Activity 6: OxyContin Express

         I was actually really surprised at the fact that Florida was such a huge source for the illicit prescription drug pipeline. Being from south Florida and going to high school in Broward County, specifically in Fort Lauderdale, the facts in this video were the first time I had ever heard of the issue being so big in this area. What is interesting is now looking back on it, I can attest to the fact that there are a lot of pain clinics that advertise on every other street corner, something that I never took notice of before. Learning what I did from the movie, it definitely is embarrassing that the chances of addicts to receive prescription drugs so easily is so much higher in Florida than practically anywhere else in the country. It seems like this is an issue that has been going on for a while and not many preventative measures have been taken to stop the issue.

            At the end of the documentary, it was mentioned that Florida had adopted a system that would track what drugs were being prescribed to who, but from my understanding it is something voluntary and something that is not really enforced. I definitely think that this would have to change, and it should be mandatory for all clinics to put their clients name into a system as well as what drugs they are being prescribed, to see if a patient is hopping to multiple clinics to drug shop. Another thing I noticed in the video was that a lot of these illegal running pain clinics only accepted cash, which makes it easier for individuals to get away doing illegal activity without leaving a paper trail. This should definitely change, and if individuals do come into a clinic looking for medication, they should not be guaranteed medication on the first initial visit. I believe contact between the pain clinic and the patient’s former physician needs to be made before anything is prescribed, to make sure everyone is on the same page.

            In relation to the class, we discussed how when the issue of drug abuse or drug addiction comes up, people typically go to thinking illegal drug addiction, when in reality a lot of people in this country are addicted to legal prescribed drugs. This documentary showed how being addicted to prescription drugs is just as dangerous.

            

Activity 5: Cocaine Kids

          The author describes his research process as a part of the ethnographic process, in which a researcher immerses himself in the everyday life of his research participants. He must observe carefully, as well as take detailed notes of not only how the participants interact with each other but the environment he is in. He takes into consideration how the participants talk to each other and to others. A relationship typically forms between the researcher and participants, in which open-ended “interviews” play out where the researcher can gain more knowledge on the world of which he is temporarily a part of.  In this kind of research process, these relationships can sometimes lead the researcher to be looked at as a friend and even a source of advice, which happened with the author of Cocaine Kids.

            One aspect that I found quite interesting was how the Cocaine kids who were dealing cocaine looked at the individuals who free-based, or those who smoked cocaine base, which was a form of cocaine in which the hydrochloride was removed. For an individual who is not part of that world, to me cocaine was cocaine, and all those who used the drug looked at each other the same with the same addiction. Yet in the book, there is a negative connotation to those individuals who participate in basing. In the book all the Cocaine kids snort cocaine regularly, but do not smoke crack or freebase as they say people who do “tend to become agitated, quickly lose control, and concentration”. Hector, Max’s older brother, began freebasing after he got in trouble with the law and that along with other factors caused him to lose respect within the cocaine selling community.

            Another interesting aspect of the cocaine selling world I learned while reading this book was that yes, people who do sell drugs do it for the money, but the prestige, status, and respect that comes along with being on the top of the game is almost just as important, if not more, in some cases. The book talked about a hierarchy to this world, and explains how individuals in this part of this world, especially teenage dealers, can quickly gain or lose this status. One way to get immediate status, as mentioned in the book, was for a teenager to walk into a club and begin sharing large amounts of cocaine with everyone present. After doing this for a couple of times, the teenager then has the reputation for being a big spender and in order to keep this status, must continue with the lavish behavior.

            A third interesting aspect of this specific drug culture was not only the use of teenagers who seemed to have quite a bit of power in their hands, but how readily they seemed to welcome the author. From a third party outsider looking in, I would have thought the author would have experienced more resistance from the kids, but the impression I got from the book was that they seemed to welcome him and even look to him as a friend. What also stood out to me was Max’s position in this drug trade and how much responsibility and respect he had received from his peers, even though he was so young.

            In relation to our class, both the book and our discussions talked about the different forms of cocaine and the different attitudes people have regarding those who use the different forms. Both also touched on the subject of how a drug, in this case cocaine, impacts the lives of the young people in our generation.

