Drugs and Society

Drugs and Society attempts to place "drugs" in a more sociological perspective than students normally experience. It looks at the social organization of drug dealing, focusing on a group of teenage dealers, who distributed crack in New York City in the early 1990s. From there, the course moves to larger questions, the acquisition of progressively more potent drugs and the streams whereby they entered global commerce. Since the 1900s efforts to prohibit or restrict use have driven U.S. policy on drugs . The prosecution of crack mothers in the 1990s provides a window through which to examine policies of drug prohibition and their consequences in America. Because treatment is no less an issue than enforcement, the experiences of drug addicts in the California treatment system provides insights into both the need for treatment and its shortcomings.

Required Reading

 
 

When it comes to understanding the role drugs have played in the making of the "modern world," the book to read is Force of Habits by David Courtwright. Why is marijuana available all over the world, and not peyote or qat? Why are alcohol and tobacco legal, but not heroin and cocaine? What is the social-biological account that Courtwright develops to answer these and other questions. Why have policies favorable to the use of drugs given way to polices that prohibit and restrict drug use?

Written by Drew Humphries, Crack Mothers  provides a framework for understanding America's prohibitionists policy. In reading this, be sure to pick out the major ideas, e.g., moral panic, and relate it to the war on drug, the crusade against crack mothers, and the full range of consequences this episode had for drug using women and their children. In a larger sense, ask yourself whether all restrictive policies follow the model of moral panic or are there some policies that have more beneficial outcomes and fewer adverse consequences.

Treatment gets the last word in this class. Hooked by Lonny Shavelson raises questions about treatment, a policy which is generally considered more enlightened than the law enforcement bend of prohibition and restriction.  But Shavelson follows 5 addicts through rehab to raise important questions about treatment. So ask yourself, what's wrong with treatment and how does Shavelson propose to fix it.

Course Grades

Course grade = ( .20 x [exam grade 1+ extra credit up to 3 points] )+ (.20 x [exam 2 grade+ extra credit up to 3 points]) + (.20 x [exam 3 grade+ extra credit up to 3 points]) + (.20 x exam 4 grade+ extra credit up to 3 points]) + (.20 x participation average) + completion of AA/NA assignment.

Essay exams include short answer questions, identifications, and an essay. Each exam grade is returned to you as a percentage of total points. 

The participation grade is an average of the percentage of days present in class, the percentage of days present for in-class activity, and the percentage of correct answers to questions about the readings. Questions that will be asked in class are included in the syllabus. In-class activities are  unannounced. Neither can be made up, although there are a number of opportunities for extra credit.

Note that extra credit assignments are due before exam dates.

 Note too that the AA/NA assignment is an ungraded course requirement. Failure to turn in this assignment results in an incomplete for the course. See week 14 for instructions. Note that the assignment is designed to augment your understanding of treatment and should be completed during the last section of the course.

Rules of the Road

Plagiarism: Students are expected to be familiar with the Rutgers' plagiarism policy and to avoid violating its provisions. If you are uncertain of what this policy is please consult your College Catalog and read our web-enhanced curriculum page at  http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/sociology/curriculum/plagiarism.htm.

Absences: Students are responsible for meeting all course requirements, including getting the class notes which may contain changes to the syllabus, for the days they miss. Absences rob students of participation points and usually result in poor performance on exams and papers. Excessive absenseeism will result in a failing grade for the class.

 Missed Exams: Students should arrange for an early exam if they plan to be away for an exam date. Those who miss an exam are required to contact the professor within 24 hours to discuss the possibility of taking a make up exam. To qualify for a make up test, students must provide written documentation to the professor that the absence was due to a change in circumstance over which they had no control, e.g., sudden illness, last minute job change, etc.

