My New Year Resolutions :)

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you and that you all had a wonderful Christmas. I’m back today to talk about the New Year. It seems like everyone sets New Year resolutions or goals and I’m no exception. This year I’m planning to get a lot done. I’m almost finished with my Coming of Age novel and I’m really excited about it. Of course, I’ll have to do some self-editing but the first draft is almost done.

When that’s done, I’m going to start two different books. I want to work on Super Spies number four and the sequel to my Coming of Age novel. I have got the sequel pretty much mapped out in my head and I have an idea for the Super Spies story, but it needs to be fleshed out.

I’m going to do all that and spend as much time with my kids as I can. They’re getting more and more independent every day and soon they’ll reach that stage where it’s not cool to hang out with Mom and Dad anymore. So, I’m going to get as much time with them as I can. Sigh.  They’re at such fun ages right now! 🙂

Another area that I’m going to work on is my health. I’m going to continue working out and running. I want to get back into shape and yes, that was on my list for this year, but I didn’t make it as big of a priority as I should have. J It was an easy thing to blow off, especially when I was so into my story. So this year, I’m making it more of a priority.

I’ve purchased a Pilates DVD and I figure if I rotate running with a Pilates workout I’ll be getting the best of both worlds. The cardio from running and the resistance training my muscles need from the DVD. I’m also hoping to lose about ten pounds.

So unfortunately, I’m changing my eating habits. Boo! Not something I’m looking forward to, but it’s a necessity as I get older and my metabolism slows down. Sigh. Growing old sure isn’t any fun. 🙂

Well there you have it, my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014. What are yours? Leave a comment; I’d love to read them. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

September’s Tween Meme for the Emblazoners!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! It’s the fourth Wednesday of the month and you know what that means, it’s Tween Meme Day!

Today I decided to write about one of my favorite books of all time. The author is Harper Lee, and the title of the book is, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

I have always loved this story. It has captured the turbulent era beautifully and it’s told from a child’s point of view. The first time I read it, I identified with Scout. She reminded me of myself at a young age. I was kind of a tomboy. I would recommend this book to tweens and teens alike. It illustrates a great lesson regarding discrimination.

Discrimination is still prevalent in our society today. It has taken the form of bullying in our schools and on social media. It’s unfortunate. However, if we can get Tweens and Teens to understand the consequences of this kind of behavior maybe we can eliminate it all together. I believe reading these kinds of books empower our children to become critical thinkers. That way when they’re confronted with negative behavior like this they’ll be able to stand up for themselves.

This book is also a great history lesson as well.  It takes place in a Southern town during the Civil Rights movement. It reflects the crisis of those times. It’s great to see how far we’ve come as a nation, but we still have a ways to go.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post! I’d love to read your thoughts on it, so leave a comment. If you have any books you’d like to recommend, put that in the comment section as well. I’d love to check them out.

Don’t forget to check out what the other Emblazon authors are doing too! Click the link to find out! http://emblazoners.com/tween-the-weekends/

Back to School Blog hop!

And the Winners are!

BN 100

Paul R. Hewlett

Thanks so much for participating and you will be receiving an e-mail from me shortly! 🙂 Congrats BN 100 and Paul

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! Guess what?  I’m participating in another blog hop this week! That’s right! It’s the back to school blog hop! The members of the  We ♥ Middle grade Books Facebook Group are hosting it and we’re giving away some awesome prizes!  Books! That’s right! Books for your tweens and teens!

So please visit the other blogs and see what you can win!  Here at my blog I’m giving away one full set of the Super Spies series (e-book copies) to one winner! And a ten dollar Amazon Gift Card to another. How do you enter to win? Very good question! But before I answer that, here are the book covers of the three books that you can win!

You can enter a variety of ways. You can like my Facebook author page and leave a quick comment letting me know you’re from the blog hop. The link is below:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Orchard/328536613877060?ref=hl

You can also tweet about my books and leave the tweet in the comment section below:  Here’s an example of a tweet you can use:

What would you do if you were 15 and accused of murder? http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Lady-Killer-ebook/dp/B007JZH61K

Amazon bestseller and great #teen read! 4.5 stars!

You can also leave a comment telling me your favorite book you read during your middle school years.

And you can enter more than once! Good luck and don’t forget to check out the other blogs on the hop! They have prizes too!

Click the link below to check out the other participating blogs!

