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Class number:
3039
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Title: Drug Policy |
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Department: Economics |
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Career: Undergraduate |
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Component: Seminar |
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Session: Regular |
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Instructor's Permission Required: Yes |
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Grading Basis: Graded |
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Units: 1.00 |
| Enrollment limited to 12 |
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Current enrollment: 12 |
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Available seats: 0 |
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Start date: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 |
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End date: Friday, May 9, 2025 |
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Mode of Instruction: In Person |
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Schedule: TR: 9:25AM-10:40AM, WM - 310B |
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Instructor(s): Stater, Mark |
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Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: C+ or better in Economics 301 and 302. This course is open to senior Economics majors only. |
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Distribution Requirement: Meets Writing Emphasis Part2 & IPE Requirements |
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Note: Please contact Professor Stater at Mark.Stater@trincoll.edu for a pin to this senior seminar |
Course Description:
Humans have consumed psychoactive substances such as cannabis, opium, coca, and magic mushrooms for medicinal, religious, and recreational purposes for thousands of years. Yet, many of these substances, as well as more recent psychoactive concoctions, such as heroin and cocaine, are prohibited in contemporary societies on the grounds that they are harmful to users and others. How and why might society’s view of these drugs’ harmfulness have changed over time? What impact do prohibition policies have on the consumption of drugs, and what kinds of unintended consequences do these policies have for society as a whole and for marginalized groups? Are there alternative policies that can deter drug consumption with fewer unintended effects? This course will apply economic analysis to offer answers to these questions, while examining how prohibition policies have evolved over the last century, how the current framework is codified, some of the recent departures from that framework in the U.S. and around the world, and prospects for future reforms. |