to complain

: when there is a

: legitimate issue,

: Talso stress

: that to make

: any little thing a

: problem is not just

: difficult, but from one

: shitty.

: ora customer any

: differently from how you

: might treat a classmate;

: you don't know them,

: but if you need something
: from them, do you not ask
: them nicely?

: and even depressing. With
: most corporate retail jobs, the
: mentality of “deal with it or
: quit” doesn’t exactly lift the
: “depressing” factor either.

For whatever reason,

person to another, it’s

Don’t treat a cashier