Shreyes Ram

The solitary confinement of juvenile delinquents is a widespread practice across America’s 50 states. Under specific circumstances, law enforcement is permitted to keep these individuals isolated by themselves in separate sections of the facility. The specific conditions of youth solitary confinement and the requirements necessary for it to be used differ across each American state. Some use it in many circumstances, others never at all. The range of hours spent in solitary confinement ranges from as low as 0, in states that do not implement the practice for juveniles, to as high as over 101. This report outlines the details of when youth solitary confinement is used, the quality of that youth solitary confinement when it is used, and any notable reports or statistics coming out of each state. A graphic representation of the amount of hours each state allows will be included to visualize the national differences in use of the practice.

In the past three years, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl overdoses has skyrocketed. The drug is 100 times more potent than morphine and just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, equal to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. Illegally manufactured fentanyl is found in heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and in counterfeit pills. Teenagers are the center of this epidemic. They consume common drugs, unknowing that it might contain traces of fentanyl and that those traces are enough to be fatal. It is imperative that action is taken at every level to combat the epidemic and protect those that are most vulnerable. In this brief, we cover the basic mechanisms of how fentanyl functions, how it affects the human body, how it is propagated throughout society, who is most at risk of fentanyl poisoning, and how it might fall into those groups’ hands. We stand in support of The Nyl Project’s attention on the surge in fentanyl-related deaths in the United States of America, believing that more is needed to involve NGOs, educate susceptible populations, and prevent overdoses to end the epidemic once and for all. Now more than ever, schools, governments, and NGOs need to step up and take action.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered one of the most volatile economic recessions the United States has seen. Millions of Americans most proximately felt the impacts of increased inflation, higher food insecurity, and pricier bills for rent, groceries, emergencies, and other critical expenses. The “Great Resignation” trend of voluntary unemployment due to untenable costs of living and stagnant wage adjustment to Pandemic-era circumstances magnified a larger societal problem that has been deep-rooted in the American labor system for decades: low minimum wages....