Module 3: The Law and Why Drugs Work - Chapters 3 & 5

These two chapters were very informative. I did not know that the reason for the FDA getting control over drug safety was because a drug company produced a toxic product that had killed 107 people. Unfortunately that had to happen for our drugs to become safer.
 I also did not know that a few countries have used strangulation as a penalty for smoking tobacco or opium. This link give us some insight as to why this may have been used as punishment.
http://jds.cass.cn/Item/5703.aspx
I knew about placebos and why they are needed for studies, but I did not know that they could actually cause people to think that they work for pain. It is amazing to me how perception can play a role in your health. This link explains how the Placebo Effect works and is pretty interesting to read.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201201/the-placebo-effect-how-it-works
One thing I did learn from the discussion group is that there are some strong opinions on drug testing in the workplace. You always think that you know what is right, but when you read someones personal experience with the cons of drug testing, it makes you think.

I feel like I did spend the required amount of time on this module. I enjoy doing research and learning new information that I would not have had the opportunity to be exposed to otherwise.
The only suggestion I might be able to give to the others in this class is to proof read what they are writing. It is very hard to follow and understand a post when it it run on sentences or improper use of punctuation. I find those posts to be difficult to respond to.

I did not know about the word cross tolerance. I never knew that you could become tolerant to depressants if you are a heavy drinker. It is scary to think that people may not know this and if they try experimenting with drugs while drinking that they may need an excessive dose to get any kind of result from that drug. To me, it seems like that is a recipe for overdose.
I also did not know about interdiction. You always hear about the war on drugs, but I did not know that in 2009, the budget for interdiction was $3.83 Billion. All of this money being spent on trying to decrease the amount of drug trafficking that takes place and there was still no indication that the availability of drugs had diminished significantly. I am always amazed at how much money is spent from our government that we really are not aware of.

Module 2: Overview Chapters 1&2

The first two chapters of our text has taught me quite a few things. First, I did not know about all of the slang terms that are used for drugs. I was telling my 9 year old daughter about some of them and she had actually heard of some that I hadn't. Pretty scary! Second, I did not know that alcohol and tobacco killed so many more people a year than illicit drugs do. Third, I found it interesting that there have been studies showing that there can be a genetic link to addictions. It was interesting that even children that were adopted and not raised by alcoholics had the chance of becoming one because of the biological parents.

Here is a link to some of the slang terms that are used for drugs:
http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/slang/slang.shtml

And this one will show you what some of the commonly used drugs LOOK like:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ss/slideshow-commonly-abused-drugs

I feel that I have put in the required amount of time that is needed for this class. I was able to get my assignments in on time. I felt that the feedback that was give was extremely helpful. I was not aware that I had not been making reference to the websites that the other students have been posting, only adding to their questions.

The three vocabulary words that I did not know prior to these chapters were structural analogs, floaters or chippers and sensation - seeking individuals. For the most part, I had heard of structural analogs and sensation-seeking individuals, but I had always referred to them by different names or did not know they had a name. I would just assume that when drugs were modified - that is what it was called, a modified drug not a structural analog. Same for sensation-seeking individuals. I would have always referred to them as thrill seekers. As for a floater or chipper, I did not know that there was such a thing. I would have thought that someone would be either a casual user or an addict, not fluctuate between the two.