This is a survey of sociological, psychological, and medical approaches to treating and preventing addiction with a focus on misinformation about marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, and OTC pain relievers. We will cover the impact of advertising campaigns on young people and senior citizens; discuss the puzzling outcomes obser when using stimulant and depressant drugs, and IV needle-sharing as an impetus to epidemics.  This will include the sociological perspective on the Prohibition era (1920-1933), the hysteria surrounding “Reefer Madness” (1936), and the opioid crisis of the 21st century. Also the “war on drugs” as a war on drug users and are Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous a solution to the problem of addiction?  The need for an adequately funded, interdisciplinary, and international approach to the treatment and prevention of addiction. 

Although they are not essential for purposes of this class, a few sources are recommended.

Sam Kelly, Human History on Drugs (New York: Penguin Books, 2025)

Edmund Brecher, Licit and Illicit Drugs (New York: Little, Brown, 1972)

Michael D. Lyman, Drugs in Society (New York: Routledge, 2017).

Professor Margaret Haney’s excellent report in the PBS documentary “Big Weed” and the Hidden Dangers of Marijuana Use,” Feb. 16th, 2026, readily available online. 

Patrick Radden Keefe, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Family (New York: Penguin/Random House, 2021)