California State University, Chico

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

 

HCSV 370-01, Drugs In Our Society (2780)           MW 4-5:15 P, Fall 2005

Instructor:  Dr. Roland Lamarine                             Holt 170

Office Hours:  MWF 9-10 a.m. & MW 3-4 p.m.

Office:  Butte 623         Phone:  898-6265                Email:  rlamarine@csuchico.edu

 

Course Description

 

This course examines the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and consequences for young adults, families, and society.  Historical, economic, social, political, psychological, and pharmacological determinants of drug use are considered.  Decision-making skills regarding drug use are also addressed.

 

HCSV 170 fulfills the requirements of the General Education Upper Division Theme, Contemporary Health Issues, Area D. You must have already completed 45 units in order for this course to count towards the theme. This course has a 2500 word, writing requirement, which is discussed below.  All the courses in this theme, including this one:

 

·        address concepts of well being, health, and disease;

·        focus attention on how class, ethnicity, and gender affect health;

·        teach methods for distinguishing hearsay from valid information;

·        develop knowledge and skills for making effective decisions that enhance health and facilitate understanding of public policy; and

·        address the impact of biology, ethics, morality, politics, economics, and culture on health, health care, and health policy.

 

Required Textbook:

 

            Levinthal, C.F., (2005).  Drugs, behavior, and modern society. (4th ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (if you can find the third edition that will be OK)

 

Course Objectives:

 

The student will be able to:

 

  1. outline the history of drug use in the United States.
  2. discuss the extent of use of licit and illicit drugs within various populations in the United States
  3. outline the cultural influences, including family, peers, and media, on the use of selected drugs.
  4. describe the nature and characteristics of dependence and addiction.
  5. list the major drug classifications and their physiological effects
  6. discuss the social, economic, political, psychological, and pharmacological consequences of drug misuse on U.S. society.
  7. evaluate current efforts to control drug use and suggest alternative approaches.
  8. discuss the physiological, social, and treatment aspect of alcohol and tobacco use.
  9. list the major illicit drugs, their prevalence, physiological effects, and treatment strategies.
  10. discuss the effects of maternal drug use on the fetus.
  11. outline the political and legal ramifications of the use of alcohol and illicit drugs including possession, workplace testing, DUI, and alcohol policies.
  12. discuss the political and legal ramifications of tobacco use, including location, restrictions, subsidies, lobbies, and government intervention.
  13. discuss the major types of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, their use and misuse, the effects of medical advertising, and regulation.
  14. develop decision-making skills regarding personal alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, abstinence, responsible practices, alternative activities, and positive uses of drugs.

 

Student Responsibilities

 

  1. Attend class regularly, class participation enhances learning.  Attendance will be taken.  Good attendance will be considered in the determination of a final grade.
  2. Three in-class examinations, which may include both objective (multiple choice, true false) and subjective (essay) items.
  3. One two page reaction paper typed and double spaced OR one two page reflection paper.  Late papers will not be accepted.  In addition to content, papers will be graded on organization, style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and neatness.
  4. A two page paper describing a behavioral change made during the course of the semester.

 

Evaluation

 

Three exams                                         300 points

Two papers                                          100 points

Quizzes                                                  50 points

                                                            450 points total

 

Final grades will be assigned on the following basis:

93-100% =  A                                     73-76% = C

90-92%   =  A-                                    70-72% = C-

87-89%   =  B+                                   66-69% = D+

83-86%   =  B                                      60-65% = D

80-82%   =  B-                                                  <60%  = F

77-79%   =  C+

 

Note that CSUC official grading policy defines an “A” as “superior work; a level of achievement so outstanding that it is normally attained by relatively few students.”  Prepare now to become one of those “few students.”  There is no provision for extra credit in this course.

Dates to Remember

 

Reaction/Reflection Paper:  Wednesday, September 7

 

Test #1:  Wednesday, September 28

 

Behavior Paper:  Wednesday, November 16

 

Test #2:  Wednesday, November 2

 

Test #3:  Monday, December 12, 6-7 p.m.

 

Course Outline

 

Unit 1:  Introduction/Drug Use:  An epidemiological perspective

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 1

 

Unit 2:  Distribution, history, and politics of drug use

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 2

 

Unit 3:  Social, economic, and psychological determinants

 

            No readings

 

Unit 4:  Pharmacology

 

            Levinthal: Chapter 3

 

Unit 5:  Treatment

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 17

 

                                                                                    Test 1

 

Unit 6:  Alcohol

 

            Levinthal:  Chapters 9, 10

 

Unit 7:  Sedative hypnotics

 

            Levinthal:  Chapters 15, 16

 

Unit 8:  Opiate narcotics

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 5

 

Unit 9:  Stimulants

 

            Levinthal:  Chapters 4, 12

 

Unit 10:  Tobacco

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter11

 

                                                                                    Test 2

 

Unit 11:  Marijuana

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 7

 

Unit 12:  Psychedelics and related drugs

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 6

 

Unit 13:  Inhalants and ergogenic aids (steroids)

 

            Levinthal:  Chapters 8, 13

 

Unit 14:  Prevention/Education

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 18

 

Unit 15:  Over-the-counter products

 

            Levinthal:  Chapter 14

 

                                                                                    Test 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reaction Paper

 

            A two page reaction paper is required for this course.  The paper should address a substance-specific topic.  General guidelines for these papers follow:

 

  1. Define the topic; what are the facts related to this issue?  Present information from scientifically valid sources i.e. professional journals and textbooks.
  2. Describe your position on this issue.  What evidence is there to support your position?  Is there any other information that needs to be considered?
  3. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and appropriately referenced.  They will be graded on the basis of content, organization, style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and neatness.
  4. This is an opportunity for you to take an in-depth look at a topic not addressed in detail during class.  Personal experiences are welcomed and will be held in confidence.  They should be interpreted in light of theory and evidence gathered from readings, interviews, lecture, and other scholarly sources.  Be sure to include references.

