This course will emphasize the pharmacological properties of abused drugs, common abuse patterns, field-testing, evidence requirements, and investigation techniques utilized in narcotics and dangerous drug investigations. This is a three credit hour course.

This course should be helpful to those students interested in furthering thier understanding of drug use/abuse both from a legal perspective as well as historical and sociological considerations.

Required:

Drugs and the Law: Detection, Recognition & Investigation, 3rd edition, Gary Miller Lexis Nexis-Gould Publications

Suggested:
None.

You can buy your books online at the NMJC Bookstore.

Students attending New Mexico Junior College will be evaluated according to the following grading scale:

						90 - 100%	=	A
						80 -  89%	=	B
						70 -  79%	=	C
						60 -  69%	=	D
					 	 0 -  59%	=	F

Additional Grading Scale (Possible Points):

1250 – 1125 = A
1124 – 1000 = B
999 – 875 = C
874 – 750 = D
749 or below = F

Point accumulations will be calculated based on the following:

Student Introduction (25 points)- Construct an email to introduce yourself to the class. Provide a short paragraph which may include: your background, education, experience and what you hope to get out of this class.

Begin Course Here/Syllabus Quiz (25 points) - This quiz will cover the material provided in the Begin Course Here and Syllabus. This quiz will need to be completed no later than the second scheduled day of class.

Unit Assignments to include Class Discussions ( 800 points) - There will be eight unit assignments. Each week you will be required to respond to written questions from your chapter reading assignments. These questions will be answered in a Microsoft Word document and submitted via the Assignments page. You will also be required to respond to discussion question/(s) which will also come from your reading assignments. These responses will be posted to the class discussion board. Write one or two constructive paragraphs for each response and either submit or post to the discussion board as is appropriate. You are also required to comment on at least two other student’s responses by replying to the students posted messages on the Discussion Board. Each Unit Assignment will be worth a total of 100 points (50 points for the discussion posting and 50 points for your answers to the written questions)..

Tests (Each test is worth 100 points for a total value of 400 points) - There will be four tests throughout the semester which will cover all chapter assignments. Test #1 will cover Chapters 1-4. Test #2 (Mid-Term) will cover Chapters 6-9. Test #3 will cover Chapters 10-13. Test #4 (Final Exam) will cover Chapters 14,15,17, & 18.

Retrieving Grades from Banner System
Go to the New Mexico Junior College Banner login page. Please enter your User Identification Number (ID), which is your Banner ID or your Social Security Number without hyphens, and your Personal Identification Number (PIN). When finished, click Login.

Tips for Success in Online Courses:
1. Log in to class regularly.
2. Pay attention.
3. Take notes.
4. Keep up with readings and assignments.
5. Ask questions when you do not understand something.
6. Utilize your professor’s office hours and e-mail.
7. Read the text.
8. Adhere to the deadlines posted in the course outline.

To provide students with a thorough understanding of drug abuse; this will be done by examining drug history, the biological, psychological and sociological explanations of drug abuse, the various types of treatment and prevention programs, the business of drugs, and drug laws and law enforcement.

At the conclusion of this course, a student should be able to:
1. Identify the various drugs of abuse and their effects.
2. Discuss the various sociological theories of drug abuse.
3. Recognize the varous psychological theories of drug abuse.
4. Describe model programs for drug abuse treatment and drug abuse prevention programs.
5. Identify the legal implications of illegal use of drugs.
6. Appraise the business aspect of drugs and drug trafficking.
7. Compare and contrast the pros and cons of drug decriminalization.

Student Requirements
If you have not already received login information for Blackboard/Banner/E-mail, you will need to contact the Enrollment Management office at (575) 492-2546.

Check first-time login page for instructions at www.nmjc.edu/distancelearning/coursescourseschedules/blackboardinstructions.aspx.

Blackboard Assistance

• Call the Blackboard helpdesk at (575) 399-2199 to gain an understanding of the software environment for your class.

You must have access, on a regular basis, to a computer that supports the Blackboard minimum specifications and has an active connection to the Internet. See the minimum computer specification requirements at www.nmjc.edu/distancelearning/coursescourseschedules/blackboardinstructions.aspx.

Students will be held responsible for the information on these pages.

Attendance Policy and Participation Expectations
It is expected that you regularly log into class at least three times weekly and check your Blackboard mail to ensure you have not missed any changes/updates. Students are expected to complete discussions/quizzes/tests/ assignments before deadlines expire.

Online Learning Environment
By participating in an online class, you undertake responsibility for your own progress and time management.

• Pay attention to deadlines and do not forget them (keep a calendar if it helps).
• Carefully read and understand all assignments.
• Complete assignments according to posted instructions and notes. Do not just glance at an assignment before attempting to complete it (this is likely to result in a poor grade).
• Questions may be posed for clarification in the class discussion area or by sending an e-mail to your instructor.

Academic Honesty
Each student is expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity in online academic and professional matters. The College reserves the right to take disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal, against any student who is found guilty of academic dishonesty or otherwise fails to meet these standards. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, dishonesty in quizzes, tests, or assignments; claiming credit for work not done or done by others; and nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other College records. Cheating or gaining illegal information for any type of graded work is considered dishonest and will be dealt with accordingly.

Plagiarism
Offering the work of another as one’s own, without proper acknowledgment, is plagiarism; therefore, any student who fails to give credit for quotations or essentially identical expression of material taken from books, encyclopedias, magazines and other reference works, or from the themes, reports, or other writings of a fellow student, is guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism violates the academic honesty policy and is considered cheating.

Withdrawal Policy
The instructor has the right to drop any student who has failed to log on to Blackboard for two weeks or more, but it is not guaranteed that the instructor will drop you. If you choose to stop participating in an online class, you should withdraw yourself from the class by contacting the Enrollment Management Office (575-492-2546 or 800-657-6260), completing the proper paperwork by 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2010, and notifying your instructor. Failure to withdraw yourself from a course by this date may result in your receiving an “F” in the course.

Late Assignments
Assignments must be submitted by the date and time listed. It is not possible to make-up any assignments without prior approval from the professor.

Blackboard Help
If you experience difficulty with Blackboard you may reach the Blackboard Helpdesk at Bbhelpdesk@nmjc.edu, or by calling the 24 hour helpdesk phone at (575) 399-2199.

Online Tutoring Assistance
Free online tutoring services are available to all NMJC students (after the third week of class) through Smarthinking.com. If you experience difficulty utilizing Smarthinking, please contact the Blackboard Helpdesk at Bbhelpdesk@nmjc.edu, or by calling the 24 hour helpdesk phone at (575) 399-2199.

ADA Information
Any student requiring special accommodations should contact the Special Needs Student Services Coordinator at (575) 492-2576 or by e-mail at specialneeds@nmjc.edu.

Netiquette
The professor is responsible for monitoring and evaluating student conduct and student behavior within the Blackboard course. By registering for this class, the student is assumed to have entered into an agreement with New Mexico Junior College and the professor to log into the class regularly and to behave in an appropriate manner at all times. Disruptive behavior may result in the student being removed from the class and dropped for the semester. For comprehensive information on the common rules of netiquette and other online issues, please review the NMJC Online Student Handbook.