            

Activity 4: The Military and Go/No-Go Pills

            I am not opposed to the military’s use of amphetamines to increase the alertness and performances of pilots who may be fatigued from their missions. The use of amphetamines, especially Dexedrine, has shown to help increase consciousness and stabilize sleep. A study done that was mentioned in the New York Times article, showed that in individuals who are not experiencing extreme fatigue, the use of amphetamines has no benefit, but in individuals who are, they performed to a base level, similar to how they would if they weren’t exhausted. I can understand from the benefits that have been proven, why the military would continue to use these drugs. They are not giving the option to use amphetamines to everyone in the work force, but rather giving the option to those individuals who truly could benefit from it: air pilots who are up in flight alone and are on missions that can be as long as ten hours or more. With the issue of the go pills, I also can understand how the “no-go pills” also come into question, as a way to stabilize sleep patterns for these pilots to ensure they will be able to get rest to go back up on the next mission. I also am not opposed to their use.

            Obviously, with use of any type of drug, there will be some consequences or side effects from usage. Some of the side effects mentioned with the use of the go pills and the no-go pills include, addiction, elevated blood pressure, nervousness, aggression, paranoia, and amnesia. I believe that for the majority of the time, at least the impression I received from reading these articles, is that with strict regulation and control of the distribution, these side effects can be minimized and in my opinion, do not take away from the fact that amphetamines can be beneficial to these pilots.

            I agree with the military’s decision to have the option of taking the drug as voluntary, so no pilot is technically forced to bring it with them on their missions. However, I do not agree with the idea that Dexedrine should be a mandatory accessory for a pilot to take along with them on a mission. This, in my opinion, can put some form of pressure on the pilot to have to take it to perform to the military’s expectations.

            Some of the strategies mentioned in the reading to reduce the negative affects of taking these amphetamines are controlling the dosage given to these pilots, and the typical dosage that is given to them now is not as strongly correlated with some of the negative effects mentioned above. The pills are counted and recorded before the pilots take off and when they land. The military is also prohibiting civilian pilots and helicopter pilots from using them, who have shorter mission flights, therefore assessing that the pill be used in situations only if necessary.

            In relation to the class, this topic of using a drug that may not necessarily be “conventional”, for a beneficial purpose is one that we have talked about. Along with the use of medicinal marijuana for example, we also talked about psychedelics, like LSD, who, some argue, can have positive effects on those individuals who may be depressed and experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Activity 3: Article Analysis

Article 1: Residual neurocognitive features of long-term ecstasy users with minimal exposure to other drugs

This article discussed the different studies that have been done with the objective of looking at how the use of ecstasy with limited use of any other drugs, can affect an individual’s cognitive functions. It stated that previous studies have not only been inconsistent, but not as reliable because of the fact that they haven’t accounted for certain factors like making sure all participants are involved in the “rave” culture, and believes to have accounted for all these things with their own study. This point essentially, is a tactic trying to persuade the reader to be convinced the study done by the individuals who wrote the article, is more reliable than the rest. The results of the study mentioned in the article show that there are only few differences between those who use ecstasy heavily, those who use it moderately, and those who do not use it at all, and those differences are not all the same for the different categories of cognitive skills that were tested. The researchers then make the point that other factors can attest for these results, or work in a combination with the use of ecstasy to bring the results they did. One thing I noticed that seemed flawed with their own study was the fact that initially, the researchers did a phone screening in which participants were asked questions about their use with ecstasy and other things, which would have made it extremely easy or a participant to fabricate a lie about the topic, especially because they were answering over the phone and not face to face. Another problem I noticed was that the neuropsychological testing was scheduled about four weeks after the baseline interview in which participants were not supposed to use ecstasy as well as go to all night parties for at least ten days before the testing. In regards to the using of ecstasy, the researchers took the precautions needed to account for this, but they had no way of knowing an individual didn’t go to an all-night party the night before the testing.

Article 2: Myocardial Infarction Associated With Use of the Synthetic Cannabinoid K2

            This article talks about the possible link between young individuals who use synthetic cannabinoids and issues with the heart, including myocardial infarction. The article talks about three specific individuals who used marijuana as well as these synthetic cannabinoids and had to be taken to the emergency room because of pain in the chest. These three cases, the article suggests, shows there is some sort of relationship between K2, one form of the synthetic cannabinoids, and acute myocardial infarction. The problem I see with the “study” mentioned in this article is they only looked at cases of three individuals, which cannot give an acceptable amount of information to make a generalization about any type of correlation between these synthetic cannabinoids and heart problems. All of these subjects also smoked marijuana not too long before these pains occurred which can said to have caused these chest pains, or work in combination with these synthetic cannabinoids. There just wasn’t enough done in the study to fully conclude there is such an association between K2 alone, and MI.

