Hashish and Marijuana Chemistry in the Social Service Curriculum Uri Zoller Haifa University-Oranim, The School of Education of the Kibbutz Movement, P. 0. Kiryat Tivon, Israel Shoshana Weiss Haifa University. Department of Education. Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

The newlv-developed. interdisci~linarv, chemicallv-ori- ented curric~lum is an additional example-of our conti&ous effort ( l ,2 ) to "translate" the recently advocated (and agreed upon) trends in science (and chemical) education (3) into actual manageable and implementable courses and curricular units. "Hashish and Marijuana" was developed in response to the urgent need of our society to cope with the current "drug issue" (4. 5 , particularly with rrspect to y ~ ~ t l l . taking into account all the personal (und societal) implicntiwi invol.r,ed. Sirnificwntlv within this wnkxt . mariiuana. hashish and other preparntims of cannabis origin constitute the third most widelv used recreational drur i l l the world. cxcnalrd onlv bv - . . alcohbl and tobacco (5).

Our curriculum is an attempt to actually influence the he- havior of the target population-senior high school students or undergraduate freshmen-with respect to drug use and abuse, (s~ecifically concerning hashish and marij'"ana), by deliberately fostering the "value judgment" component within the development of the involved students' decision-making capacity. The above is accomplished by means of a relevant, decision-makine oriented guided desien which simultaneouslv - " - integrates the cognitive and the affective domains within the teaching and study process.

The detailed philosophy, rationale, conceptual framework, methodolorv. and general ohiectives within science (and chemistry)educati& this cur&ulum is based on, could be found elsewhere (1-3,6). Our program deals with the suhject of hashish and marijuana from the chemical point of view; i.e. providing the students with the scientific-theoretical, and the factual-informative basis required for meaningful under- standing of the fundamental chemistry associated with the suhject (7). However, we believe that the promotion of an understanding and awareness of the social and personal di- mensions based on the scientific principles, concepts and processes of chemistry as a discipline is much more important than the students' ~erfonnance on soon-to-he-foreotten ex- aminations a t the end of the term. "Hashish and ~ a r i j u a n a " was develooed in accordance with this conviction. The main behavioral-objective of the curriculum was to weaken the students' desire and readiness for personal experience in using "cannabis preparations," for whatever reasons, under a variety of situations in their lives. That is to say, todevelop within the students the desired "attitude" which will be "translated" into "positive" behavioral modification.

Currlculum Structure and Teaching Strategies The curriculum is constructed of two main n m p m m t s : "A

Teacher (hide" and "Iniormarw Leatlets." I I ~ntroduction. rationale, course philosophy, basic teaching strategies, general directions and suggestions to the teacher, constitute the first part of tho teacherguide. Its core is a detailed specific guide for each module or SO-aIIed. m~eting" (see later) of the course containing the following: selected 6ehavioral objectives; se- lected specific aims: central ideas, principal suhiects (or issues); fundamental concepts to he "cover&;" suggestions for the teaching process and instruction methods (specific to the particular "meeting" in point) and some specific relevant remarks.

The second part of the teacher guide, the "Informative Leaflets," is unique in the sense that it serves as the course

textbook for the teachers. Given the fact that "Hashish and Marijuana" k a real interdisciplinary curriculum which draws upon biology, pharmacology, physiology, health-sciences, sociology, psychology, economics, and law in dealing with the subject, the "Informative Leaflets" equip the chemistry teachers with the essential "essence" and the necessary rele- vant information and know-how, which will enable them to olav their exoected euidine (and teachine) role. . " " - . ~..

The curriculum consists of ten modules each of which is aimed for one "meeting" within the framework of the course. The time allocation for each "meeting" was planned to he flexible in accordance with the oarticular constraints and characteristics of each class and school system. Thus, a planned ordinary two-hour "meeting" centered around a particular subject (or issue) can be expanded into a four-hour extended session if necessary. Originally, however, the entire unit was designed for about 30-35 contact hours.

The titles of the ten modules (around which the ten meet- ings are centered) are

(1) Introduction: What is it all about? (2) Human personality; drugs and medicine. (3) Motives for drug abuse. (4) Hashish as a problem initiator. (5) The effects of Hashish on men. (6) Hashish as a natural product. (7) Hashish and the law. (8) Chemical strueture-aetivitv relationshim. . . , (9) Hashush identlftmtim in the lahoratcwy

(10) Methods of dcv~s~on rnxking.