 

Acceptable topics include a wide range of subjects.  Some examples of past topics include:

 

                        Belladonna type drugs and witchcraft

                        History of specific drugs

                        Psychology of near drugs

                        Drugs and ethnicity

                        Drug treatment strategies

                        Drug prevention programs; harm reduction vs. abstinence

                        Legal determinants and political topics

                        Social determinants

                        Religious drug related topics

                        Epidemiology of drug use

                        Over the counter drugs

                        Prescription drugs

                        Interviews with professionals in the field

                        Reviews of drug books, articles, talks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEHAVIOR CHANGE PAPER

 

Select an activity that you find difficult to stop doing.  You must agree to forego this activity for at least a week, but preferably a month.  Some examples of activities that you might select include:

 

            Excessive use of sweets in your diet

            Meat & other animal products

            Stop seeing or talking with a close friend

            Discontinue close contact (kissing/touching) with a loved one

            Not use telephone

Not use motor vehicle

            Not use television, radio, or computer

            Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or any other psychoactive drug

            Pornography/ Sex/ Gambling

            Chewing gum or finger nails

            Sleeping excessively

 

            Keep a diary of your behavior and feelings during the experiment to help you write your paper.  You may wish to record your experiences on a cassette.

 

Guidelines for writing your paper

 

  1. Did you succeed in refraining from your activities for the entire period of time?  If not, how soon did you give in?  If you failed, how did it make you feel?  If you succeeded, how did you feel?
  2. What did not doing the activity feel like?
  3. Did your relationships with other people change?
  4. Did talking or being with other students who were also undergoing behavioral changes help your resist the temptation to give up?
  5. Did other people change their behavior, attitudes, or feelings toward you as a result of the experiment?  If so, how did you feel or react to these changes?
  6. Did you start doing things that you do not usually do, such as forgetting things, becoming less observant, overeating, or developing physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, tics, loss of appetite, insomnia, or unusual fatigue?
  7. Did your other activities change at all?  Did you compensate for the lack of your “forbidden” activity by participating more in some other pursuit?  Did the substitute activity help take your mind off the thing you wanted to do?  Did your efforts at compensation affect any of the people around you?
  8. Were you confronted with an opportunity to lapse and did your will power diminish in the presence of the forbidden activity or object?  Were other people considerate in not mentioning the activity or substance or were they helpful in suggesting a substitute?
  9. Did you go out of your way to avoid the activity, substance, or things that might remind you of it?  Did your avoidance behavior help reduce your craving?
  10. Did you cheat at all?  If so, did you try to engage in your activity just a little and find you could not resist resuming it completely?  Did you bother to hide your lapses from other people?  If so, did anyone catch you cheating?  How did they react?  How did you feel about being discovered?
  11. When you finally did go back (or did you?) to the activity, how did it feel?  Did you try to “make up for lost time?”
  12. Were your actions and feelings at all similar to an alcoholic, drug addict, cigarette smoker, compulsive eater, or other addicted person?  How were your experiences different from those of truly addicted people?  How did this exercise make you feel about addicted people?  Did you feel the same way about alcoholics or drug addicts as you did about yourself during the experiment?  Did you gain any new insights into what it feels like to have an addiction and how addicted people can best be helped to overcome their dependency?  Were you able to identify any compulsive behaviors of your own and gain a better understanding of how to evaluate and cope with them?

 

Please write a maximum of two pages, typed, and double-spaced.  The guidelines above are intended to serve as a general outline for your paper but it is not necessary to address each point, only those that are relevant to your experience.  Feel free to support your position with documentation from the professional literature.

 

Adapted from “Empathizing With Addicts” by Peter Finn,  pp. 78-79, Teaching Ideas,  Association for the Advancement of Health Education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection Paper

 

Select ONE of the following topics for your two page paper:

 

1.             Many drugs have been considered to be aphrodisiacs-substances that “arouse or increase sexual desire or potency.”  Whether or not this is true, there is credible evidence which suggests the opposite may be true.  For example, in the case of alcohol as Shakespeare said “it arouses the desire but takes away the ability”.  Of course today, we have pharmaceutical agents such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis which specifically effect male sexual potency.  What have been your experiences, good or bad, with drugs and sex? 

OR

 

2.             Write your remembrances of your high-school days with regards to drug-taking behavior.  Was it cool or not cool to use drugs? Which drugs were cool and which were not? Was there a certain type of person who was known (or expected) to use drugs?  Did the perception of drug-taking behavior change as students progressed from the sixth grade to the ninth grade and finally to their senior year?  Has the pattern of drug-taking behavior changed since you have been in college?  What does the text and other professional references say about this topic?

 

 

 

N.B. To improve your chances of getting a good grade on this and subsequent assignments, be sure to edit your work carefully for grammar, spelling, and especially diction.  Also, it is important to supplement your own observations and insights with references from the professional literature, refereed journals and scholarly books.  Caveat emptor.