“http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=296441“><img style=”border:0px” src=”http://www.inlinkz.com/wpImg.php?id=296441“></a>

Blog hop is open until midnight, September 15th! Winners will be announced on the 16th!  Good luck everyone!

Unbelievable! Some People Think They can Get Away with Plagiarism!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you!  Last week I learned something that disturbed me. It upset me so much that I investigated the situation myself.  I heard another author plagiarized someone else’s written work. They did it so blatantly that she was accused of just copying and pasting text from a certain book into hers. I was appalled by this and so were many hard working authors.

Because of this, the imposter’s book has been removed from Amazon.  This is the bright side in this situation. Because there was such an uproar in the industry; she was called out and her book removed.

I loved how all the authors who saw this caused a stink. Many of them went on Amazon and posted a one star review of the imposter’s work and stated in their review the work was plagiarized. There is something to be said for this industry. I’ve never seen a group get together and support each other the way authors do. You certainly don’t see this in Corporate America. Sure when an employee is screwed over by a corporation their peers may grumble, but no one takes a stand for that employee.

I love this about the publishing industry. It’s very refreshing. It’s also refreshing how many authors are willing to help another by allowing them to do guest posts or offering marketing advice. Many are willing to share their success secrets and what didn’t work for them. Many authors love to write, but find marketing their work time intensive and laborious. So sharing trade secrets is a must.

I’m amazed by the audacity of the imposter. She took advantage of another author’s blood, sweat, and tears. She has ruined her good name in the publishing industry and I bet it’ll be a long time before a publisher looks at her work again. What I find so interesting is that she probably could have asked for help. This industry is full of people who are willing to help others.

We all want success. We all want to be on the bestseller’s list but let’s face it there’s no short cut to success. We all have to put our time in and become the best writers we can be. And how can we share our unique voice with the world if we don’t put the time in?  It certainly isn’t by regurgitating someone else’s work.

In closing, I’d like to say a thank you to all the new friends I’ve made on my publishing journey; the ones who have helped me either by allowing me to be a guest on their blog or offered editorial advice and/or marketing advice, or offered encouragement.  You know who you are and there are too many to list by name here.

Thanks everyone for reading my post. It’s a short but sweet one today.  🙂 I’d love to read your thoughts on the publishing fiasco that was brought to light last week. I’ve decided not to identify the individuals just to be on the safe side. 🙂

School Sports, the Positive and the Negative

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! We finally have decent weather and I was able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. As I watched my kids play in the yard, I thought about what sports they would participate in when they reached Jr. High and High school.

It made me think back to my own High school career and the sports that I participated in. I ran cross country and played softball.  I was the top runner for the girls on our cross country team. When I look back, I laugh because my biggest motivation was fear. That’s right, I was afraid of coming in last. So, I made sure I didn’t.  It never occurred to me that I would come in first, until it happened.

That’s when I felt the pressure to perform. Now, that I had achieved first place the fear of coming in last was replaced by the fear of someone else taking first place.

I wonder if all teens feel this way or it was just my particular makeup.  As I look back I remember the anxiety I felt and how I pushed myself. How I would only eat one piece of toast before an invitational so that I wouldn’t be weighed down with excess food.

I remember the second year I didn’t go out for the team. I kept asking myself; did I have fun? Was all the pressure worth it? I had answered no, until the cross country coach came knocking on my door. He wanted me to run. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to and I hadn’t trained with the team, but I was so flattered that he thought I was good enough that I joined the team again. My second year wasn’t quite as stellar as my first year to say the least. 🙂

I realize now, why it wasn’t. Aside from the fact that I missed the first two weeks of training, I wasn’t committed to it. I was doing it for the wrong reason. I didn’t want to disappoint the coach.

I should have been participating because I wanted to run. I should have been doing it just for the sheer joy of running. It shouldn’t have mattered where I placed. That’s the main reason any kid should get involved in a sport, just because they like it.

Being involved in sports does have a positive effect on kids. In fact, a Canadian Council for Social Development study showed that participating in structured recreation positively influenced young people’s physical and social development, as well as their civic behavior and skills.

A 2003 Sport Canada survey of 1005 Canadian youth, aged 12 to 21, found that their involvement in sports:

ƒ Improved their health (99 per cent);

ƒ Helped them make friends (87 per cent);

ƒ Improved their feelings about themselves (85 per cent);

ƒ Helped them succeed at school (58 per cent);

ƒ Helped them become more active with their family (54 per cent).

