7. OTC Drugs & Treatments

I thought this was the most boring chapters we've done so its a little disappointing to see its the last one. Simply because its mostly about "regular" health related drugs which we're all quite familiar with. I can't say I've really learned anything that wasn't super-specific in this chapter. As you know from my last post I'm personally familiar with some of the clinical treatment of drug addiction and I've taken Psychology 101 and Abnormal Psychology which goes much more in depth with such things. I did find Chapter 18 the more exciting one because of my interest in the psychology of it, though I've never been quite fond of the pharmaceutical treatments involved.

You've already heard a good amount of my opinions as far as drug treatment in psychotherapy, but I will mention that the one thing I found most supporting of these opinions is the short section on anti-depressants. Now, I already knew this but it still strikes me every time its revealed that all anti-depressants have not been shown to be affective. At all. This is truly an amazing fact because when you watch TV you'll see advertisements all the time for Zoloft, or whatever they're prescribing these days and they make it seem like your depression can be cured! And its easy! This is entirely misleading. In fact, I can't believe they're able to get away with this stuff.

I have a friend of mine with clinical depression, and I'm guilty of a habit of psychoanalyzing people so I'm very aware of his progression to his current state of mind. I've known him for years, and in high-school he was a natural so he always bragged about how smart he was, but he never did any work. When it time for college he immediately dropped out unable to do any work and then determined to party and drink away the cold reality that he had been spending years believing he was destined to easy work-free success. His mom was responsible for the worst thing I think she could have done. She sent him to a mental institution. The mental institution diagnosed him for clinical depression, and he started taking drugs. Immediately his personality was altered. His inability to do anything productive was tripled. He went from partying to playing video games. All day, every day. Its all he is capable of doing now. He never speaks and is now unable to socialize when he used to be the loudest most obnoxious kid I knew. What a quick change of fate. The drugs seemed to have done nothing but strip away his soul and encourage him to gain about a hundred fifty pounds. Its one of the saddest life stories I've seen in my life. I can't believe what his mom and what the mental institution did to him. If he wasn't crazy then, they certainly made him. And now he gets to pay money for his madness.

I wish the book went more into emphasis on how some of these drugs have shown to be useless, instead of simply saying "no positive results have been shown". Its gone beyond that. We know some of these things are useless. I thought I might switch to a psychology major for my degree at NCCC until I realized that psychology is an incredibly slow-moving; too structured and systematized to change quickly. I realized that I had understanding of many disorders too radical to even be tested without decades of prerequisite.

I think my participation is acceptable again. Nobody chose to respond to my discussion topic because it was probably too controversial. I was hoping I could attract some radical spiritual / anti-spiritual opinions but I suppose people know better than that for a health course. Again I'm very frustrated with the quiz. I spent over an hour going very slowly question by question pouring over the book to GUARANTEE I couldn't do bad. I got a 60%. And it RAISED my overall quiz grade. I realize I'm not very good at multiple choice, but really?

Four terms:

Proprietary - Brand name registered with the U.S. Patent office.
Hyperglycemia - Elevated blood sugar.
Hypothyroidism - Thyroid gland does not produce sufficient hormone.
Ischemia -  Tissue deprived of sufficient blood and oxygen.

6. Marijuana

I was really fascinated with the student discussion this module. I was really surprised to see that almost all the posts seemed to be more supportive of marijuana legalization than those condemning it. I'm quite happy by this because personally I've never understood the incredible amount of prejudice and money spent on keeping the relatively safe drug illegal. I'm quite certain that this drug will be legal within my lifetime (something I used to say years ago and people would laugh, now is being taken very seriously).

I'll admit that I've smoked it on occasion within the last few years (something I can't really pretend to be ashamed of considering the number of users there are in this country) and I can honestly say its been my only "vice", and I feel with perfectly good reason. Where there definitely are the stereotypical "stoners" who use the drug as an escape and to sit around doing nothing and be perfectly entertained, thats never been my experience with it. The drug not only quickens the heart and blood-flow but also the mind. I've found it wonderfully stimulating intellectually, and has been handy to my introspective self in my philosophical ponders and my artistic endeavors. Its led me to strive for living in a similar "high state" without the aid of drugs simply by directing my awareness inward, being aware of each thought and moment as it happen. If you can step outside your own thoughts and observe them rather than being swept away and 'distracted' by them, the incredible phenomenon of existence becomes more apparent, and the result is inherent joy and awesomeness. This is what meditation is, and its been a very important discovery for me I feel, and I believe I owe some credit to marijuana for basically 'forcing' this kind of behavior/observation. Meditation was never taught to me neither in life/religion/school over here in the West and I can't possibly fathom why, (I find it a helpful skill to be able to consciously override any suffering) but if it weren't for my interest in the hippie movement of the sixties (I'm not sure why no one else seems to enjoy the concept of peace, love, happiness and rainbows!) I doubt I'd ever encounter it. Needless to say, my flirtations with the drug were not typical to other peoples, but I found it a very intellectual and useful, and I look forward to a time where such a thing isn't criminalized. (Not that I advocate the drug, because I feel most people use it for simple 'comforting' reasons which I don't care much for.)

