Assignment 6

The documentary “OxyContin Express” studies the mass distribution of prescription pills by doctors from pain clinics in South Florida, predominantly in Broward County around Ft. Lauderdale.  These doctors prescribe OxyContin five times more than the national average.  Because this distribution is legal in Florida, unlike in other states, this opens the opportunity up for a major drug trade between Florida and the rest of the US.  As the problem becomes more and more widespread, authorities have been scrambling to try to contain it.

Personally, I am not very happy that South Florida is known as the pill popper’s paradise.  I am from this part of South Florida, and I am proud of where I grew up.  I am sad and slightly ashamed that my hometown is making such a great contribution to destroying peoples’ lives everyday.  However, somehow, I never knew that this prescription drug situation was a problem.  I never thought twice about seeing pain clinics, and never knew that a lot of these clinics were in business to make money by distributing drugs to addicts.  I’m truly disgusted that doctors would be willing to forget their pledge to help society and exploit the addictions of patients just to make money.  

I think that in order to stop the pill pipeline that stems from Ft. Lauderdale and Appalachia, the problem must be attacked at its source.  I think the source of the problem is that Florida doesn’t have the same laws as other states about prescription drugs.  Because the laws in Florida are much less constrictive, people from all over the country come to Florida to easily get hundreds or thousands of pills.  So, to stop this “pill pipeline,” I think that we should enact all of that same laws that other states have to make it harder to get large amounts of these prescription drugs.  One of these laws would create a prescription drug database, which would track who buys an amount of drugs prescribed from what doctor in order to prevent “doctor shopping,” in which addicts get different prescriptions from many different doctors to get a huge amount of drugs.  If it is noticed that either a patient or doctor are acting suspiciously, an investigation should occur.  On-site pharmacies should also be made illegal, to remove the monetary incentive for pain clinics to prescribe medication.  It should be required to make all drug transactions with some sort of paper trail, to monitor how much of each drug a person is buying.  If these standards are put in place and rival the codes of other states, the addicts would have no reason to come to Florida to pills, thus killing the “pill pipeline.”

There are many ways that this relates to the class.  First of all, use of the prescription drugs by addicts is illegal recreational use of a Schedule II drug.  Because the drugs can be used for a medical purpose, they are Schedule II and not I, but they can still be very dangerous and deaths from overdose have become quite common.  The ease through which addicts can get drugs in South Florida has created a bit of a culture both in Florida and elsewhere.  The illegal drug trade in Florida has created an environment in which the drug trade thrives.  The pain clinics has sprouted all around Florida, and addicts feel free to doctor shop and get as many pills as they want.  When people go up north to areas like Appalachia after buying the drug in Florida, another culture is created.  Illegal drug trade blooms, creating a problem for both addicts and police alike.  Apparently nearly no family goes untouched from this addiction, and law enforcement officers have a very hard time containing the trade for this illegal drug.

In conclusion, I think that it is horrible that this seemingly unethical practice of selling prescription drugs to addicts is so common in South Florida.  I think that state laws should be made to imitate those of other states, so that people do not come down to buy the drugs so easily.  I think that this is a very sad situation that destroys lives all over the country, and I hope that an effective solution is eventually created. 

Assignment 5

For his research for The Cocaine Kids, Terry Williams conducted an ethnographic study.  In this type of study, a researcher will spend a long period of time immersed in the culture with the people that they are studying, interacting with the participants in the culture for an extended period of time.  In this case, Williams spent two hours a day three days a week from 1982 to 1986 with the eight “Cocaine Kids,” as he dubbed them (page ix).  During this time, he would follow the Kids around in their daily activities, take brief notes about his observations, go home, and record detailed entries about events and conversations from the day.  He would do this so as to not make the Kids’ customers nervous, to keep his notes as accurate as possible, and to protect himself from the hazardous surroundings he was in (page 3).  Before beginning his studies, Williams had to earn the trust of the Kids.  Williams met Max through a mutual friend, and earned his trust by being honest and by keeping Max’s secrets (page 16).  Max then opened Williams to the world of the cocaine trade, and it is through Max that Williams met the other Kids, who worked for Max.  Over time, he gained the trust of all of the Kids, and not only watched daily business, but was also able to get an insight into the thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams of all of the Kids, which he recorded as a part of his study.