Course Outline: Lecture Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates

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Topics	Reading Assignment	Assignments & Exam Dates
Week 1. Introduction to the course:  Course requirements, background on the cocaine & crack, role of juveniles, development of illicit markets in the 1980s and 1990s.	Williams, Introduction What questions does this book set out to answer? What is crack? What changes in cocaine trade made crack a marketable drug? Describe the distribution network.
Week 2. I. Social Organization of Drug Dealing A look at the inside of a retail cocaine/crack set up, the consignment system, a market plan, and risks and troubles of drug dealing	Williams, Chapters 1-3: Why do kids get into cocaine sales? What keeps them there? and How do they get out? Who is in the crew? What's it like where they work and hang out? How does "la officina" work? what risks does Max face as head of the crew and how does he manage them?	Extra Credit due this week, Monday Sept 17 Identify this semi- synthetic drug and write a one page market plan, providing amounts, purity, and price by which your product will produce profit and maintain sales. Type your essay, use reference style APA.
Week 3. Social Organization of Drug Dealing The drug dealers, their personal lives, aspirations for and fears about the future, and life after drug dealing.	Williams, Chapters 4,5 & Afterward Are the "kids" illicit entrepreneurs who succeed in the ways of capitalism or are they drug dealers who deserve to go to jail? Are there longterm economic advantages for drug dealing? Consider this is light of what the "kids" wind up doing with their lives. Has Williams answered his basic question(s) to your satisfaction? Explain.	Exam, Monday Sept. 17, 2007
Week 4. II. Global Commerce & Drugs  The psychoactive revolution and the principles of diffusion that governed the spread of some psychoactive drugs into global commerce and barred others.	Courtwright Part I Psychoactive Revolution (Introduction, chapters 1,2,3) What basic question(s) does this book set out to answer? What is the psychoactive revolution? What are the principles that govern the entrance of different plant based drugs into world commerce? Pay attention to these principles in reading about tabbaco, caffeine, alcohol, opium, cocaine, & marijuana. What are the characteristics of plant drugs that were not globalized?	Extra credit is due Friday. Oct. 1 (fifth week) Identify this plant drug and explain the circumstances surroundings its late entry into global commerce.  Cite your source, using APA style and include a reference page.
Week 5. The role of doctors (and other experts) in letting the genie out of the bottle, the role of pleasure in sustaining drug use, and market economics, or why the cost of illicit drugs tends to go down over time.	Courtwright Part II Drugs and Commerce (chapters 4,5,6)  What is an amphetamine (synthetic drug) democracy and what role does it play in the increasing availability of illicit drugs? What is the medical dilemma? What is the evolutionary paradox and what has it got to do with the inflexible demand for drugs? What principles did Duke exploit in enabling his Duke tabbaco companies to escape from "commodity hell?"	amphetamine molecule, a synthetic drug.
Week 6. Drugs play a role in acquiring, pacifying, and fleecing workers. Taxing drugs is a constant source of government revenue. Even so, the decision was to prohibit them.	Courtwright Part III  Drugs and Power (Chapters 7,8,9, 10) How do drugs control labor forces? What is the best way to tax drugs? With so many benefits, what social changes led American leaders to prohibit drugs? Why kill the golden goose? Did Courtwright answer the questions he raised to your satisfaction? Explain.
Week 7 review and exam		exam October 17, Wednesday
Week 8. III. Drugs & US Drug Policy  A brief history of drug policy in the US, from the Harrison Act to the War on Drugs: characteristics of prohibition model and characteristics of the medical model.	Humphries Introduction, chapters 1-2 What basic question does this book set out to answer? What major changes occurred in the depiction of women who used crack or cocaine from the 1980s to the mid 1990s? Was there a crack epidemic? Why is it difficult to estimate maternal drug use, including maternal crack use? What second thoughts did doctors have about the effects of crack cocaine on newborns?	Extra credit is due October 31st. Find an article that  expresses your position on the drug prohibition (for or against) in the US and then summarize it in a one page typed essay. Cite your sources, using APA style and include a reference page.
Week 9.  The Crack Wars International and domestic phases of the war, its shift from demand reduction to supply reduction, and in the face of failure, the creation of new fronts, women and youth.	Humphries chapters 3-4 What is a moral panic and how do the trials of "crack mother's illustrate its critical phase? What were the charges brought against crack mothers and what were the eventual outcome of these proceedings? What motivated prosecutors to charge crack mothers as they did.  What external forces shaped the lives of women who succumbed to crack and cocaine in the 1990s? What kind of an addiction is crack? What treatment options were available for women who used crack during pregnant.
Week 10.  Crack Mothers Crack Mothers as a case study of the effects of prohibition.	Read Humphries chapter 5 & Conclusion How is the term "institutionalization" used in reference to the aftermath of a moral panic? How easily did "crack kids" fit into embattled system of child protective services? What was the relationship between crack kids, public education, and especially special education? Does Humphries answer her basic questions to your satisfaction? Explain.
Week 11 review and exam		Exam November 7 Wednesday
Week 12. IV. Addiction and the American Experience with Treatment The DSM-IV definitions of abuse and dependence and overview of nuerobiological approaches to addiction. (Handouts) Class will not be held on Wednesday November 14 (ASC Conference in Atlanta)	Shavelson, Afterward (pp. 299 ff) and chapters 1-4 What questions does Shavelson attempt to answer in his book? What is treatment on demand in San Francisco California? What are pre-placement groups and do they do what they were intended to do? Explain. What is a "dual diagnosis" and what challenges does this condition present to the drug rehabilitation system?	How Drugs Work in the Brain Required: Go to this website and review the neurobiological definition of addiction. Summarize it for one drug, type your results, cite souces, using APA style and turn it in Monday November 19.
Week 13. Treatment on Demand Institutional settings for treatment on demand and the rules for patients' movement from one part to the next. Therapeutic Communities. No class on Wednesday Nov. 21 (Friday classes)	Shavelson chapters 5-10 What is a therapeutic community? Given Mike's experience, what are its benefits and drawbacks?  What is harm reduction? Given Darlene's experience, how might harm reduction helped her? What is a "pink cloud" and what does it tell us about Mike's recovery? what is case management for drug addicts in treatment?How would case management have helped Darlene? What is relapse training and why is  Mike at risk for relapse? How does Walden handle relapse in Mike's case.	This is a good time to attend an open AA or NA meeting this week and to write up your experience and reactions to it in a one page typed paper. this is an ungraded assignment, but you must complete it to fulfill the course requirements.
Week 14. Mandated Treatment I Institutional settings for coerced treatment and the rules for patients' movement from one part to the next.  Drug Courts. The issues abstinence vs harm reduction;  relapse, detox, humilation, psychological counseling, case management, funding	Shavelson chapters introduction (pp 187 ff), chapters 11-14, and Political update (pp. 306). What is the Death Prevention Team? What is Glenda's experience with it? What is Drug Court? What is Crystal's experience with it?Why is Mike in county jail and what are his options? What happens to Darlene? What does Shavelson believe has to change to make treatment work?	Ar.
Week 15.Conclusion to the course		Exam on Shavelson and issues related to treatment December 20, 2007 Thursday 9-noon. CS 223.