Legalization of Marijuana

Select a topic of interest that explores psychological or sociological issues relevant to addiction (not biological, chemical or genetic issues for this course): For example: addiction issues for an ethnic group, a social subgroup – i.e., rock musicians, artists, novelists, poets, nurses, college students, Mexican immigrants, Jamaican adolescents, the elderly, gay men, lesbians, those with physical disabilities – hearing impaired, blind– a famous person – Betty Ford, Diana Ross, Mickey Mantle, Liz Taylor, Michael Jackson, etc.; controversial issues – or -- Legalization or de-criminalization of drugs; methadone maintenance versus drug free treatment; addiction as a public health versus a criminal justice issue; boot camp versus professional rehab treatment for adolescents, etc.; consistent with the course content – That means, for example, you explore the psychological and social issues that impact the onset of dependence, the course of dependence and the outcome – recovery, death, etc. of your topic – A further example: what are the sociological differences that impact a woman's onset of alcoholism, the course of her alcoholism, and the probability of recovery and teh course of recovery – which may be different because she is a woman in our culture as opposed to being a man. …Or - How would the alcoholism experience (onset, context, development, outcome, etc.) of a woman of African or Latin or Asian or Indigenous American descent be different than that of a woman of European descent? NOTE of CAUTION: Spend very very little time and space on the physical issues of a particular drug, or such issues as genetics. NOTE WELL: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Crack babies per se are not permitted topics for this course!!!! II. If you choose a particular person, the biographical material you find will make certain statements about the person's drug or alcohol use. For example it may attribute the substance abuse or dependence to stress, or sexual abuse, or racial discrimination, or fame. In this course you want to know if the professional research in addictions actually supports the notion that there is a causal relationship between being famous and having an addiction. So, you will find at least five (5) professional literature resources from the field of addiction studies (see last paragraph for a definition of professional literature- what it is and what it is not), on social and psychological issues, which are less than 10 years old, in order to either support or challenge what the biographer has to say. (you can use literature from the course, but it will not be counted as one of your 5 sources) If you choose to focus on a famous person – the biographical material is important – but it does not count toward the five professional resources in addiction. Think of it more as the case material. You will be attempting to address any controversial issues, disagreements, differing points of view, or alternate explanations.