            The first thing that I thought was interesting was that the drug trade seemed to be a never-ending cycle, even after most of the Kids left the trade.  Most of the Kids moved on with their lives from selling cocaine, but Williams walked through the streets and neighborhoods they had dealt at for old times’ sake.  There, new teenagers were out selling the drugs, and it can almost be said that they have replaced the Kids who had left the trade (page 132).  I thought that this was interesting because I think that it provided a new look at how the drug culture works.  We often see that new generations take on the drug trade, but we don’t often think that a lot of the generation from the previous drug era moved on to bigger and better things in life.  They grow up, and seem to grow out of dealing.  I feel I don’t often look at the drug dealing as a cycle from generation to generation, with one replacing the other as they grow weary of the lifestyle, but this study definitely made me realize that, almost seeming to give the drug trade culture a life of its own.

            A second thing that surprised me was how intelligent all of the Kids were.  Often, we think of drug dealers as uneducated bums who turn to drug dealing as a quick, easy paycheck.  However, in reality, drug dealing seemed to be hard, and took a lot of cunning to be successful.  The Kids must know market prices, first of all, which were constantly fluctuating, in order to make a profit (page 7).  The Kids would have to know the market well enough to know how to manipulate it to make a profit for the sellers, suppliers, and distributors, while still keeping repeat customers.  They would use clever tricks such as “cutting” (adding impurities to the drug to increase the amount of cocaine to be distributed) to increase their profits, or even to keep some extra cocaine for themselves.  There is also a considerable amount of strategizing by the supplier, Max.  He decides who to hire as a seller, how much cocaine to give each of the Kids, and how much to have them sell it for.  He must be clever enough to know to trust them, as well as to develop a system, with the intricacies of the market in mind, to make a profit and get his money back (page 36).  Through all of this, the Kids must be clever enough to keep their illegal activity hidden from the police.  Overall, I found all of this required knowledge and cunning in the cocaine-dealing world to be very interesting and surprising, and I definitely think that it uproots the common stereotype that drug dealers are uneducated and not intelligent.  Clearly, brains and wit are required to succeed in this field.

            The final thing that I thought was surprising about the drug trade was the etiquette that goes into the cocaine culture.  Normally, I’d think that a transaction would be done as quickly as possible; the customer would state how much they want and pay for the requested amount.  However, this does not seem to be the case most of the time.  First off, before a transaction, it is expected that the seller provide a free sample, or “taste,” or the cocaine (page 29).  After sampling the cocaine and chatting for a bit, the transaction is made, and both the seller and the buyer go on their way.  Breaching this tasting ritual does indeed elicit complaints from the customers.  Another bit of etiquette that I thought was interesting was that dealers would go to after-hour bars to give out “C-C,” or calling-card cocaine (page 97).  Giving out this free cocaine not only increase the prestige of the dealers (it gives off the illusion that they have cocaine that they can spare to bar patrons for free), but it also attracts new customers (page 98).  I think that it is interesting that the cocaine culture has these etiquettes.  It shows that taking the drug is not only a hobby, but it is a lifestyle that molds into creating a culture for all of those who participate.

            Williams’ observations relate to this class in many ways.  First of all, his study covers the illicit trade of cocaine, and we learned that the trade of illicit drugs is a huge industry.  His study also seems to indicate that there is an entire culture and lifestyle revolving around cocaine.  In class we learned that drugs have been used throughout history, and indeed are often integral parts of a culture.  However, this usage isn’t always illegal recreational usage, which is the type of usage that the Kids participated in.  Williams also covered the darker side of drug usage that we learned about.  Although the Kids seem to enjoy taking the drug recreationally, they sometimes seem to be slightly addicted to the drug.  Addiction is a topic that we covered in class, and unfortunately, because cocaine was everywhere in their daily lives, it seemed quite easy for the Kids to get addicted.  Indeed, Hector got addicted to freebasing (page 122), which was looked down upon in disgust by the Kids, much like much of society looks down upon drug users as a whole.  However, the Kids did seem to embody a lot of the stereotypes used to demonize drugs.  They were minority youths who were sucked into selling drugs because they were poor and, for the most part, didn’t have a higher education.  However, much unlike what we studied, most of them seemed to break free from the trading of drugs and were able to move forward from the drug trade and build their lives up.

            In conclusion, I thought that The Cocaine Kids was a very good read which provided a very unique and interesting insight into the cocaine drug trade.  I think that it shows that people don’t exactly understand the depth of illicit drug trades, and I think that they deserve more study so that the public understands the cultures a bit more.

Assignment 4

            The use of drugs as a stimulant and sleep aid in the military has been a hot topic for debate in the past.  There are many different viewpoints to examine, and while there will inevitably be no right answer, the conclusion cannot be taken lightly, as the results that stem from this debate will have an effect on the health and safety of thousands of people around the world.

