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| Assistant Professor: | Dr. Keith King |
| Class Location: | 502 Swift Hall |
| Class Time: | 11:00 - 12:20 TH |
| Office Location: | 526 E Teachers Coll. |
| Office Hours: | By appointment |
| Office Phone: | 556-3859 |
| Secretary Phone: | 556-3873 |
| Email Address: | keith.king@uc.edu |
Welcome to Drugs and Society! This course is required for those majoring in the Health Promotion and Education Program. It is quite interesting that not too long ago, health educators had to convince students about the importance of drug education. However, this is definitely no longer the case. Today’s students are much more interested in learning about drug-related issues. Such interest is shown in the increasing numbers of students enrolling in drug education courses.
Many students are concerned about friends or relatives who abuse drugs or about whether they, themselves, have a drug problem. Occasionally, a student will remind other classmates that more than 1000 Americans die each day of tobacco-related illnesses. In turn, some students want to learn more about effective drug enforcement, prevention, and treatment programs? Others want to know about specific drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, LSD, heroin, and cocaine. Additional topics that students are often curious about include why Rohypnol (“roofies”) has been termed the “date-rape drug,” whether Ritalin and Prozac are overly prescribed, and why penalties for possession of powder cocaine differs from possession of crack cocaine. And still others want to know why people use drugs in the first place.
All of these questions and more will be addressed in this course.
As in other courses, it is my hope that this information remains as interesting
as possible. I do believe that if you approach this course with a
true willingness to learn, you will leave at course end with a more comprehensive
understanding of the issues related to drug use in our society.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
| A) Explain the current pattern of drug use in the US. |
| B) Explain the various reinforcements that support drug use in the US. |
| C) Demonstrate knowledge concerning various types of drugs, including stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. |
| D) Explain drug action within the human body. |
| E) Explain routes of drug administration into the body, as well as the dose, time, and tolerance responses of various categories of drugs. |
| F) Identify various laws and legal issues surrounding legal and illegal drug use. |
| G) Identify methods by which advertising affects drug use in America. |
| H) Identify effective prevention and education strategies utilized to decrease drug abuse. |
| I) Identify effective treatment strategies used to help people with drug problems. |
| J) Identify current controversies surrounding many of today’s drug issues. |
Required Readings:
Text: Hanson, G., & Venturelli, P. (2001). Drugs
and Society. (6th edition).
Jones and Bartlett.
Articles: Additional readings will be assigned during class.
| A. Exam 1 | 100 points |
| B. Exam 2 | 100 points |
| C. Exam 3 | 100 points |
| D. AA Meeting Summary | 25 points |
| E. 3 Web Exercises (25 points each) | 75 points |
| Total Score | 350 points |
Your final score is based on a total of 400 points.
| Letter Grade | Points | Percentage Range |
| A | 370 - 400 | 92.5% - 100% |
| A- | 358 - 369 | 89.5% - 92.4% |
| B+ | 346 - 357 | 86.5% - 89.4% |
| B | 330 - 345 | 82.5% - 86.4% |
| B- | 318 - 329 | 79.5% - 82.4% |
| C+ | 306 - 317 | 76.5% - 79.4% |
| C | 290 - 305 | 72.5% - 76.4% |
| C- | 278 - 289 | 69.5% - 72.4% |
| D+ | 266 - 277 | 66.5% - 69.4% |
| D | 250 - 265 | 62.5% - 66.4% |
| D- | 238 - 249 | 59.5% - 62.4% |
| F | 000 - 237 | 00.0% - 59.4% |
Note: If you miss a test on the scheduled date 10 points will be subtracted per day until you make up the test. Similarly, 5 points per day will be deducted for web exercises or AA meeting summaries turned in late. Therefore, please be aware of due dates.
Content of Exams
Content for the exams will come from three sources: class notes, readings,
and videos. Therefore, please be prepared to answer questions from
any of these sources.
Attendance
It is strongly recommended that you attend class to successfully complete
this course. Much of the information on the exams will be that which
is delivered in class.
AA Meeting Summary and Web Exercises
These projects will be discussed in class.
Humor Policy
The use of drugs, though widely prevalent in our society, will not provide
ultimate happiness. Connecting with others will. One way to
connect with others is through the use of humor. Don’t be afraid
to laugh.
