Classifying psychoactive substances as either licit or illicit Discussion Question help

Discussion 1

Classifying psychoactive substances as either licit or illicit is not based exclusively or even primarily on their pharmacological properties. It is as much, if not more, a matter of class, race, and economic issues. During the course of your readings and study, consider several questions.

1. If it were possible to erase all previous history and attitudes and start afresh, and you were asked to designate classes of drugs to be licit, which would you choose?
2. What factors would you consider to be important in making these assignments?
3. Which things would you see as important in defining harm? And harm to whom? Are there harms that are introduced or avoided by the legal or illicit status of a substance? To what extent can these be diminished?
4. How do the social benefits of alcohol use compare with its social costs?
5. How do drinking patterns in the United States compare to those in other countries?

Discussion Participation (30%)

Grading Rubric and Participation Requirements

POST:

1. One primary post (New Topic) as your initial discussion post thread – min. 200 words/post
2. One secondary response (Respond) to classmates – min. 100 words/post

PLEASE NOTE:

• All posts are to be substantive responses reflective of the reading content.
• Each post will be graded per the overall grading rubric for content and adherence to the performance guidelines
• Primary post earns up to 20 points
• Response to peers earns up to 17.5 points

Posting Tip:

Posting is not just posting what every other student posts, but about bringing out original and insightful ideas on, in this case, the discussion board. Therefore, you should strive each week to improve your posting skills by offering thorough and clear writings by bringing up fresh perspectives on the given topic.

Other Requirements:

1. Discussion questions must meet the APA formatting meaning you cannot just copy information from a website.
2. Use scholarly peer-reviewed resources to support your viewpoints.
3. Use a minimum of one resource to support your position.
4. Do not write the website address as your reference (www.abc.com), but write the resource meeting the APA formatting. (Examples were provided under the announcements).
5. DO NOT use resources such as Wikipedia, eHow, WiseGEEK, Wikihow, About… If in doubt please ask.

The purpose of the discussions are to discuss the topic(s) and further the discussion. It is a best practice when responding to your peers to:

1. Write an overview of what the student stated
2. Provide your original thoughts and opinion
3. Utilize supporting resources
4. Follow up with a question