Teaching Strategy There is no student manual (or guide) nor a particular

textbook to be used by the students. Rather, the "student- centered" program is based on the independent study of the students working in small groups outside the class. They look for and gather data and information on a oarticular ore- - assigned subject (making use of any available resources), initiate extensive discussions within the framework of the p,n,up, and submit rht. group final r e p ~ ~ r r to rhu class in the sppn,priate "meeting." TIM, work pursued : t t d :ttumplished hy thc groups followcd hy class discussion* is rmrplemented by the teacher during the "meetings."

This kind of strategy, in conjunction with appropriate simulation games, special student projects, field trips, and other student-oriented activities included in the curriculum, not only ensures active participation and involvement on the nart of the students hut also facilitates the fosterine of their value judgment as well as their decision-making capacity. The deliberate inteeration of the cognitive and the affective do- mains involvedis thus maintai'ed.

Prerequisites The following inventory in organic chemistry and biology

is an essential prerequisite for the students taking the course:

Alkanes, alkenes, dienes, cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons, benzene, alcohols, ethers, caxboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters.

Structure of the human body, central nervous system, the brain; hormones, metaholism.

These prerequisites determine, aside from educational,

42 1 Journal of Chemical Education

social and local considerations, the appropriate timing for "plugging in" this curricular unit within the framework of the traditional science (and chemistry) curriculum (and syl- labus).

The Chemical Component in the Unit

The following is a selected list of topics, principles, pro- cesses, and techniques of chemistry per se which are included and/or "covered" within the "Hashish and Marijuana" unit:

topics:

principles:

processes:

techniques

Isoprenes and terpenes; naturai products, heterocycles, phenols. The Chemistry of the Cannabis constituents (THC, etc.); stereoehemistry; chemistry of the allylic position. Chemical reactivity as a function of chemical structure and functional groups; chemical versus enzymatic- catalysis; polarity-solubility relationships; structure^ biological activity relationships. Hydration, hydrolysis; oxidation; reduction; biogenesis; chemical metabrdism. Chromatography; TLC; separation; qualitative anal- ysis.

Aspects of the other disciplines associated with the "Hashish and Mariiuana" issue ii.e. health, hioloev. ~hvsiol - -. . "

ogy, medicine, pharmacology, psychology, sociology, economy, and law) are mterwoven within the various curriculum mod- . ules and centered "around" the chemical core components. No doubt, this interdisciplinary approach makes the "pure" chemistry dealt with not only more appealing and meaningful to the students but also (objectively) more relevant to their needs. The development of the supportive affective compo- nent of the curriculum around the above "solid" ground is

expected to ensure the achievement of the curriculum he- havioral objectives as far as the students' personal decision- making is concerned. Summary

The presented curriculun~ is an attempt to achieve the de- velopment of a rational, responsible, decision-making capacity in students and of their competence in applying this capacity in responding to their own needs within the context of their social environment. As a result. a certain conscious control of their own hehavior with respkct to the drug (specifically, hashish and mariiuana) issue is ex~ected.

I t is hoped that "Hashish and ~ a r i j n a n a " represent not only a curriculum model for future "chemistry (and science) in the social service" curricula hut also that it has (as it is ev- ident from the preliminary evaluation studies of the program) a real potential for a desired behavioral modification within the target population. As such, our program is a real contri- bution to secondary and first stages of tertiary and social ed- ucation since it seeks awareness, knowledge, and under- standing for action as well as for intellectual enlightenment in accordance with the needs of our modern society. Literature Cited

(1) Zolle~, U., J. CHEM.EDUC.. 56,398 11977). (2) Zo1ler.U.. J. CHEM. EDUC., 56,518 (1979). (5) (a1 Alternative8 (or Science Education, A Consultative Document, The Assoc. for Science

Education., College Lane. Hatfield. U.K. 1979. (b) Zoiler, U., SI.SCL."JNeavktter. 7 ,3 (19781. ( c i Lippincdt, W. T., J.CHEM. EDUC.51.14S (1974).

( 4 ) Louris. P. B.. The Futurist, 149. June 1978. ( 5 ) "Mar~jusna and Hedth."FifthAnnusl Report to the 0 S. Congress from the S m e a r y

of Health. Education and Welfare, National lnst on Drug Abuse, 1975. 16) Zoller. [I.. Weirs, S.,J Drug Educ., 11,OOW 11980). 17) Mechulam, R., (Ed.), "Marijuana, Chemistry, Phaimacoloyi, Metabolism and Clinical

Effect;.l. Academic Presp, 1973.

Volume 58, Number 1, January 1981 1 43