A few years ago my parents discovered I had tried pot and sent me to eight months of drug counseling. During that time I learned that even professional drug counselors hadn't a clue about how these drugs actually are. My counselor tried to tell me that about half the marijuana in the area was spiked with other various chemicals such as heroin and cocaine. I knew this was total bullshit (I've never even heard of anyone receiving marijuana that wasn't intentionally laced), and I knew why. Obviously people came in to the office all the time and failed drug tests for heroin and cocaine and blamed the fact that they must have smoked marijuana that had been laced, and the brilliant social-workers bought it. The counselor also tried to convince me that because of my marijuana use I would have moved onto heroin by the time I graduated to college. (Try listening to someone attempting to convince you why you'll be on heroin in no time and you might see how I've developed a disgust for the incredible amount of ignorance involved in today's drug systems.)

I think my participation was acceptable this module. You've heard alot more from me here then in the student participation module because I'm so opinionated, and I didn't want to involve my opinion too much in the class discussion. My lowest grade is always from the quizzes which I'm having a tough time with. I wish the quizzes would show the correct answers I missed after taking it rather than simply telling me I just got a 50% on something I thought I aced.

Vocab I've learned:

• Sinsemilla - Marijuana without seeds
• Amotivational Syndrome - Belief that heavy marijuana use decreases motivation
• Glaucoma - Potentially blinding eye disease causing intraocular pressure
• Anandamide - Possible neurotransmitter acting at the marijuana receptor

5. Alcohol

Alcohol is certainly the most abundant and common recreational drug we discuss in this course. So common, it is, I often  hear it not even being considered a drug. "Alcohol is not a drug." This always amuses me, because its not only a drug but a considerably dangerous one. A drug that is in my opinion overly prevalent, and seriously un-admirable. Alcohol is yet another subject I tend to take a strong stance on.

This is perhaps because of its extreme over-usage by the vast majority of my friends and of my peer group. If there is a significant percentage of my generation that aren't regular drinkers, I'd like to meet them, because as a person who never drinks I regularly feel isolated. My issues with drinking aren't really based off of the dangers and side-affects of the drug (which I'm aware there's plenty of) but rather how the drug affects people itself.

Let me first point out that I'm not talking about moderate drinkers. This, I see no issues with whatsoever. And I commend anyone who can regulate their drinking to a moderate level. Of my family there are several people who drink like this, and their drinking does not affect them in any way negatively. However, of my peer group I know not one person who drinks moderately and without intent of getting wasted. "Wasted" is the goal of my friends behavior, and the intention of their popular 'drinking games' and it is the state of 'being wasted' that I dislike so much, having experienced it fully in my past.

Its not simply the physical dangers, or the literal sickness this drug causes in heavy consumption that annoys me, but the actual mental changes and behaviors it provokes. Its known for being a 'social lubricant' but as far as I know, it only works this way in that people suddenly lose their ability for caring, respect, and cleanliness. It makes people sloppy enough to provoke fights, act disgusting and be openly fiendish. It is what I consider a transition from being one that monitors and contains his or her ego, to one that totally lets it take over and resides in the 'comfort' of being completely ignorant and selfish. This is what I see the drunk as. Hardly ever do I see a drunk person care about anything but themselves, though I recognize there are rare exceptions. And I recognize I do have a grudge to say the least.

This self-centeredness that is caused by alcohol consumption is the reason for the common emotional outbursts which often seem to 'fountain' from people when they're drunk. Its responsible for countless dramas and exaggerations that only happen when people suddenly feel the need to become relentlessly self-concerned. Now, I myself am a person who meditates daily in a practice to do entirely the opposite of what alcohol does. Meditation is trying to escape the ego, the self-concern, the emotions and dramas of life, and I've learned that if I ever even have the slightest thing to drink meditation becomes downright impossible. Suddenly it makes sense to me why drinking is banned by most religions. Its not that its evil, its totally counter-productive.