****I got these statistics from this site. Click here for more information. http://www.letkidsplay.ca/docs/LKPPositiveImpactSports.pdf

However, I feel very strongly that it should be the child’s choice. They have to participate because they want to, or they won’t enjoy it. And they probably won’t excel in that sport. They may even feel resentful because they were pushed into it.

I’ve also found that when a coach has his/her own agenda they can pressure kids too much. An example of this is Laura Yochelson, who’s cross country coach’s obsession with empty calories led her down the road to Anorexia Nervosa. Click here to read her interview. https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/please-welcome-back-laura-yochelson-anorexia-nervosa-survivor/

So when our kids get involved with sports lets make sure it’s for the right reason. Let’s make sure it’s what they really want to do and we need to stay involved. We need to make sure the coach is coaching to benefit the kids and not pursuing his own agenda. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Leave a comment and share some of your experiences! I’d love to hear from you!

Sweet Saturday Sample of “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Today I’m participating in Sweet Saturday Samples. I haven’t participated in a while because I’ve been busy with the kiddos. So, I thought I’d share the first book in the Super Spies series, “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”.  I’ve found that tweens and teens enjoy the story. It’s been well received by girls between the ages of 8 to 16. Enjoy the excerpt and thanks for stopping by!

The house sat hunkered down as if it were tensed to spring like a cat stalking a mouse. Sarah shuddered at the thought of going up on the porch and she chewed on her thumbnail.

Looking behind her, Sarah studied the church facing the Cat Lady’s home. It was a strong structure built of huge stones. She could tell it was as old as the town itself and its presence made her feel safe. Motioning for Jackie and Lacey to follow her, she moved from the sidewalk to the huge oak tree growing on the church’s lawn. The girls hid behind it, peeking out at the witch’s home.

“Are you still going to do it?” Jackie teased.

“Yep.”

“Do you think she’s inside?” Lacey asked wide-eyed.

Sarah smirked at her. “Where else would she be? I hear she never leaves her house.”

“Be nice.” Jackie smacked Sarah’s arm.

“What are you waiting for? Are you afraid of the witch?” Lacey asked as she stared at the house.

“She’s not a witch. She’s just a freak, that’s all.”

“Well, if she’s not …then what are you waiting for?” Jackie snickered.

“I just want to make sure the coast is clear.”

“Hey, you guys, look at all the cats,” Lacey whispered. She pointed at the clusters of felines lolling about on the porch and walking in the yard. “There has to be at least twenty of them.”

“Yeah, that’s why she’s called the Cat Lady.” Sarah rolled her eyes and then felt the sting from Jackie’s slap.

“Do you think she put a spell on those cats?” Lacey asked with a wide-eyed expression, twirling her hair with her finger.

“Could be,” Sarah snickered. “Or maybe she just…you know…gives them food.”

“Knock it off, Sarah,” Lacey glared at her sister.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at her. “Okay, I’m going for it. I’ll meet you back here.”

“Cool beans,” Jackie said.

“Cool beans? Is this town still in the nineties?” Sarah teased.

“Shut up.” Jackie smacked her arm again.

“This is physical abuse.” Sarah rubbed her arm, trying to appear injured.

Jackie laughed. “Be thankful I like hanging out with you.”

“All I have to do is ring her doorbell, right?” Sarah poked her head out from behind the tree. She noticed the tomato pulp still clinging to the siding and peered up and down the street for the notorious Wykowski boys.

“That’s right,” Jackie chuckled.

Sarah took a deep breath and sprinted across the street. She stopped at the porch stairs. A group of cats were sunning themselves on the steps—they meowed at her as if they were hungry. Jumping when one of them rubbed against her legs, she bent down and stroked its back, never taking her eyes off of the house.

Sarah petted the cat, while she worked up the courage to climb the stairs. She heard the loud purr of the contented feline and it eased her anxiety. All of a sudden, she felt a hand squeeze her arm. Her heart leapt in her chest and she let out a yelp.

Turning, she spied Jackie. “I almost peed my pants!”

Jackie giggled.

“What are you doing here?” Sarah muttered and gave Jackie the evil eye.

“I couldn’t stay behind the tree and miss all the action.”

Sarah glanced around her and pointed to some overgrown bushes in front of the porch. “You can hide over there.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah spied her sister running toward them and stifled a groan.

“I didn’t want to stand by myself,” Lacey whimpered, slightly out of breath. She tugged nervously on the hem of her T-shirt as she eyed the house.

