Week 5: Alcohol & Other Drugs

11/29/2012

Alcohol, legal and illegal drugs, and other addictive substances were the focus of discussion for this week. For this blog assignment, you are expected to answer four questions after watching three segments from the documentary "The Truth About Drugs" created by the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. The video segments and questions for the blog assignment are posted below for your kind information. The purpose of this blog assignment is to understand the influence of media in addressing social problems and issues such as alcohol and drug abuse.

Please watch BOTH of these segments:

The Truth About Drugs: Intro.
The Truth About Drugs: The Final Word

Please also choose ONE of the following segments to watch:

After watching the introduction, one of the drug/substance segments and the conclusion from above, please make sure to respond to the following questions:

In addition to the intro. and conclusion segments, which segment did you choose to watch and why?
What do you think the message(s) or purpose (positive and/or negative) of EACH of these segments was?
Do you think the message(s) and/or purpose was/were delivered effectively? If so, how so? If not, why not?
What potential influence or impact (positive and/or negative) might these segments have on the audience?

***Your response (blog post) to this blog above is required by Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. AND your three separate responses to your classmates are due on Thursday, December 6, 2012***

29 Comments

Golnaz Athari

12/1/2012 12:50:37 pm

I chose the Marijuana section because Marijuana is becoming a mainstream substance in America, especially following the legalization of its recreational use in Colorado and Washington State (PHILLIPS, 2012).
The message of the segments was that you become addicted from day one, your friends introduce you to drugs as a form of entertainment and that drugs will ruin your life. I think it only covered one side of the story, and not the benefits that marijuana may have. Dr. Mitch Earleywine, an associate professor of psychology at SUNY University, believes “therapeutic use of marijuana has a history spanning over 4,500 years. Evidence supporting medical marijuana for appetite loss, glaucoma, nausea, vomiting, spasticity pain, arthritis, dystonia, insomnia, seizures, and Tourette's syndrome is very promising” (2010).
The segments might accomplish the purpose of scaring those who are uninformed about drugs, but will be ignored by anyone who knows of the matter in more detail. The information presented was not from an accredited source, while the video presented a narrow and selected perspective of the self-perceived “victims” of drug use.

Bibliography
ABBY PHILLIPS. 2012. Colorado, Washington Become First States to Legalize Recreational Marijuana. Retrieved 1, December, 2012, from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/colorado-washington-states-legalize-recreational-marijuana/story?id=17652774#.ULrNeIPAfWh
CBSNEWS. 2010. Opinion: Medical Marijuana Benefits. Retrieved 1, December, 2012, from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-503823_162-4844665.html

Eric Pagdanganan

12/3/2012 08:41:11 am

I believe that Marijuana is fine for medical use. However, I do not like the idea of the use of marijuana for recreational. I believe that marijuana has a negative impact on cognitive abilities, which can affect students significantly. I interviewed a person about this, and he said that before he use marijuana he could recite a ten page scripts or poems in a matter of hours, and after he stop using marijuana , he just could not do it anymore. I think for a very smart person who has mastery in doing something, they are the ones who will see earlier significant changes because their skills are declining more obviously. Some people might say marijuana do not have a effect on the brain at all. maybe decline in their abilities are not as obvious as other people because they do not have mastery in doing something.

Fabrice Mboua

12/4/2012 02:21:54 am

I totally agree with you that the video basically was made to vilify the use of marijuana across the board. The video like you eluded to essentially said that the use of marijuana might ruin your life, which we know not to be true if used responsibly and with the recommendations by medical professionals.

Daritza Lahoz

12/4/2012 04:33:17 am

I agree with your opinion that the segments "might accomplish the purpose of scaring..." Had this video be shown in middle school, I believe that the number of people using the drug will decrease. In addition, however, had the video would inform us of the befits of the drug then the purpose of the video would be defeated.

taiwoayantunji

12/6/2012 09:54:37 am

I completely agree with you, if many people have had access to this material or a bit of information while growing up, they would have turned out differently. I think, we should look at the totalty of what this vidio represents and not just a part that is over the top or looks scaring.

Tyree Gray Wesley

12/6/2012 05:10:05 pm

I agree with you in this world people are informed and misinformed about a lot of things, Starting off early like middle school maybe influence kids to not use drugs. Especially when it gives example how it messes up your life and affects you in reality.