Looking back at the class discussion I think the class did a good job bringing up some of the more technical and physical aspects of alcohol, but I think there could have been more mentioned on the side of behavioral affects mentioned in our textbook such as increased sexual desire, and violent behavior. I'm no prohibitionist, but it certainly helps to bring awareness to a popular drug that causes a lot of problems.

As far as the course goes I feel like I've put in decent time and effort, above average, and I'm satisfied with my grade. It feels like I've earned it. I certainly think the toughest parts of the course are the strict due dates, reason for my retake of this course, but I think I'm keeping up with it. (Though I'm sure my paper won't be finished until its due tomorrow :P )

Four words I learned in this module:

• Diuretic - A drug that increases urine production.
• Hepatotoxic Effect - A situation where level cells produce fat, becoming enlarged.
• Cirrhosis - Irreversible scarring of liver tissues and formation of fibrous tissues.
• Polydrug Use - Concurrent usage of multiple drugs.

4. Depressants & Stimulants

Looking back the the student seminar, I'm actually not surprised that most people decided to discuss stimulants rather than depressants. I think this is because depressants are quite common, frequently abused, and stimulants are more likely to be "exciting" and taboo. I remember in highschool that OTC depressants like Vicodin were some of the most abused drugs, not to mention alcohol (which I realize gets a chapter to itself). The Vocodin / Hydrocodone drugs are so commonly abused I remember both teachers and students joking about it alike. When someone broke a leg, or got wisdom teeth pulled, at least they got the good pills.

Stimulants I recall hearing much less of in highschool. I do remember watching the kid next to me blow a line of cocaine in Math class (I assume my school was no worse than the others). The one thing that definitely was abused alot in school was Adderall. This is a drug I have alot of issues with. I almost regret not discussing this in the student seminar (I don't think the text went too in detail with this specific drug). I hate this drug. I have friends that have ADD and ADHD, and I watched many of them get put on this drug, and saw its affects. To the person with ADD, Adderall turns them into a emotionless zombie. Unable to feel or joke, they would effortlessly go through massive amounts of work without being a "distraction" to the class. Watching this zombification made me very angry. This is a useless drug, it shuts kids up, thats why its prescribed... OVERLY prescribed. Its all over. And furthermore, my friends with ADD who were forced to take the drug hated taking it, because they knew it "stole them of their soul" and so I watched them begin instead to sell it to the student population. Adderall when you DON'T have ADD is like cheating on a test. Its virtually speed. Everyone loved to talk about the 'magic drug' that was totally responsible for their loving to cram ten hours of work before the due date. Adderall - Prescribed to cover up and not cure a mental disorder, to zombify young energetic children, and eventually to be sold as student-crack. Great work psychiatrists!

I think I knew most of the information in this module, including all the caffeine information and the various depressants and stimulants. I did learn an awful lot about cocaine history that I found quite interesting. And that sometimes very small amounts of cocaine get into Coca-Cola from the treated leaves! No wonder its the second most understood word in the world (following OK). I think my participation is acceptable this module, I didn't have too much personal information to contribute here.

Words I learned:

• Antihistamine - Drugs that cause CNS depression and treat allergies
• Hyperpyrexia - Elevated body temperature.
• Behavioral Stereotypy - Meaningless repetition of a single activity. (A fancy word for crazy!)
• Adulterated - Contaminating substances are mixed in to dilute drugs.

3. The Law & Why Drugs Work

I found this module very interesting, especially alot of the information in the chapter on drug law. I find it fascinating to watch how the perceptions of drugs have changed throughout history, and I think its something most people overlook. Most people consider that we've always had the drug-laws and perceptions we have now forever, but thats not at all true. Putting these things in perspective shows us that our current "drug problems" in this country is a relatively new phenomenon. Just a century ago the law began getting involved with drug regulation, before then nobody really seemed to think too much on the subject until the popularity of opium dens. 