Sarah groaned and her shoulders slumped as if she carried a heavy burden. She sighed and pointed at the bushes again. “You hide over there with Jackie and be quiet.”

Sarah waited until the other girls were out of sight, and then climbed the stairs. Stopping when she reached the porch, Sarah took some deep breaths before stepping onto the sagging stoop. Stepping gingerly, she hoped the porch would support her.  Her stomach clenched when it groaned. She took another step and then another, the porch complaining with every footfall. Halfway across the stoop, she heard the girls behind the bushes.

“She’s almost to the door.” Lacey said in a low voice.

Sarah bit her lip, stifling the disapproving remark dancing on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she turned and glared at the bushes, willing its occupants to shut up. She made eye contact with Jackie, who quickly ducked behind the shrubs, pulling Lacey with her.

What in the world is she doing?” Lacey asked.

“Shhh,” Jackie responded.

Sarah shook her head and continued her journey. She felt Jackie and Lacey watching her as she crept toward the door. Reaching the entryway, she was surprised to find the storm door wide open. The only barrier between the Cat Lady and the rest of the world was a flimsy screen door hanging askew on its hinges.

Alarm bells rang in Sarah’s head—this has got to be out of character for someone who never leaves their home. She turned back and whispered to the other girls. “Hey!”

Jackie poked her head out. “What?”

“The storm door’s open.”

“So?”

“So…what do I do?”

“Duh…Ring the door bell.”

Sarah shrugged and pushed the doorbell. It let out an irritating buzz and she had the feeling it had been broken long ago and never fixed. She dashed down the stairs.  The cats scattered, alarmed by the sudden activity. Reaching the shrubs, Sarah hid with her sister and Jackie.

Gasping for breath, Sarah waited for a reaction from the old woman. Her heart pummeled her ribs and she pressed her hand to her chest to calm it.

After a few minutes, Sarah started to pace. “Well…nothing’s happened.” She peeked out from behind the shrub and saw the screen door hanging ajar. “I bet she’s not even home. I’m going to try again.”

Jackie shrugged. “Be careful, remember she’s a witch.”

Sarah shook her head, and then peered out from behind the shrubs. Once again, she climbed the stairs. She was braver this time and it didn’t take her as long to make it to the door.

She looked inside, her heart lurching in her chest. She tiptoed to the picture window and peered through it. Gasping, she ran back to the entryway. Pulling it open, she lunged inside.

Sarah stared, unable to tear herself away.  Shock ran through her body like an electrical current as she eyed the scene before her. The crumpled form of the Cat Lady lay on the living room floor, just inside the door. No life flickered in the old woman’s staring eyes. Her mouth gaped open in a silent scream and her hands were up around her head as if she were warding off blows. Turning away, Sarah gagged as the coppery scent of blood assaulted her. There was blood splattered everywhere, on the wall, on the carpet and under the Cat Lady’s body.

Suddenly, Sarah’s throat constricted and she gasped for breath. Fearing she would faint, she stumbled back out the door and collided with Jackie and Lacey on the porch.

Jackie grabbed Sarah’s arm and shook her. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? I never said to go inside!”

Sarah didn’t speak—she just stared blankly at the porch.

Jackie shook her again. “Are you under the Cat Lady’s spell?”

Lacey whimpered. “Hey, Sarah….can you hear me? Sarah?”

“She’s under the Cat Lady’s spell,” Jackie said waving her hand in front of Sarah’s eyes.

“Oh my—,” Sarah moaned and clutched Jackie’s arm.

“What is it?” Jackie shook her again. “Speak…say something!”

“Th-th-the C-C-Cat Lady, sh-sh-she’s,” Sarah stuttered.

“She’s what?” Jackie demanded.

“Sh-she’s dead.”

If you’d like to purchase this book for any of your teens the buy links are below and it’s also available as an audio book! 🙂

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Lady-Killer-ebook/dp/B007JZH61K

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-super-spies-and-the-cat-lady-killer-lisa-orchard/1109518725?ean=2940014338202

Audible.com http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00BGBSLCG&qid=1365250810&sr=1-1

Thanks for stopping by and there’s more samples to check out here!

http://sweetsatsample.wordpress.com/

Why Don’t Schools have Relationship Classes?

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you today! I’m back after being extremely ill for the last week.  Boo! My whole family had this cold/flu bug that’s been going around, but we’re on the mend this week. Well…enough about that. Today I wanted to talk about teen relationships.