Article 3: “Spice” Girls: Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication

            This article also addresses the use of synthetic cannabinoids, but makes it seems that even though there has been little research on their use and effects on people, these effects aren’t that serious and the use of these synthetics is going to continue to rise within the country. The effects talks about temporary anxiety as being one of these effects, and the tone of the article makes it seem like because this anxiety is temporary, it isn’t something serious enough to deter people from using it. The article only talks about two patients, which definitely cannot give you enough information to make such a statement, and therefore causes me to question the validity of their conclusion.

            The first two articles hold a theme of trying to explain the dangers of these two controversial drugs, which actually falls in line with theme the media and society have taken on regarding controversial drugs. Trying to “scare” people to refrain from using these drugs is a tactic we have seen our country use before, especially with the use of marijuana. I am not saying these drugs aren’t harmful at all, but the claims the first two articles make regarding the drugs do not seem to hold much weight in regard to the studies mentioned in them. The last article actually does the opposite, and makes it seem like synthetic cannabinoids aren’t as harmful and will therefore use will increase. This is something we have talked about in class as we have talked about E cigarettes and how legal alternatives to certain drugs are being created that might be more harmful than helpful.

Current Event

“Suicidal Thoughts, Psychological Distress Reduced in People Who Use LSD and Other Psychedelics”

http://www.medicaldaily.com/suicidal-thoughts-psychological-distress-reduced-people-who-use-lsd-and-other-318900

The topic I am responsible for finding current information on are hallucinogens and psychedelics, and this article mainly talks about how research into these types of drugs is being conducted to find out if they have any type of therapeutic potential for humans that may be dealing with mental issues. Recent studies have shown that certain hallucinogens may actually reduce suicidal thoughts and psychological stress. Hallucinogens are a specific group of drugs that can cause a person to hallucinate when they take it and distort their reality. Some of the most common hallucinogenic drugs are lysergic acid diethylamide, which is more commonly known as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, also known as “shrooms”, and the substance mescaline, which is found in the peyote cactus. Dr. Peter S. Hendricks who is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama’s Department of Health Behavior, stated the suicide rates in this country have been increasing over the years, despite the great advances having been made in the mental health field. He believes the use of psychedelics as a form of treatment might be something that can stop this. Hendricks looked at the responses of about 190,000 people who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and noticed 19% were less likely to experience psychological stress in the past month, and 36% were less likely to try and commit suicide within the past year. Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Peter Gasser, who conducted a study last year on the topic, found that his terminally ill patients who took LSD in a controlled setting were able to better cope and take control over their anxiety and emotions. He found a 20% reduction in the anxiety levels of these patients and over the course of a year, these specific patients still maintained these lower levels. Psychedelics, including LSD, affect the brain’s serotonin receptors, which then typically causes an increased sense of awareness and perception, hallucinations, altered time perception, and uncontrolled memory retrieval. Sometimes people explain they can actually see their own thoughts and behaviors, and this can allow for an individual who may be thinking about committing suicide, to look at their own situation with a new set of eyes.

In regards to the relevance of this course, it was interesting to see how a schedule 1 drug like LSD and these other hallucinogens are slowly beginning to be looked at in a different way. We learned in class that over time in this country, the attitudes and feelings about certain drugs, like tobacco and alcohol, for example, had changed from initially being looked at as harmful and off limits, to not really being regarded as “drugs”, to now tobacco only really looked at in a negative light. This may begin to happen with the group of hallucinogens if more and more research is going to be conducted into how individuals who have suicidal thoughts, can benefit from their use. It seems like hallucinogens and psychedelics, though maybe not at the same rate, are coming up in the same area as marijuana, as discussion of legalization and its potential medical use are a hot topic in the country today.  If more research is done on this issue, I believe society will no doubt react, as the mindset of many individuals in this country is very permanent despite any new advances being made in our new era. Issues of then having to move the drug from a schedule 1 to a lower level, if the medical use for hallucinogens does become beneficial enough to make legal, are just some of the topics that will surface. If hallucinogens were indeed made medically legal and therefore an individual needed a prescription for it, another possible problem of individuals abusing their prescription in order to just feel high could and most likely would arise, as the abuse of prescription drugs is a high form of drug abuse in our country.