"Drugs and Drug Culture"-- IntDis 2 Term Project

This blog, in large, is a place to dissect the topic of "drugs and drug culture"-- a group term project in which me and five other individuals in Dr. Rudinow's Interdisciplinary Studies class on Popular Culture in the United States make a collaborative effort to present the impact that drugs/medication have on American popular culture.

Now, my topic, geared towards psychology and psychiatric care, is in a world of its own compared to the four people who's term paper is on marijuana/legalization and one persons study of the history of illicit drugs in America. However, we are all in one group, therefore I found it necessary to try and incorporate our subjects into the same presentation (as is the assignment). I took the role as group leader in order to do so. Not that it would have been impossible for any of the others to structure this presentation, but perhaps, it might have been, and my topic would have been left by the way side because it is so different from the majority of my groups subjects.

Some interesting group statistics that I observed: out of a group of six people (myself included)

1. three of us have been on psychotropic medication to treat mental illness
2. two of us have been placed on a 51-50
3. two of us have been to treatment/rehab
4. two are heavy users of marijuana
5. one person is on medicinal marijuana
6. one person struggled with marijuana addiction
7. one person is a user of marijuana (with out specific conclusion on extent of use)
8. one person is an unknown

Now, I realize that the group statistics are not an accurate representation of medication/drug use in the United States, as this is the group who signed up for drug and drug culture. But I thought it was an interesting foot note.

Back to topic:

The start of the presentation (for which we are all responsible for 20 minutes of speaking/presenting leading to a total of about an hour and a half to an hour and forty five minutes of presenting) I will make a small introduction (to which we all add our own two cents) on how we determine what "normal" is. This is the platform for our topic.

I will then introduce my subject-- Psychotropic Medication in American Culture (which includes: the over-priscription of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medications, over-daignosing of patients, etc.) To conclude this discussion, I'll look at statistics of how many are actually un-treated and make connections to stigmas, and even lack of proper insurance can lead people who suffer from mental illness (depression, etc) that seek self-medicating: illicit drugs in America.

My peer will take in from there and introduce her topic-- Culture/History of Recreational Drugs in American Culture. I'm excited for this: with clips from TV shows like "Addicted", "Intervention" and "Celebrity Rehab", we'll get to see inside the world that popularizes treatment, and to see the extent to which people are self medicating in America.

From there, another peer will look at the history of hemp/marijuana, from ancient to present, when it was brought to America and how it relates to present culture. In this section, a power-point presentation will take place.

It follows with the topic of current laws on marijuana-- talking about the upcoming ballot, discovering economic value of legalization, and a small peek into the prohibition of alcohol. He will bring in the upcoming ballot for people to view.

Then, we will look at the physiological effects of marijuana. Harmful effects. This person has yet to decide how they will present (but that's another story), so we will move on.

Finally, medicinal marijuana will be introduced-- why it's used, conditions in which someone can use it, myths about it, and some data. This will be represented by graphs.

whew! Looks good to me. I must admit, I was so frustrated that I be placed in "a group of stoners" but that is my stereotyping and judgment. In fact, the only person I'm struggling with is the "unknown". She happens to be the person who wanted Robert Crumb's brother on Lithium. Maybe I have preconceived notions about her, too.