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