            Overall, I think that I agree with the usage of amphetamines in the military to increase the alertness and effectiveness of the pilots.  I think that the demands of the pilots’ jobs call for extra safety measures, and as long as the usage is regulated and the pilots are supported physically and psychologically throughout the process, the usage of these drugs may be required.  Unfortunately, militaries around the world are looking for ways to gain an edge over their opponents, as exhibited by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which called to find a new way to keep warriors fighting for up to seven days (Knickerbocker, 2002).  Unfortunately, because forces all over the world are turning to means such as these, in order to keep our soldiers as equipped as possible, they must at least match, if not exceed, the equipment of the enemy.  As long as their mental and physical needs are cared for, soldiers should be able to choose whether or not they want to use drugs to enhance their performance.  As covered by Duenwald and Shanker, battles can be a life-or-death situation, and pilots should be given the choice to have an advantage on the battlefield (2003) if needed.

            I believe that the military is ethically distributing these pills, though the ethicality could probably be enhanced.  First of all, the pills that they are giving are legal (though they are Schedule II drugs, meaning that they are highly regulated) (Knickerbocker, 2002).  So, no illegal activity is going on.  Also, all three of the articles mentioned that the pilots don’t have to take the pills if they don’t want to (although it was admitted in every article that in one way or another, the pilots may be pressured into taking the drugs).  Finally, there is a system in place to try to regulate where the pills are at all times, and how many pills a pilot takes at one time (Bonné, 2003).  However, there are flaws, and there are ways to make this process more ethical.  First of all, it could become healthier for the pilots.  They could stop mixing “go” and “no-go” pills, thus reducing the risk for synergistic interactions between the drugs.  Pilots should also provide full consent to taking the drug without feeling forced, as seems to be the case now.  Consenting pilots should be admitted to psychological therapy after service in order to either avoid addiction to the drug (which could be a side effect to taking the drug) or to get rid of the addiction.  Finally, the regulation system to control the amount of pills given to the pilots should be more firmly regulated.  Though the process of giving these pilots is moral enough, there are many things that can be done to make it an even more moral process.

            Unfortunately, I do think that the pilots’ careers will suffer if they do not take the pills.  First of all, as mentioned before, militaries from around the world are always racing to have the best equipment.  Stephen Baker, the former chief of operational testing for the Navy mentioned how advancements in the world of medical technology will be some of the most profound in the coming future (Knickerbocker, 2002).  Unfortunately, if our warriors do not keep up with this trend of medicalization, they will be quickly overtaken by anyone more advanced.  Also, because this field seems to be so advanced, many people support the medicalization of warfare.  So, anyone who does not support this medicalization may not be given as many opportunities on the battlefield as those who do, as they will be seen as unproductive and trying to work against modern scientific discoveries.

            Finally, I feel there are many consequences to taking amphetamines.  First of all are the many side effects that come from taking these drugs.  Aggression, anxiety, and paranoia were all listed side effects of amphetamines.  It is believed that this is the reason that the American pilot accidentally fired on friendly Canadian troops (Duenwald, Shanker, 2003) in April of 2002.  It was also stated that it can be a very addictive drug, and can cause dependence even if its intake is regulated.  Reliance on this drug may also occur in order to obtained desired results for a mission, even the easiest missions.  This reliance may allow for soldiers to lose accountability for their actions, as they would be able to blame them on the drugs that they take, a phenomenon that was studied in class.     

            These consequences can be dealt with in different ways.  Unfortunately, though the side-effects of a drug may not be able to be avoided, there can be ways to minimize the effects.  The soldiers can first be tested to see how the drugs will affect them.  They can be given lower doses, and can be given the drugs only when they are well-rested, which is when the drugs are most effective with the least amount of side-effects.  In order to try to avoid dependence, intake can be regulated, with stocks of the drug being locked up in a secret place when it is not in use.  After service, the pilots can be sent to cognitive therapy in order to try to counteract any type of dependence that may have developed.  Finally, in order to avoid reliance on these drugs to have a successful mission, the drugs should be a last-resort.  They should be saved for only the longest hardest missions, and emphasis should be placed on the power of skill and well-being on the battlefield rather than relying on a drug to carry the team through.  Eliminating reliance on the drug will also move accountability for actions back over to the soldiers.

            In conclusion, the debate over the use of amphetamines by the armed forces is a hot one.  I think that it is acceptable as long as it is ethical and made as safe as possible.  Given the increasing advancement in medical technology, I think that drugs will be used more and more to improve combat performance.  However, I’m sure the debate will always remain, as there is no right or wrong answer as to what the soldiers should do.

