Oxytocin, marijuana, caffeine, heroin, LSD, PCP, alcohol...
We are examining the social and legal history of drug use in 20th century United States. Students who are also taking chemistry will complete a single project covering the science and history of a particular drug. This can take the form of a blog, poster board, powerpoint presentation, skit, essay, or graphic novel.
As for the history, cover the following:
-How has the drug been portrayed in popular culture?
-When, how, and by whom has the drug been used legally and openly?
-What laws have the Federal and state governments passed to prohibit or regulate this drug?
-What hysterical scare stories have circulated in the media about the drug?
-Which historical figures have used the drug or spoken out against its use?
The following websites may prove useful for your research:
http://www.mdma.net/
http://www.slate.com/id/2124885/ (comparing crack/meth scares)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/dont-believe-the-hype-pot_b_203615.html
http://www.hereinstead.com/Crack-in-Context.htm (covers other drug scares in history)
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/04/dire_scientific_warnings_often.html (John Stossel on crack babies)
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/position/race_paper_history.cfm
www.drugpolicy.org
Posts
Here are some quick tips on items to cover for each drug:
ReplyDeletemarijuana - Cheech and Chong (pop culture)
nitrous oxide - Looney Tunes depictions of laughing gas; William James
date rape drug - rohypnol; prescribed as a sleeping pill
LSD - Kary Mullis and the story of PCR DNA sequencing; Art Linkletter; MKULTRA; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Cocaine - Freud; Sherlock Holmes; Cocaine Fiend; crack babies; Marion Barry
methamphetamines - Merck; Pervitin; Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005; ephedra; Max "Dr. Feelgood" Jacobson, M.D.
heroin - Velvet Underground; chasing the dragon; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4647018.stm; William S. Burroughs "junkie"; Pulp Fiction; American Gangster
love - Pitocin; breastfeeding; MDMA and 5-HT(1A) receptors; anti-love lyrics in contemporary hip-hop (e.g. Southern Hospitality); gay marriage
PCP - sherm; LAPD; 1965; Training Day; superhuman strength
oxycodone - Rush Limbaugh; hillbilly heroin; OxyContin; 1916; 1939; 1995; William S. Burroughs and Eukodal
mushrooms - psilocybin; R. Gordon Wasson; Carlos Casteneda; Aldous Huxley; Timothy Leary
steroids - http://www.copleynews.com/uniontrib/20071216/news_1s16nflcol.html (1963 San Diego Chargers); Dr. Ziegler and Dianabol; IOC 1976; 1988 Olympics; Anabolic Steroid Control Act 1990
ether - sweet vitriol; 1846 Dr. Bigelow Massachusetts; Letheon; WTG Morton; Hoffmann's Drops; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
MDMA/ecstacy - Merck; 1953 Army studies; Alexander Shulgin; Leo Zeff; Charles Grob; 1985; raves; hole in the brain myth; therapeutic uses; DXM scams; dancesafe.org
alcohol - Al Capone; bootleggers; bathtub gin; Annie; medical alcohol; Alcoholics Anonymous; Steven King; Joseph McCarthy; Dick Van Dyke
tobacco - Virginia; excise taxes; I Love Lucy; Flintstones cigarette commercial; Ernst Wynder; 1964 Surgeon General; ads targeting women starting in 1920 (suffrage); 1971 advertising law; statewide smoking bans (e.g. California 1995)
adrenaline - Pulp Fiction; road rage; cases of people lifting cars off of accident victims
www.erowid.org is another great resource.
ReplyDeletewww.maps.org on socially accepted use of psychedelic substances
ReplyDelete