Substance use disorder

The McKelvy Scholars will host a discussion led by Cori Davis ’22 on Sunday at 6 p.m. Email the group for the Zoom link. Cori’s background for the talk:

I want to focus specifically on the psychological and socioeconomic factors that underlie substance misuse. By the end of this discussion, we will have had an in-depth discussion regarding the racial, economic, political, and medicinal motivators behind the United States drug market. Additionally, we will observe how different drugs are perceived in society and by federal policy, and how this impacts those afflicted with substance use disorder.

Here are some questions to ponder before discussion:

• What is substance use disorder?  What is it classified as/how is it diagnosed?
• What do you think are some of the underlying causes of substance use disorder? How do those factors lead to substance misuse?
• Do you think current United States drug policies are based on science? Why or why not? What are they based on?
• Are United States drug policies efficient or creating more issues?
• Do you believe that substance use disorder is a neurological or psychological disorder? Explain why.
• Based on the articles provided, do you think there is a genuine “opioid crisis”?  Why or why not?
• Drug legalization v. decriminalization–what are the costs/benefits of each and for whom? How do you think either policy will impact those afflicted with substance use disorder?

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-are-dying-because-of-ignorance-not-because-of-opioids/

https://youtu.be/5pdPrQFjo2o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdsN_vYZ3w8&t=2853s&ab_channel=TalksatGoogle

https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328790143_Is_Drug_Addiction_a_Brain_Disease_This_popular_claim_lacks_evidence_and_leads_to_poor_policy