Module 4 Reflection

This was an interesting two chapters. I liked learning about the depressants and stimulants. It seems as we get further into the course, the readings get more interesting. I learned a lot of new things that I haven't learned in past  health classes. Such as effects of drugs, and what they do to your body and mind. Also, when we discussed cocaine in the text it talked about effects on women carrying babies. I think the text should talk about the effects of every drug on women who are pregnant. One bullet from the mini lecture I found interesting was, "Drugs that prevent fat absorption can cause cramping, diarrhea, flatulence, and intestinal discomfort." I've never taken any fat absorbtion drugs, so I didn't know that!


I really liked what everyone had to say in the discussions. I read all of my responses to my question and it was cool to see what everyone thought about the section I chose to talk about!

My participation in the class I thought this Module was very good, I find myself each module spending more and more time to make sure I cover all aspects of the requirements. Reading the text more carefully has also become important to me. I see my discussion grades improving because of this.

One word i didnt know was freebasing. This means the conversion of cocaine into its alkaline form for smoking. I didnt even know there was a term for that! Another word is REM sleep, which is the restive phase of sleep associared with dreaming. I remember learning about this a little in Psychology in one of my semesters. The third word I chose was paradoxial effects which is unexpected effects. I would think this means the unexpected effects of doing drugs. Which is scary to think about!

Looking forward to the next module! Its going by so fast.

Module 3 Reflection

I really liked Chapters 3 & 5 better than 1 & 2. I was more interested in the topics and found myself learning new information that I haven't learned before in other health classes. I learned much more about drug testing in the workplace and information about drug legalization. One point they make in the textbook is that if drugs were to be legalized, then violence and crime would be less likely. I really dont agree with this part of the readings. Maybe there would be less violence, Im not really one to say. But I do think people would still get killed/in fights over drugs even if they were legalized. 


The discussion in this Module was interesting as well. I got to hear other classmates opinions on drug testing, and drug legalization which seemed to be the most popular topic for this discussion this time around. However, my discussion was about topical drug application. 


"Marijuana is addictive and can lead to a host of health, social and behavioral problems at a crucial time in a young person's life." I took this except from the Mini lecture because I wanted to discuss it a little. I totally agree with this particular bullet, I have an ex boyfriend that started smoking marijuana once in a while, that turned into about 3 times daily. He lost his job, became lazy and had no ambition to do anything anymore. Needless to say I broke up with him because I saw what drugs did to him. Even though marijuana isn't the WORST drug a person can do, it can still cause a lot of damage to a persons life. 


I think I put in way more time this Module then last. It showed in my quiz score being higher then the last quiz. I took more time on the quiz rather then rushing through it like last time. The comments Professor Brochu leaves us on our discussions have helped. Sometimes I forgot to reference the text or use a website and she lets us know so we don't forget next time. This helps us so we don't loose points the next time. 


One word I didn't know before this reading was antagonistic interaction. Which means the effects that are created when drugs cancel one another. To me this sounds scary and would never want to know what this feels like. The second is inoculation which is a method of abuse prevention that protects drug users by teaching them responsibility. Interdiction is the last word i chose which is the policy of cutting off or destroying supplies of illicit drugs. Very interesting words I chose this time around. 


I really liked reading these chapters and I hope I feel the same way about the next module!