Exercise 1: Stop Motion Animation

The Squirrel-body Bear

Once upon a time, a man named Mr. Stickman was taking a walk around Stick Town’s neighbourhood. Out of the blue, it started to rain like cats and dogs. While trying to seek shelter at the bus stop, Mr. Stickman met a very unexpected and playful magical creature, known as the Squirrel-body Bear. They fell in love instantly. Although some passerby managed to capture the moment but the footage was very soon taken down from social media by magic.

Exercise 2: Viral Content

5 Reasons Not To Get Yourself Involved In Drugs

1. Curiosity killed the cat, and it will kill you next.

Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe… the list of people who died because of drugs can go on and on.

In America alone, a total of 50,000 people died due to drug overdose in the year 2015. A recent article by CBS News (2016) reported that drug overdose kills more Americans than guns. People get involved in drugs because of many factors, curiosity being one of them. Humans have a deeply curious nature and we just love to leave no rock unturned to satisfy our thirst for an answer, even if there is no benefit in doing so. However, the curiosity for drugs may turn into an addiction or overdose that may eventually lead to death.

Drug overdose happens when drugs are taken intentionally or mixed together. A person can suffer from an overdose even during his or her first time (NIDA for Teens, 2017). In fact, legal drugs can also cause death if combined with alcohol. It is the synergistic effects of the combination that is fatal (University of Utah,n.d.). Both substances stifle your breathing, but by different systems. Some other stimulants like cocaine can kill you in various ways including heart attack, brain damage and overheating (Bellum, 2014). Therefore, it is safe to say you should keep your curiosity to other aspects that do not involve dying.

2. You don’t have money for that.

Drugs will cost you an arm and a leg. Statistics show the first time use of drugs or alcohol is generally between 15-22 years old, which means that most of them are still students (Strong Bonds, 2009). If there is one thing that can solve any student’s problem, it would be MONEY. As a student myself, I need to think not only once or twice, but more even before spending Rm10 on meals. One thing to be sure is that drugs will definitely cost you more than that. Drug industries make the most money on Earth (HuffPost, 2016). The price of illegal drugs is raised very high due to the lack of supply. When there is a lack of supply and an increase in demand, suppliers are free to monopolise and set the price as they please for their own profit. Also, when you become addicted to drugs, luxury becomes a necessity. One would be willing to pay any price for something that he or she cannot live without.

Drugs do not stop you from feeling hungry or neither does it keep your wallet full. So again, why spend your money on expensive drugs when you can spend it on cheap mamak food?

3. It affects your health.

What doesn't kill you would not necessarily make you stronger. Consuming drugs does both short-term and long-term damage on our body. Some drugs are able to affect your mood, causing a change in behaviour and actions. This is because drugs disrupt the chemicals in your brain, affecting the messages it sends. Over time, drugs weaken one’s immune system and cause damages to the internal organs, making one highly prone to sickness (Narconon, 2017). Drug addicts generally suffer more health problems because they do not pay much attention to their health, from eating an unhealthy diet to not having enough rest to not maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

4. IT IS ILLEGAL.

Why risk to ruin your own life either way? Malaysia has the toughest law when it comes to anything that concerns drugs. Under section 39B of Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, anyone that possess 15 gm or more heroin and morphine; 1000gm or more opium (raw or prepared); 200gm or more cannabis; and 40gm or more cocaine will receive the compulsory sentence of death by hanging (Lim, 2015). For those who are not considered drug traffickers, they receive lighter punishments such as rehabilitation, imprisonment, and fines depending on the amount of drugs possessed and degree of offence (Lim, 2015). If you are a student, you will also most probably get expelled from school.

Drugs are expensive even for medical purposes. Hence, drug addicts need a substantial amount of fortune to support their habit. In desperate situations, one might commit crimes to sustain their spending. Also, the influence of drugs causes people to make poor decisions and judgements that may land them in trouble with the law.

The possession of drugs is considered as a very serious offence in Malaysia, so if you are caught, memang tak boleh kasi chance!

