1. How were psychoactive drugs defined in the lessons? * Psychoactive drugs: Chemical substances that effect thoughts, emotions and behavior 2. What is pharmacology? * Pharmacology: The study of the mechanisms by which drugs (chemical substances) interact with living systems to produce biological (psychoactive) effects 3. Identify 6 pharmacological categories of psychoactive drugs identified in the lessons. 1. Depressants 2. Stimulants 3. Opioids 4. Hallucinogens 5. Psychotherapeutic Drugs 6. Anabolic Steroids 4. What does the term analgesic mean? Painkilling 5.
What does the term sympathomimetic mean? * simulating sympathetic nervous action in physiological effect <sympathomimetic drugs> 6. What do the terms anabolic and androgenic refer to respectively? * Anabolic: increases muscle mass * Androgenic: refers to the development of male characteristics 7. What are illicit drugs? * Illegal 8. To what does the phrase drug misuse refer? * Drug misuse refers to the use of a prescription drug in greater amounts or for purposes other than prescribed by a physician 9. Identify three characteristics that are used to define legal and illegal drug use.
* Legal and illicit drug status is variously determined by characteristics of the user 10. What 2 variables are used to define the 5 federal drug schedules? * Medical Utility * Potential for Abuse 11. Provide examples of American drug regulatory practices that appear inconsistent with the scheduling criteria. * Medical utility of marijuana and heroin are not recognized * Alcohol and tobacco are not scheduled * Cocaine and amphetamine are tolerated as prescription drugs 12. Provide reasons for these inconsistencies in applying the drug schedules.
* Federal Drug schedules are a political compromise that reflect: – Pragmatic constraints (cocaine, amphetamine, alcohol and tobacco) – Economic interests (alcohol and tobacco) – Established cultural values (marijuana and heroin) – Concern for public health and safety 13. Identify 3 ways of knowing. * At least three ways of knowing can be identified – Empiricism (science) – Intuition – Authority 14. What is the basis for knowing something through science? * Science is the process of gaining knowledge through empirical methods. Empirical knowledge is based on observable and reliable evidence 15.
What is the social advantage of science as a why of knowing something? * The objective nature of empirical evidence provides a common basis for agreement (i. e. , even opponents can share and agree on the data, dolphin study example) 16. Identify three models that have been applied to defining and coping with drug related harms. * At least three models have been applied to define and cope with drug related problems: – Criminal model – Medical/disease model – Harm reduction model 17. How does the criminal model view the nature of drugs, the drug user, the cause of drug related harm and the appropriate response to drug use?
* The criminal model views psychoactive drugs as criminogenic or causing crime and inherently dangerous or evil * The drug user is considered morally weak and criminal by nature or as a result of exposure to psychoactive drugs * Drug related harm/crime is explained by low moral character or corruption of the individual through drug use * Treatment is viewed as ineffective because the drug use is not an illness but an inherent or acquired irreversible trait * Society should incarcerate criminals to protect the public from dangerous individuals 18.
How does the medical model view the nature of drugs, the drug user, the cause of drug related harm and the appropriate response to drug use? * The medical/disease model views drugs as pharmacologically dangerous unless prescribed for legitimate medical treatment * The drug user is viewed as suffering from a disease of addiction (i. e. , sick, mentally ill or pathological) * Drug related harm/addiction is explained as a product of genetic predisposition interacting with exposure to psychoactive drugs * Treatment is viewed as necessary and effective * Society should treat sick people 19.
How does the harm reduction model view the nature of drugs, the drug user, the cause of drug related harm and the appropriate response to drug use? * Inanimate objects (i. e. , drugs, guns, cars etc. ) are neither good or evil but rather afford potential for benefit and harm * Drug use is not necessarily a sign of pathology but ranges from beneficial aspirin for headache, valium as a sleep aid) to harmful (aspirin with alcohol, valium for suicide) * Note that as a society we are able to cope with the duality of many objects and behaviors but have difficulty recognizing and accepting this duality in psychoactive drugs.
* Consistent with the dual nature of drugs, the harm reduction model explicitly views drugs as affording potential for benefit and harm * In contrast to viewing the drug user as a criminal (criminal model) or sick (medical model), the harm reduction model views drug use and altering consciousness as a normal human activity – Human drug use predates recorded history – Drug use is culturally universal – Children alter consciousness early in development – Non-human animals consume psychoactive substances * Drug related harm is viewed as resulting from social and regulatory.
policy * Depending on the level of use or dysfunction, treatment may or may not be necessary 20. What is the duality of psychoactive drugs that is referred to in lesson? * The criminal and medical models ignore the inherent duality of drugs and drug use, respectively * Note that as a society we are able to cope with the duality of many objects and behaviors but have difficulty recognizing and accepting this duality in psychoactive drugs * Consistent with the dual nature of drugs, the harm reduction model explicitly views drugs as affording potential for benefit and harm.
21. What is the mechanistic metaphor that can be traced to the ideas of Descartes? * Mechanistic Metaphor applies the metaphor of the machine to understanding the animal. 22. What is reductionism? * Reductionism is the explanation of higher levels of organization in terms of lower levels of organization 23. How is the mechanistic metaphor applied to understanding psychoactive drugs?
* Pharmacology applies reductionistic methods to the understanding of drug use * The behavior of the drug addict is explained in terms of the effect of drug molecules on the nerve cells (i.e. , neurons) of the brain * Higher levels of organization (drug using behavior) are explained in terms of lower levels of organization (molecules and brain cells) 24.
What does the term “pharmacological determinism” mean? * Pharmacological determinism is the concept that all drug related problems can be understood in terms of a drugs mind altering and addictive pharmacology * For example, the behavior of a crack dealer may be explained as a result of addiction and impaired judgment or the dealer exploiting a user who is addicted/impaired or both 25.
Provide an example of drug use that cannot be well explained by mechanistic/reductionistic ideas.
* The initiation of tobacco smoking provides an example of drug use that is better explained by social than by pharmacological phenomena – The pharmacology of tobacco results in coughing, dizziness and often nausea in the first time user – This pharmacology does not explain well, the initiation of tobacco use – The first time user may be better understood as displaying a symbol (tobacco smoking) that identifies the individual as a member of a social group (adult, attractive peer etc. ) 26.
What’s the difference between macro and micro social theories of deviance? 27. How was culture defined in the lessons? 28. What are norms and roles, respectively? 29. How was sub-culture defined in the lessons? 30. What is the cause of deviance according to the cultural conflict theory?
31. How do more powerful cultures generally regard the values, beliefs and behaviors of less powerful cultures and what term is used to describe this common human bias? 32. How are differences between cultures understood from the perspective of cultural relativity? 33. To what do the terms etic and emic explanation refer?
34. To what does the term anomie refer? 35. What is the cause of anomie according to the strain theory of anomie? 36. Identify the 4 ways that individuals cope with strain according to Merton (strain theory of anomie). 37. What two means for coping with strain apply to illicit drug use and trafficking?
38. Individual can also band together an deal with states of anomie through social movements, identify the 3 categories of social movements identified in the lessons? 39. Of the 3 types of social movements identified which 2 apply to psychoactive drug use, explain and provide examples?