Works Cited

Bonné, J.  (2003, January 3).  ‘Go pills’: a war on drugs?.  NBC News.  Retrieved from            http://www.nbcnews.com

Duenwald, M. et al.  (2003, January 19).  Threats and responses: military; bombing error puts a spotlight on pilots’ pills.  The New York Times.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.

Knickerbocker, B.  (2002, August 9).  Military looks to drugs for battle readiness.  The Christian         Science Monitor.  Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com.

Assignment 3

           All three of the research articles (Halpern et al [2011], Mir et al [2011], and Schneir et al [2011]) that we read last week were unique in their discoveries, drawbacks, and relations to the class.  This paper will address all three articles and their implications in order to provoke critical thought about all topics presented.

            Halpern et al (2011) studied the effect of long-term ecstasy use on cognitive skills.  In order to conduct this test, researchers compared cognitive functioning of non-users, moderate users (17-50 uses in their lives), and heavy users (50+ uses in their lives).  After a series of many different cognitive functioning tests, Halpern et al (2011) concluded that there did not seem to be significant differences in cognitive functioning between users and non-users of ecstasy.  The only significant finding was that heavy users were more likely to have lower impulse control.  One thing that I thought was interesting was that it supported the conclusion that we learned in class: ecstasy is demonized and does not seem to cause the brain damage that we once thought.  I also thought it was important to note that the researchers went to great lengths to avoid bias in their research.  At the end of the report, the authors stress that they had no ulterior motives or interests in reporting this research.  Because the study of drugs is so demonized and politically charged, this is a necessary disclaimer to prove that the data is scientifically and not politically driven.  However, the authors seemed hesitant to say that there were specifically no negative consequences of chronic ecstasy use on cognitive functioning, so they perhaps were biased that ecstasy is harmful in this regard (and it’s interesting to note that their study was funded by the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse, which may have perhaps swayed the findings summary a bit).  I also thought it was interesting that heavy users had lower impulse control, perhaps indicating towards some sort of addiction to the substance.  Perhaps addiction to a certain substance lowers impulse control towards other substances and activities, opening the door to further addictions.  One thing that I appreciated about this study is that it seemed to work very hard to eliminate confounding variables in their experiment, and even performed a test run before their actual experiment.  Many factors were taken into account, such as other drugs taken, amount of time spent raving without sleep or drink, and family history of mental disorder, to try to account for anything that would change the outcome of the study.  The only thing that I would change is that in the study, Halpern et al (2011) mentioned that they compared groups “without formal statistical correction.”  I think that they should have performed this math.  Although a hassle, I think it would have added credibility through numbers to their study, and it could have made their findings clearer to the readers.

Ecstasy use is very common in rave culture

            Scheir et al (2011) and Mir et al (2011) both studied the effect of synthetic cannabis drugs, such as spice and K2.  Both reports studied young people in the emergency room suffering from symptoms such as anxiety, palpitations (specifically myocardial infarction as studied by Mir et al [2011]), and tremors.  While all subjects left the hospital without life-threatening conditions, these synthetic cannabinoids were expected to have been the cause of these symptoms.   These reports are interesting because they study the relatively unresearched topic of synthetic cannabis, of which most kinds were unscheduled at the time of writing (and thus legal to purchase on the open market).  Because of laws ruling certain drugs illegal (marijuana is a Schedule I drug), young people look for a legal high, and end up smoking these potentially dangerous synthetic drugs.  In fact, both articles predicted that use of synthetic cannabis would increase in the near future, most likely because of these illegal drugs.  I feel that this increase in synthetic marijuana use is inevitable unless marijuana becomes legalized by the states.  In class, it was discussed how laws may not stop people from participating in illegal drug use.  So, making marijuana illegal will not keep people from partaking in drug use, but they may instead try to take more untraceable drugs, like these synthetic drugs.  As such, if legalization of marijuana becomes a reality, hopefully usage of these more dangerous drugs will decrease.  While I think that these articles are a good start into the study of these new drugs, the combined sample of only five young patients is not nearly large enough to provide reliable research about the drugs or its effects, and thus I think that while these results show reason for concern, more studies should be conducted to fully understand the drug, not only by testing young people, but by testing people from all ages and backgrounds.  Furthermore, these studies should be in a controlled laboratory environment, unlike these studies.  This way, the subjects will stay safe, and many variables can be controlled to get the most accurate data about these synthetic drugs.