5. It does not solve any problems, it creates more.

One very common reason why people turn to drugs is to seek escapism from problems. In order to make themselves forget temporary, they take drugs to feel good about themselves. However, by doing so, they do not look at the bigger picture of the situation. Problems are meant to be overcome. No matter what we do in life, the only way to go forward is to face all your problems and overcome any obstacles. Using drugs as an avoidance would not solve anything because when the effects wear off, it will dawn on you that the problems are still there. Adding on, when someone is high on drugs, they are not in the right state of mind and are less aware of their surrounding. Thus, there is a chance that you might say or do things you did not mean to and make the problem worst.

Therefore, one must learn how to deal with their own problems and seek help from friends or family if necessary. Learning never stops, so do not easily give up on yourself!

Reference List

Bellum, S. (2014) Drug Overdoses Kill More Than Cars, Guns, and Falling. Available at: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/drug-overdoses-kill-more-than-cars-guns-and-falling [Accessed 16 May 2017].

CBS News (2016) Drug overdoses now kill more Americans than guns. Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/drug-overdose-deaths-heroin-opioid-prescription-painkillers-more-than-guns/ [Accessed 16 May 2017].

HuffPost (2016) Why Are Drugs So Outrageously Expensive? Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-frances/why-are-drugs-so-outrageo_b_8591522.html [Accessed 16 May 2017].

Lim, T. (2015) 7 things to know about drug laws in Malaysia. Available at: http://poskod.my/cheat-sheets/7-things-know-drugs-laws-malaysia/ [Accessed 16 May 2017].

Narconon (2017) Top 10 Reasons Not to do Drugs and What to do Instead. Available at: http://www.narconon.org/blog/drug-addiction/top-10-reasons-not-to-do-drugs-and-what-to-do-instead/ [Accessed 16 May 2017].

NIDA for Teens (2017) Drug Overdoses in Teens. Available at: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/drug-overdoses-youth [Accessed 16 May 2017].

Strong Bond (2009) Why Do Young People Use Drugs? Available at: http://www.strongbonds.jss.org.au/problem/why.html [Accessed 16 May 2017].

University of Utah (n.d.) How Drugs Can Kill. Available at: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugskill/ [Accessed 16 May 2017].

Exercise 3: Infographic

Reference List

Drug Free (2012) Prescription Drug Abuse Results in One Death Every 19 Minutes in U.S. Available at: http://drugfree.org/learn/drug-and-alcohol-news/prescription-drug-abuse-results-in-one-death-every-19-minutes-in-u-s/ [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

Drug War Facts (2017) Economics. Available at:http://drugwarfacts.org/chapter/economics [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

NIDA (2015) Dramatic Increases in Maternal Opioid Use and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Available at: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/dramatic-increases-in-maternal-opioid-use-neonatal-abstinence-syndrome [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

NIDA (2017) Overdose Death Rates. Available at: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

NSDUH (2015) RESULTS FROM THE 2014 NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG USE AND HEALTH: DETAILED TABLES. Available at: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs2014/NSDUH-DetTabs2014.pdf [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

Substance Awareness Center of IRC (2017) Drug-Free Workplace Program. Available at: http://www.sacirc.org/drug-free-workplace.html [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

UNODC (2016) World Drug Report 2016 [online]. United Nations: United Nations publication. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/doc/wdr2016/WORLD_DRUG_REPORT_2016_web.pdf [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

WHO (2017) Data and Statistics. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/illicit-drugs/data-and-statistics [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

WHO (n.d.) Global Health Risks Report [online]. No place: WHO publication. Available at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_part2.pdf [Accessed: 30 May 2017].

Exercise 4: Mobile App

Mobile App Name: Juice Lab

Link: https://ibuildapp.com/test-your-app.php?47b5ea8928&code=J9V5OT&em&no_redi

The main purpose of this app is to ...

a) conveniently allow people to order their juices online beforehand in order to cut short their waiting time

b) allows easy access to the menu and obtain detailed information (the ingredients used, price) on each type of juice

c) get notifies on the promotions available in Juice Lab