12/3/2012 08:17:41 am

I watched all segments because I would like to hear and watched stories of people who used drugs and how different drugs affect their lives. All of the drugs that were talked about in the segments were interconnected to other drugs in the segments. Marjuana was like a start up drug or a stepping-stone to other drugs. Alcohol consumption can be done with other drugs at the same time. Ecstasy, crack, crystal meth, cocaine heroin and LSD significantly affect our brain, and they affect our cognitive abilities which is vital for our survival for everyday life. Prescriptions drugs and painkillers are abused drugs, and some people die in their sleep taking too much prescriptions and painkillers. I think the messages in all the segments are delivered effectively. People in the videos tell exactly how drugs affect their lives, and once you used a drug, you will start taking it more often and all of a sudden, you are addicted to it. For some people who stop taking drugs, they are lucky that they did not hit rock bottom in life as other people who are not able to stop until they hit rock bottom in life.Those videos will have a positive impact on people who are already dealing with their addiction and trying to recover. those videos will have a positive impact on people who think about using those drugs on the video, and also, people might think about what are the future consequences of using those drugs on the videos

12/4/2012 02:27:19 am

I also came to realize that many drugs are indeed interconnected, with alcohol almost always being a factor in the abuses. I agree that these videos will help addicts or someone thinking about using drugs because they can see first hand accounts by people in similar situations as themselves.

12/6/2012 05:16:50 pm

That's one thing I liked about the videos, it showed how drugs affect you really in your day to day life. I also didn't realize how interconnected drugs to alcohol and gateway to other drugs.

12/4/2012 04:43:21 am

I agree! I also believe that the videos also helped to confirm that no one drug could be considered more dangerous than the other as they ultimately have terrible (in my opinion) long lasting effects on most people. I also believe that the videos were more effective in delivering a message when you compare it to learning and reading about it in a classroom setting/ textbook. Actually seeing how drugs affect everyday people brought to light many of the misconceptions people have about drugs in a general sense.

Richard Yi

12/5/2012 08:45:39 pm

I also believe the videos were a great way to inform people about the reality of drugs. I find it interesting the video's show the perspective of plenty of adults who experienced with drugs, rather than a doctor telling you of all the dangers. I feel like these videos would be most influential and effective towards deterring the younger generation before they have ever attempted drugs.

12/6/2012 10:00:29 am

I also agree that all these vidios are informative but the issue of objectivility needs to be addressed. The vidio should address the advantage and disadvantage of a particular drug chosen and not just the disadvantage alone.

12/6/2012 05:33:16 pm

@taiwoayantunji If you show the advantages like to middle school kids, it can influence them to at lease try drugs and alcohol like once or so. Because at the end of the day drugs and alcohol are bad for you, just showing the disadvantages promote it not being ok to even try them. Also, I agree with your other comment watch these video have informed me more than textbook and other sources of information in the past.

12/4/2012 01:07:28 am

I choose to watch the segment about alcohol because my research paper was on teen substance excuse, especially on the abuse of alcohol. Also, during our discussion in class about which drug we thought was the most dangerous, I choose alcohol, so I wanted to learn about all the reasons why.
I believe the purpose of these segments are to give first hand accounts about all the affects these drugs can have, so that you can learn about all the different ways these drugs can affect people. It crosses all demographics, genders, races, classes, everything. I think that by sharing all of the stories, someone can relate to one of the examples, and see that they aren't alone, and maybe seek treatment.
I believe the purpose was indeed delivered effectively because it tries to relate to the younger population, who tend to be more prone to being influenced by pressures. The segments touch on how quickly substance abuse can ravage your life, and all of the consequences substance abuse brings.
The potential impact that these segments may have would be to show younger people that although drugs might have a short term appeal, the long term consequences far outweigh the short term appeal. And to really think about if a moment of enjoyment is worth the potential of ruining your life. Although a bit heavy and ominous, drugs have a track record of ruining lives, so it's better to be overly cautious then to take it lightly.

12/4/2012 04:48:53 am

I agree that by showing a wide range of people, many of the stereotypes that pertain to certain races/genders and their said "inclination" to do drugs, over another are eliminated. Showing how these people are bettering their lives also shows viewers that there is a way to escape that lifestyle if they are motivated to do so. Focusing on the younger population was effective in that it shows how one would not want to risk their future for a decision they made when they were young minded.

12/5/2012 02:13:29 am

you are right that people in the videos stated that if they knew more about drugs and how it will affect them, they would not do it. Short term postive effects of drugs is not worth it if the long term effects of drugs is terrible.

12/5/2012 08:59:23 pm

I found these video's to be much more effective and influencing than the video's students would watch in health classes about drugs. I like how were informative the video's were without having to list statistics or stating the obvious. I also think its interesting how they used examples of people from different backgrounds and cultures.

12/6/2012 10:06:25 am

I learnt from these vidios ten times than the article and some health books have read on these subject matters over the years.

tmerella

12/7/2012 06:43:41 am

I agree with the fact that you said "Although a bit heavy and ominous, drugs have a track record of ruining lives, so it's better to be overly cautious then to take it lightly." While I believe cetain things aren't as harmful as they portrayed, there are people who fall victim to drugs and ruin their lives.

