Alcohol, Drugs & Society

Catalog description

This course explores a sociological approach to substance use and its impact on contemporary American society. What social factors such as gender, race, and class shape substance use? How do major social institutions such as criminal justice, education, and health care deal with substance use? What public policies and programs exist to regulate substance use, and how well do they work? Examples of topics discussed include women and substance use, college student binge drinking, substance use on the national agenda, and the community impact of crack cocaine.