Module 3 (Chapters 3 & 5)

I've learned a lot of new information this module. I'm not particularly interested in the law and how it pertains to drug use, but a lot of good information came from chapter three. A few of the major highlights I found interesting include the following; 1. The Pure Food and Drug Act was enacted in 1906 which forced manufacturers to print quantities of drugs in products they were selling. It is amazing to me that people would ingest these "miracle drugs" into their bodies without even knowing what they contained and how it could effect their health. 2. Drug trafficking penalties are much more severe in other countries than they are in the U.S. I partook in a discussion forum for this module that debated whether or not the U.S. should adopt these strict penalties such as hanging, or beheading. I did a great deal of Internet research for the subject as well. (See discussion forum 3 & 5 for reference) 3. Drug interaction was also a huge part of this module. One major thing that I learned was that if two individuals were to ingest the same amount of a particular drug, the drug has the potential to effect each individual in completely different ways based on factors like tolerance, age, and gender.

I feel as if I put in a moderate amount of time on this module. In the future, I would like to make time to do a more thorough reading of the text because as time goes on, I am realizing it is pretty important to read each chapter beginning to end. As for discussion forums and homework assignments, I feel that my participation was great!

teratogenic- something that causes physical defects in a fetus
*An example of a licit teratogenic drug is something you may receive from the pharmacy that has a warning label advising pregnant women not to take this drug

inoculation- a method of abuse prevention that protects drug users by teaching them responsibility
*After doing some research on my own, I learned that inoculation is used frequently in rehab programs in jails. Often times inmates are given an animal from a homeless shelter and taught responsibility though caring for the animal that will hopefully stick with them after the completion of their sentence

tolerance- changes in the body that decrease response to a drug even though the dose remains the same
*Eventually, heavy drug users become almost "immune" to the effects of the drug and need more of it in order to get high or produce the desired effects. The more use, the higher the tolerance.

Module 2

Well, at this point my first experience with an online class is in full swing and for the most part I'm really enjoying it! The content in Drugs and Society is pretty interesting for the most part. I've been learning a lot of things about drug abuse that I didn't know in the past. For example, in chapter one I learned about the different classifications of drugs. I always knew different illicit drugs have different effects on a person, but I never knew which drugs belonged to which category (i.e. Ecstasy is a hallucinogen, cocaine is a stimulant, etc.) I also found it really interesting to learn about the media and how large of a part they play in the marketing of prescription drugs. I read about this in the reading for this unit and communicated about it in a discussion post for the module. I learned that television plays a huge role in how these drugs are marketed and that nowadays patients have more say in what drugs they take than doctors do. Another interesting point that I hadn't realized us that drugs are an equal-opportunity affliction. Drug use has recently shifted from the urban poor and privileged wealthy to the community as a whole. Everyone has the opportunity to be effected either positively or negatively by drugs.

Like I said before, this is my first experience with an online class so it took some adjusting to get used to it. It requires a lot more time than I thought it did to take an online class, but I am up for the challenge. Discussions threads are a new concept to me, but I like interacting with others online. Professor Brochu's comments on what to change, what I'm doing well, and what I can do better have defiantly been useful this time around in making sure I put my best work out there.

Gateway drugs- alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana-types of drugs that when used excessively may lead to using other and more addictive drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or "crack"

*People using gateway drugs need to use them in moderation and be careful not to get addicted to these substances because they can pave a path to heavier drug use.

Slang drug terms- Examples include cocaine-"nose candy," ketamine-"Special K", amphetamines-"brain ticklers"

*Drug users and dealers use these terms to avoid using actual terms on the streets. Cops need to learn these terms to interpret code.

Drug Cartels- large, highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation, security/enforcement, or money laundering.

*Drug organizations are on a much larger scale than you may think. Local drug dealers are only a small part in this massive drug pushing community. Busting a drug cartel is much more important to a police agency than catching a small dealer.