During the teen years there are a lot of firsts. First feelings…first dances…first kisses…etc.  Since this is a period of a lot of first times, there are many new emotions that teens haven’t felt before and therefore are inexperienced in handling.

Because of that inexperience some teens may use controlling or manipulative behavior to try and avoid the painful feelings of rejection.  This is unfortunate but true. This kind of behavior can take teens down a destructive path both for the controller and the teen that’s the object of control.

Now, keep in mind the person who’s attempting to control the situation is not trying to be manipulative in any way…they are trying to avoid the pain of rejection. However, his/her controlling behavior does have a detrimental effect. If the teen who doesn’t want to be in the relationship can’t break out of that controller’s grip, he/she’s in a relationship that is no longer working for them. This is where, in my humble opinion, the relationship becomes unhealthy and could even become abusive.

Unfortunately, I see this in many young adult relationships and as a result there’s decreased self-esteem for both parties involved. So what is the answer? I have one…but you knew that didn’t you? 🙂

I think all teens should have to take “Relationship Classes” or “Relationship Workshops.” That’s right; in my opinion these classes should be a requirement of the school curriculum…just like sex education. 🙂

In these classes we can teach teens what an unhealthy relationship is. We can show them what negative behaviors should not be tolerated.  I feel this is important for our kids. These classes will help them maintain healthy self-esteem; and what better place to learn about relationships than in school next to their peers. 🙂 The same peers they are having relationships with.

We can give them tools to cope with unhealthy situations. One that comes to mind is what can a young girl do when she wants to end a relationship with a young man and he threatens suicide? Or the other way around? These situations have spun out of control and are too much for any teen to handle. An adult has to be involved…but how many teens talk to their parents at this stage of the game? Very few.  I say let’s give them the tools they need, so  they can recognize these unhealthy situations. We could even take it a step further and teach them healthy communication skills. They will be better adults in the long run.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. As always, I’m sharing my personal opinion and would love to hear some of your ideas! Please leave a comment; I’d love to hear from you!

Let’s raise Internally Oriented Kids! Another tool to help beat Peer Pressure

Hello Everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today talking about teen issues. The issue I’d like to talk about is “External Orientation”. Now, you’re probably wondering what the heck is “External Orientation.”

Well…what I mean by this is when someone looks outside themselves for validation. They are “Externally Oriented”. Why is this a problem? I mean we all need a pat on the back once in a while, right?

I agree a pat on the back is awesome and everyone needs one. However, the problem arises when a teen becomes dependent on others for validation. And I see this more and more in our youth today.

They look to their peers for approval instead of looking inside themselves and asking does this behavior agree with my own belief system? It’s my humble opinion that when a teen acts in a way that is at odds with their belief system the result is lowered self-esteem. And we all know that low self-esteem is at the root of many of the problems in our society today.

We as parents need to teach our children to be more internally oriented. Teens need to work in conjunction with their own belief system and stand up for their own beliefs when they’re challenged by their peers.

So, how do we do this as parents? That is a good question and I have some answers. 🙂 Again, parental involvement is a major factor and it starts years before children reach their teens.

First of all, parents need to help their child develop a realistic belief system and this starts from day one all the way up to adulthood.  I’m talking about moral development not religious beliefs.

I know what you’re saying…yeah…we know that…but how do we do this?

We do this by helping them develop good habits in their childhood. For example, I don’t want my children to abuse alcohol and drugs when they’re older. So, I teach them healthy habits for their body now. I tell them … they shouldn’t do things that are bad for their body, like smoking and drinking. I tell them the negative effects of these vices. I know what you’re thinking…they’re too young…but they’re not. Now is when they’re listening to their parents and if parents can embed this into their sponge-like brains…they will develop the belief that drinking is bad for our bodies therefore, I’m not going to drink.

Is it really this simple? The answer is yes and no. 🙂 It is this simple if parents act in conjunction with what they’re teaching their children.  But problems arise when parents instruct their children one way and then behave in the opposite manner. This confuses the child and when they become teens…if they don’t have a strong belief system in place they’re more likely to look to others for validation. The more they look to others for validation the more likely they will fall prey to outside influences.

Children need to get validation from their parents. If they don’t get it from their parents they will look for it outside the home. It’s that simple. So please give your child praise when they do something right.

