Julka Krasuska

Unlike other more visible addictions gambling is fairly easy to hide, yet it leaves people alone, ashamed and often broke. Addiction to gambling has drastically increased in the past couple of years. It has been mostly fueled by the pandemic and major growth in legalized sports betting. After the 2018 Supreme Court decision, which cleared the way for sports betting legalization beyond Nevada this type of gambling spiked nationwide. Currently, thirty US states allow some form of sports betting. The leagues, gambling companies, state, tribal governments and others profiting from this form of gambling are earning enormous amounts of money. Another factor that increased America’s gambling problem has been COVID-19. Dealing with stress and other problems caused by the pandemic led people to fall into addiction more easily. I think that easy access to different types of gambling on the Internet has further increased the risk of developing a gambling addiction. It will be very hard to stop t...

Alaska officials have cancelled the upcoming crab season, due to population decline across the Bering Sea. The causes of the population collapse are still researched but it’s most likely increased predatation and stresses form warmer water which may cause crabs shifting away from the coast. The decision to shut down the harvest will most likely affect fisheries and fishermen. Some of them can go out of business and lose their source of income. The fall red king crab harvest was also cancelled (for the second year in a row) due to low number of mature female crabs. Although the numbers have improved since last year it’s still not enough to allow harvesting this species. I think climate change has had a major impact on everything surrounding us but people are just starting to realize that and soon it can be too late to make changes that will stop further devastation of the natural environment. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/16/alaska-snow-crab-season-canelled...

Thailand – the rising weed empire For the past several years California has been the largest legal weed market in the world but now this is about to change. Although Thailand used to execute drug traffickers, things began to change when in 2018 Anutin Charnviari (Thailand’s health minister), began promoting marijuana for medical use. He saw cannabis as a potential cash crop. When the legislature finally legalized pot in 2022, Auntin and the government launched a campaign to distribute a million free cannabis plants to Thai households. Cannabis is expected to generate anywhere from few hundred million to several billion dollars a year in the near future. As opposed to the USA, Thailand has no federal laws that prevent banks or other financial institutions from working with pot firms. Soon, Thailand could surpass Amsterdam and the USA as a global destinations for cannabis cultivation and consumption. If you are looking for a cannabis infused tea or a cannabis spa treatment Thailand has...