Module 6 (CH 13 & Various Pages)

Module 6 has been really interesting to me because it was something I can relate to. Marijuana is a common drug and one that I feel is highly used in western New York. In high school, I knew a lot of people who smoked marijuana and even older people who have been dependent on it throughout their lives. I remember learning a lot of marijuana in my health classes, but the textbook and discussion posts covered the topic much more thoroughly and aggressively. I think the major thing that "clicked" with me this module is that most drugs see no thresholds; They impact individuals and families off all races, ethnicities, and income levels. Marijuana seems to be a major contributor to this.

One of the major things that caught me off guard in this unit was the first bullet point on the chapter introduction page. It says "George Washington grew marijuana plants at Mount Vernon for medicine and rope making." It was really shocking to me that someone who was once the president of our country even used marijuana.

Another thing I used this unit is that marijuana is used in the treatment of AIDS. I read this in one of the discussion posts for this module. I found on (which was a very resourceful website throughout this module) this marijuana helps with nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety that are all symptoms of AIDS. AIDS is a huge influences in today's society that seems to be a death threat. It was great to know that these people infected with AIDS living in states that allow medicinal marijuana use are finding some relief.

I also participated in a rather interesting discussion post this module about anabolic steroids. Being an athlete I know that many people use these steroids and do not care about the health risks simply because sometimes they are not visible and come on later rather than immediately. It amazed me what people will do just to look good.

I feel like my participation has been really good this module. With the end of the semester pressure building and an extremely demanding athletic schedule, I have been trying to get work done as quickly, efficiently, and as thorough as possible. It is definitely better to get the work done sooner than later. Over the semester I feel as if I lacked the most in the discussion posts. It was hard for me to remember what was due when, but after making a calendar it was much easier to keep track of. I would give myself a lot of positive feedback this module; I feel like I worked really hard.