Whenever, I catch my kids eating something that’s good for their body. I give them lots of hugs and make a big deal about it. They’ll remember this and when a friend offers them that beer when they’re underage…they’re more likely to turn it down.  Because I’ve taught them that it’s not good for your body.

Being “internally oriented” is a great way to combat the many self-esteem issues that plague our young people today. Of course, this is just my opinion. 🙂 I’d love to hear yours, please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

On a side note, I’d just like to let you know that my books are now available as Audiobooks! So, if you’re interested in listening to them here are the links! 🙂

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00BGBSLCG&qid=1362406805&sr=1-1

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B00BIRIEDO&qid=1362406906&sr=1-2

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

“Side Effects” the Movie that inspired this Post on Human Drug Testing

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m taking a break from discussing teen issues today and talking about a movie I saw. I went to see “Side Effects” a couple of weeks ago. It was a great movie with an awesome twist toward the end. I enjoyed it and the movie started me thinking about the new drugs that deal with psychological issues that are available on the market today.

Now, I’ve never taken a drug for depression or anxiety so I have no first-hand knowledge of what some of these drugs can do. But this movie raised some concerns for me. I asked the question, how do we know what the side effects of these drugs are? How do we test for them?

So, of course, I did some research and this is what I found:  A new drug has to go through three phases of testing before it is considered safe for the market and all drugs have to be approved by the FDA.

Phase One: This is where the drug is tested on animals. After the company does this type of testing they must fill out a “New Drug Application.”  This application is then reviewed by the FDA and a local Institutional Review Board. If the application is approved, the review board (made up of scientists and non-scientists in hospitals and research institutions) moves forward and sets up a clinical trial protocol. This protocol describes the type of people who can participate in the human testing of the drug.  The people tested in this stage are healthy humans and they are paid for their participation. The emphasis in this stage is safety. Researchers are looking for any negative effects the drug has on healthy individuals. If no major health concerns appear they move on to Phase Two. The number of participants for this phase range from twenty to eighty people.

Phase Two: This is the phase where they test the effectiveness of a drug while still keeping an eye on safety. They want to see if the drug actually works on the conditions or diseases it’s designed to help. The number of participants for this phase range between a few dozen to about three hundred.  If there is evidence that there is a positive effect from the drug the researchers move on to Phase Three.

Phase Three:  In this phase they gather more information on effectiveness and safety; testing the drug on different populations and different dosages. They also combine the test drug with other medications to see if there’s any negative reaction. The number of people tested in this phase range from several hundred to three thousand.

After this phase the sponsor of the new drug must fill out a New Drug Application. This is the formal step needed to seek approval from the FDA to market any drug in the United States.  If approved that Clinical Trials are set up and these trials are what take so long. They can take several years to complete. For more information on the New Drug Review Process please click this link.  http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm143534.htm

It takes several years for a drug to appear on the market. As I researched this I grew concerned.  Who are these companies testing the drugs on?

Since these companies are paying individuals to be human guinea pigs there isn’t any criteria to become a test subject. Therefore, I concluded that the test subjects are usually the poor or uneducated or young people who need the money, like college students.

What happens when drug testing goes horribly wrong? As parents we need to teach our young people to value their health and not take it for granted. I know that drug testing is essential and I don’t fault modern medicine for finding new cures, but testing a new drug can be very dangerous for the volunteers. The risks are too great in my opinion. So, what are we to do?

I have an answer. 🙂 But you knew I would didn’t you?  Where can we find human volunteers? My answer is why don’t we look for volunteers in our prison system? We’ve got a number of individuals who are either serving life sentences or on death row. They would be benefiting society and drug companies wouldn’t have to pay them. Maybe that would also bring the cost of the drugs down, which could ultimately bring down insurance rates for health insurance. Hmmm….makes you think doesn’t it?

One may argue that prisoners don’t fit the criteria of a healthy individual. Well…that is a point but my response to this arguement is…most prisoners eat better than our poor and uneducated. Sadly…they are probably healthier than many of our current volunteers.

Is it considered cruel and unusual punishment? I think not…because it is on a volunteer basis. In my opinion, doctors would be able to monitor the subjects in a controlled environment, which would make monitoring the side effects of the drug easier and more accurate. 🙂 This would protect our college bound youngsters, the poor, and uneducated who have done nothing against society.

What do you think? I know this sounds a little extreme…but then you’d have to see the movie to understand my concerns.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on my opinions. 🙂 Do you think this would be feasible?

***I want to thank www.fda.gov for some of the information provided in this post.