Some synthetic marijuana

            In conclusion, all of the research reports had their own findings, all relating to this class.  Though all seem to have very telling information about the properties of the drugs tested, there is always more research to be done to make even more educated conclusions in order to inform society and the scientific community about drugs and their effects on people.   

Sources Cited

Halpern, J., et al.  (2011).  Residual neurocognitive features of long-term ecstasy users with            minimal exposure to other drugs.  Addiction, 106, 777-786. 

Mir, A., et al.  (2011).  Myocardial infarction associated with use of the synthetic cannabinoid K2.  Pediatrics, 128, e1622-e1627.

Schneir, A., et al (2011).  “Spice girls”: synthetic cannabinoid intoxication.  The Journal of  Emergency Medicine, 40, 296-299.

Current Event: Hallucinogens and Psychedelics

         The article “When Silicon Valley Takes LSD,” (Fink, 2015) explains the use of LSD in Silicon Valley and how it affects the people living there.  While LSD is sometimes taken for recreation, in Silicon Valley it is taken mostly to enhance creative thought processes in order to solve problems easier.  LSD physically changes how the brain makes connections in a thought process, so the drug can lead to different perspectives about a problem.  Sometimes, these perspectives lead to ideas, which turn into inventions which can bring great success to the individual.

          This article is important and relevant in many different ways.  First of all, I think that this article exposes a lot of the demonization of drugs by the government in modern society.  Illegal drugs are often portrayed as extremely dangerous, harmful, and addictive.  However, I think that this article clearly shows that drugs can sometimes be helpful, and are not nearly as evil as they are made out to be.  In this case, though the government stresses the danger of LSD, the article seems to show that there can be definite benefits of taking it.  The billionaires in the article take LSD to get new ideas for problems they encounter, and sometimes even attribute their success to their experiences with the drug, showing that we may need to rethink how we look at some illegal drugs.  Furthermore, LSD is considered to be an extremely addictive drug by the DEA.  However, none of the people interviewed seemed to be addicted.  They seemed to be very in control of their drug consumption: they only took the drug when they wanted the inspiration that it provided.  This could have even been as infrequently as once every few months.  While there are probably people who are not as responsible with the drug, the fact that the government only reports negative facts about illegal drugs makes it appear that they are actively trying to prevent people from trying them through demonization rather than legitimate, scientifically proven data.  Another demonization comes in when examining the users of the drug.  A stereotypical drug user is often depicted as a low-class drug-crazy bum, often African American.  However, these users of LSD clearly shatter this stereotype.  Not only are they white and successful billionaires, but they even attribute some of their success to the drug.  Some of them are even older than the expected age of a “drug user,” sometimes being 50 or so years old.  This is very unlike the propaganda used against drugs like LSD.

The progressive change in creative process of an artist during an LSD trip.

          Also in this class, we examined how drugs are often integral parts of certain cultures.  I think that psychedelics can definitely be considered an important part of the billionaire culture in Silicon Valley.  They seem to be a very prized substance, and a lot of people in this society seem to take the drugs on a regular basis to help them with their work life.  This is not the first time that psychedelics have been an important part of a culture.  The 1970s saw a huge surge in popularity of psychedelic drugs, and indeed, one of the engineers interviewed in the article even mentioned that the culture that he lives in at Silicon Valley reminds him of that of the 1970s.  These psychedelic drugs, both presently and historically, clearly play important roles in the culture of these two societies.

Steve Jobs is very well known for having taken LSD, saying it was a "profound experience,"
and it was one of the most important experiences of his life.

          Overall, this article provides a very eye-opening account of the benefits of illegal psychedelic drugs in the very high-class educated society of Silicon Valley.  These drugs are taken to enhance performance in the workplace, and as such seem to play an integral part in the culture.  This is a stark difference than is to be expected of “drug-users,” who have always been portrayed as addicted, low-class bums.  I think that benefits such as these show the need to reevaluate the US legal system with regards to illegal drugs such as psychedelics.  While there are, of course, addicts who will abuse a substance, I think that there is plenty of unbiased research that needs to be done to truly understand the workings of these drugs.  Current regulations make it nearly impossible to get drugs to conduct scientific studies with, and because of this we remain afraid of a substance we don’t know much about.  Because it seems that there definitely can be benefits from taking these psychedelic drugs, there should be studies to examine the effects of the drug, not only for the benefit for scientific knowledge, but also possibly to help advance society as a whole.        

Word count: 754 words

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/25/technology/lsd-psychedelics-silicon-valley/

Works Cited

Fink, E.  (2015, January 25).  When Silicon Valley takes LSD.  CNN Money.  Retrieved                     from http://www.money.cnn.com