12/4/2012 04:28:02 am

In addition to the into and conclusion, I choose to watch the marijuana segment. I choose this video because I have seen it become more popularized and common among many high school and college students (even in the Montgomery county neighborhood by what I have grown to see over the years). I wanted to see what all the “buzz” was about any why it has a more positive connotation than that of a negative.
I think that the message of the intro segment was to clear up misconceptions people have of the drug. It brought to light a lot of information that many people aren’t aware of. The purpose of the conclusion was to show the dangers of how drugs can affect your lifestyle. The conclusion also gave the message that all drugs are harmful and brings on a lifestyle that no one will want to bring upon themselves. The purpose of the marijuana segment was to show how the hallucinogen is consumed and manufactured. The segment also serves the purpose of how like many drugs, it can affect their lifestyle and future success because of how it can easily become an “everyday habit.”
All of these segments accurately portray how drugs affect people. In showing real people and real life scenarios, it brings to like all of the negative effects of the drug, thus possibly convincing people of minimizing drug use in society.

12/5/2012 02:20:45 am

You are right that marjiuana is very popular among high school and college students. I think that some high school students and college students are forced to use drugs so that they could gain social acceptance.

12/5/2012 09:06:21 pm

I also chose to watch the Marijuana segment because of how popular this topic has been recently, especially for voting. I think that high school students are most vulnerable to marijuana because they are still growing up and developing a sense of identity during this time.

12/4/2012 11:21:21 am

I chose to watch the Marijuana segment because I feel like it is the one drug that has been and is argued about the most. I was also interested to see if they were going to talk about any of its medicinal uses because that would’ve contradicted the purpose of the segment.
I believe the purpose of the segments were to show different viewpoints of the drug and how drugs have changed their life. The general message was not to take drugs because of the huge influence it will have on your life.
In my opinion, I think the messages were delivered very effectively mainly because they use teens and young adults who have had personal experiences with drugs and how much it changed their lives. Also, the fact that we are college students also makes their message more effective because it is talked about and available throughout high schools and college campuses. The fact that they said that they wish they have never considered getting high because of the negative lifestyle they live in today is also impacting because it is telling you not to start in a better way than, “just say no.”
These segments should leave the audience with the understanding of the dangers and harm drugs has on your body and your life. It does a great job informing the audience about how much better your life will be without drugs. I think these segments should be used in commercials and health classes in school in order to deter potential users.

tajuanamerella

12/7/2012 06:36:41 am

I agree that these videos can be effective in swaying a younger audience not to try drugs, but I think the positive sides of marijuana should be addressed, or perhaps they should have gone into more detail about it.

Tmerella

12/4/2012 12:57:13 pm

I decided to watch the segment on marijuana. I chose this segment I know amongst my peers and myself, it is often viewed as not a big deal. I think all of the segments meant well in trying to let people know that drugs no matter what they are should be taken seriously and that anyone can fall victim to drugs. I'm not really sure the message was delivered effectively because I personally feel that drugs affect some people more than others based on a number if reasons, such as someone having an addictive personality. I think that the segments could have been more informal on drugs and how they effect you. It seems like they're just trying to scare people into not using drugs because, based on the segments, the very first time you try a drug, it will ruin your life. I don't necessarily agree with that, as I said before I think it depends on the person and what drug they use.

12/5/2012 01:39:19 am

I agree with you that drugs can affect everyone differently. Some people like you mentioned, have a addictive personality and could in fact become addicted to drugs the very first time. But others could try it, hate it, and never try it again, and their lives aren't ruined like the segments would want you to believe.

12/4/2012 01:03:34 pm

I watched The Truth About Marijuana because society goes back n forth whether to make it legal or not.
The purpose of each segment was to
Show the different ways drugs can affect your life, and even when it feels harmless I'm reality it affects you. The purpose was delivered effectively, but when it came to marihuana I think some people have addictive personalities which makes them get addicted to marijuana but it doesn't affect everyone's life some people can regulate using it once in a while to relax. For people who choose to do drugs for social reasons to look cool, or use recklessly it shows them ways its can destroy your life. By showing ways drugs can really mess up your life it informs people not to and it's not worth it.

12/6/2012 09:47:13 am

I chose to watch the segement on Alchol because i want to educate myself on the net effect of drinkig alchol . It is positive because i can make a better judgement now than i was before on whether alchol drinking is good for me or not. the message was well- delivered and effective but it is one sideded because it talks about the negative effect of alchol while ignoring the positive effect of alchol. In my own judgement, it will have a positive effect on the audience, most especially, it may encourage some people to stop excessive drinking of alcholic beverages.

12/7/2012 06:28:45 am

Do you mean the positive effects alcohol have on you, or the positive things about watching what alcohol can do to you?

Week 5: Alcohol & Other Drugs

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