Overall, I think we're getting into a rather touchy subject that remains quite controversial. I know that I take a strong stance on this particular subject. I felt the more I learned  about the various drug acts and regulation our government passed the more I liked some things and hated others. While I'm all for the regulation of drugs, especially prescription and OTC drugs in which the government I feel ought to be protective of the health of our citizens, I'm not a big fan on the regulation of what we know as 'recreational drugs'. I think being born in today's age everyone comes into contact with the severe implications of such regulation. When I say that I "lost some friends to drugs" very little of that statement would be literally true. Though I have seen a very small percentage of people lose their "well-being" to drug addictions (alcohol being the #1 problem here) for the most part the people I saw "lose their lives to drugs" was not because of the actual drugs themselves at all, but on the incredibly severe penalties such people faced when they were busted by the law. To be perfectly honest it is something that has affected me in multiple ways, not that I've ever been in legal trouble, but I've seen some very close friends of mine receive what I consider some incredibly unjust treatment for their drug possession. It's made me passionately angry at times, and when I pick up a newspaper and read about several young teens spending months in prison because of a pot bust, I'm practically seething. I do not advocate their actions, but I know that our governments 'correctional' treatments are terrifically flawed. I would love to be able to help change this.

I also thought it was interesting in chapter 5 how the different 'cross-tolerances' and various 'combinations' of drugs affect people, as well as the hereditary factors that become involved with drug usage, craving and other factors.

I think my participation in this module was above expectation. I posted more then three posts on three different days. Next module I'll be sure to post my question in advance.

Terms I learned in this module:

• teratogenic - Causing abnormal development
• plateau effect - Maximum possible effect of a drug
• pharmacokinetics - The body's various responses to a drug.
• synergism - How one drug has and affects another drug

2. Explaining Drug Use & Abuse

Already I find it interesting how quickly in-depth all the issues with drug-use and addiction goes. When I was in fifth grade I was subjected to the D.A.R.E. program, which was quick to imply that absolutely all drug use is basically bad, and will turn you into a wretched hobo, or raging madman. Not surprisingly, this program is failing tremendously just as the Reagan 'Just say NO' campaign did. To put it simply, I don't think its affective to educate people on drugs by lying to them. If you educate a person that drugs are evil, and later on they find out this more-or-less is an extreme fabrication, the only lesson is to not trust what you're educated on drugs. That was the lesson I learned at least, and I'd say it was true one.

That said, now that I've begun this course I finally feel as though I can trust what I'm being educated here. Unlike the D.A.R.E. program, which was evidently bent on educating people the moral taboo of drugs I've found that this course and our textbook is actually going to be going into what drugs actually are and how they affect people and culture. This I feel is evident with the fact that we aren't being instructed a moral direction because the truth is that the connection between man and drugs isn't so simple. For this reason I am very excited and interested to learn more about just how incredibly complicated this relationship actually is.

In chapter two, what really caught my interest was the great variety of personality types, subculture groups, and variety of 'drug-types' that any individual could be subject to. Furthermore, all this in itself could be just a part of what could amount as any individuals set of addictions. These addictions which are often perceived to be simple cut-and-dry 'chemical dependabilities' seem to more often then not be the results of incredibly unique  situations which resonate deep within personality. On page 53 in chapter 2 we are presented with a table of Risk Factors which all can potentially lead to addiction and drug use. However, the biological based factors (obvious factors most are familiar with, mood disorders and drug tolerances) make up only a portion of the factors many of which seem to totally disregard (such as personality and cultural factors).

Many of these factors I had already been familiar with, which resulted in my large disregard for governmental drug propaganda which always intended to divide things into 'good' and 'evil'. However I had never learned about the different definitions given to different "types" of these influences, such as sub-culture theory (the influence of ones subculture) and labeling theory (the influence of being subjected to another's labeling). By breaking down all these influences into smaller and clearer definitions it becomes more and more obvious how each of them become related, interconnected and allowing of completely individual cases of addiction to arise from any one person. It certainly goes to show the importance of a psychological-approach (per each person) toward each instance of addiction, because every construct is going to be slightly different, rather than a literal "war" approach, that seems to be the mentality of our government. The concept of fighting a war against a psychologically intricate set of behaviors and desires just seems so misled and corrupt in this day and age (hmm... maybe not so much). I have a feeling the more I learn from this course, the more I'm going to spot problems with the way our own culture handles such issues. However, one article I found helpful for shedding insight on the complexity of addiction treatment comes from a government funded drug abuse website: here.

I think my participation in discussion has been productive thus far. I think the quality and quantity of my participation is more then acceptable; However personally, I'm not yet sure if I should be more open with my own personal views and accounts, or whether such things are best kept to myself.

Several definitions I learned in this module:

• social learning theory - learned associations that occur from social observance.
• habituation - the turning of behavior into habit due to recursion.
• structural influence theory - focuses on the structure of 'significant others' and structured influences on an individual.
• amotivational syndrome - change of personality resulting in lack of interest & accomplishment.
• retrospective interpretation - the redefining of a person's image within a particular group.

1. Icebreakers

Hello!