Course & e-Book Introduction

Psychoactive Substances & Society

This course provides a critical exploration of social factors affecting our understanding of psychoactive substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, opiates, cocaine, psilocybin, club drugs, etc.), their use and relevant social policy, and how these have changed over time. In the course, students will analyze the social factors influencing the origins and maintenance of prohibitionist policies at both the national and international levels, as well as the costs and consequences of such policies. They will also explore the movement for health and human-rights oriented policy change, including recent efforts at decriminalization, legalization and the introduction of innovative harm reduction efforts. While the course has a predominately Canadian focus, other countries are used as examples of policy alternatives.

Each chapter requires students to read and watch course material and then do an assignment based on what they have read and watched. There are a series of questions at the start of each chapter designed to facilitate student engagement with the materials.

Understanding Text Font Colours & Style

FONTS	MEANING
Bolded Red Font	Content warnings
Bolded Royal Blue Font	Required reading and/or video course content. Instructions for students
Black underlined titles or hyperlinks          inside shaded boxes	Required reading and/or video course content.
Black underlined or Bolded underlined words	Supplementary information (hyperlinks or definitions). Not required course content.