Angela Sandoval

Health 1050

Tricia Bishop

09 December 2020

Reflection Paper

This course has taught me about how drugs are made, and what effects they have on the

world. I always knew that certain drugs come from different parts of the world and some even

here in the united states. Working on the different assignments and essays throughout the course,

showed me how much people are willing to do to deal with drugs. I remember taking this course

during my first year of college two thousand fifteen, I had to retake the course because the time

frame and qualification were outdated. However, this time around I feel like I learned more

about the actual drugs and the effects in the world. The first course I took described the effects

the drugs had on people which was still interesting to know and research but learning about how

drugs affect different countries and how it ties into the United States is much more interesting.

One assignment that stuck out to me was article assignment #2, I read an article that

described how Venezuelan drug smugglers planned to ship cocaine to Russia, Europe, Ghana,

and New York. Their shipment was detained by the police because they had already been trying

to catch that certain group of smugglers and the drugs weren’t able to be distributed. The article

also described how President Chavez was being blamed on how drug cartels being at an all-time

high because he did not want to crack down on them. After all, some of them were a part of their

military.

Researching for assignments like this is extremely interesting me to because I always hear

about how Venezuela is known for cocaine growth and smuggling. However, reading an article
describing how they planned a shipment and were caught gives me more information and

knowledge about how it was conducted. It was also interesting to see how the people and country

are being effective by their president’s decisions. I am a first-generation Mexican American,

which means that both of my parents immigrated here from Mexico. Since they are from Mexico

and still have family over there, we read and watch the news from over there. In Mexico, it is

well known that the government is corrupt and that many politicians and policemen are being

bought by the Mexican drug cartels. While researching this article I noticed many similarities

that happen in Mexico and Venezuela.

This semester I was also taking a mental health class that talked about certain drugs that

helped with mental illnesses. On my research assignment, I looked up articles where medical

marijuana was used to assist patients with different types of mental and physical illnesses. Many

countries had done many studies on Medical Marijuana. Countries like Israel, the Netherlands,

and Canada have already legalized marijuana and patients can turn to marijuana to help alleviate

their pain. I had already had some knowledge about medical marijuana but mostly only

knowledge here in the United States. When I researched the topic of medical marijuana outside

the united states and I was pleasantly shocked about how many other countries are doing studies

to learn more about medical marijuana and what benefits it could have for many patients. I think

that researching on subjects that I already had an interest in but outside the united states was my

favorite part of this class.

This class has piqued my interest in learning about drug-related topics around the around

and not just in the United States. I didn’t know much about any international drug topics besides

the one in Mexico, since I only really keep up with Mexican news channels but knowing that

other countries are doing more research and case studies than in the United States or Mexico. I
think I will keep up with those kinds of articles even after this class ends because I do want to

know what new studies will show about medical marijuana. Medical marijuana is still something

that is being introduced and accepted in the United States but seems to be much further along in

other countries. Knowing that certain issues I’m interested in and research on, have had more

traction in other countries is something that I wouldn’t have found unless I took this class and

completed the assignments.