| Date | Topic | Chapter |
| 9/21 | Introduction | |
| 9/26 | Drugs and Society; Drug Use and Abuse | 1, 2 |
| 9/28 | Drug Use and Abuse; Drug Use and the Law | 2; 3 |
| 10/03 | How and Why Drugs Work | 5 |
| 10/05 | Homeostatic Systems and Drugs
Web Exercise 1 Due (25 points) |
6 |
| 10/10 | Depressants | 7 |
| 10/12 | Exam 1 (100 points) | |
| 10/17 | Alcohol | 8 |
| 10/19 | Alcohol | 9 |
| 10/24 | Narcotics | 10 |
| 10/26 | No Class – Work on Web Exercise 2 | |
| 10/31 | Stimulants | 11 |
| 11/02 | Tobacco
Web Exercise 2 Due (25 points) |
12 |
| 11/07 | Tobacco | 12 |
| 11/09 | Exam 2 (100 points) | |
| 11/14 | Hallucinogens; Marijuana | 13, 14 |
| 11/16 | Inhalants; Designer Drugs; Rohypnol, GHB | 15 |
| 11/21 | Over-the-counter and Prescription Drugs
Web Exercise 3 Due (25 points) |
16 |
| 11/23 | No Class – Happy Thanksgiving | |
| 11/28 | Drug Use Within Subcultures | 17 |
| 11/30 | Drug Use Prevention and Treatment
AA Meeting Summary Due (25 points) |
18, 4 |
| 12/07 | Exam 3 (100 points) 1:30 – 3:30 PM |
* The above schedule is subject to change due to
any extenuating circumstances.
ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS MEETING
(Please attend an OPEN meeting)
For a listing of nearby meetings, contact the AA Oak Street Office at
861-3500,
405 Oak Street.
Student Name: ___________________________________________
Date of Meeting: ___________________________________________
Place of Meeting: ___________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
This is to certify that the above named individual attended this open
AA meeting.
_____________________
Stamp
__________________________
Signature
________________________________________________________________________
* Staple your double-spaced typed page of comments to the back of this
form.
You are required to complete 3 web exercises throughout the quarter. At the end of each chapter in your text you will find web exercises. In order to access these web exercises, you will need to visit www.jbpub.com/dsonline. Follow the guidelines listed below to ensure success for these exercises. Each exercise is worth 25 points.
Web Exercise Guidelines
1. After reading an assigned chapter in your text (see tentative schedule
for assigned chapters), check out the web exercises listed at the end of
the chapter and
select one of interest.
2. Visit www.jbpub.com/dsonline and click on the appropriate exercise listed in the chapter you just read.
3. Each web exercise will give you specific instructions to follow. Most of these instructions will instruct you to read the provided drug information and then type up a brief summary. I would also like you to include your reactions to this drug information.
4. You will turn in the typed summary and reaction to me for a grade. As mentioned above, each exercise is worth 25 points.
5. The summary/reaction paper to your web exercise should be 1 ½ to 2 pages in length (the summary should be 1 page and the reaction should be ½ page).
6. All papers must be typed, double-spaced, use 12 point font, have 1 ½ inch margins, and be stapled.
7. Points will be deducted for grammar errors, spelling errors and failure to meet any of the above-listed criteria. Only typed papers will be accepted.
8. For Web Exercise 1: choose one of the exercises listed in chapters
1-3 or 5-7.
For Web Exercise 2: choose one of the exercises
listed in chapters 8-12.
For Web Exercise 3: choose one of the exercises
listed in chapter 4 or chapters 13-18.
STUDENTS'
COMMENTS ABOUT THIS CLASS
| I thought the textbook was
great. It was easy to read. Dr. King's lectures were thorough and easy
to understand. I liked the way the class was presented, his use of pamphlets,
his overheads and the way he taught class. He is very ENTHUSIASTIC!
Dr. King is very knowledgeable and taught the class very effectively.
I particularly enjoyed Dr. King's style of presentation. He was enthusiastic in his method of instruction and was enthusiastic in presenting the material. The textbook was a good supplement to class notes and the classroom notes were valid to the exams. I love the new Drugs & Society textbook. It's very easy to follow and understand. Our web exercises were very educational. I believe going to the AA meeting was a very interesting experience. Dr. King's good sense of humor made class very interesting. I like humor. Dr. King is a great professor, he makes this class enjoyable as well as interesting. The web assignments were very valuable, as well as the out of class AA assignment. The textbook was very well organized, easy to read, and presented info current and thoroughly. Dr. King does a great job with getting the most up to date materials, statistics, etc., to enhance the learning from the course. I would like to take another class taught by this Prof. UC needs more professors with the passion for teaching that Dr. King has. He is one of the few who still care. This class was very informative. I learned things in detail that I only knew a little bit about. Class was very enjoyable. Dr. King is a great asset to the University. He adds humor to the class which makes teaching fun. He is one of my most enjoyable professors to have. I would recommend his classes as well. Dr. King is very good at making time of your questions and comments. He is very organized and helpful when it comes to tests. Dr. King is a wonderful teacher and makes this class interesting and fun. Dr. King is really good when it comes to communication with the students. He responds quickly to all questions and is very considerate to problems students run into. Dr. King is very concerned with the students and this is a great quality that not many professors have. Dr. King is a pleasure to learn from. |