Falling Down - Older People and Problematic Substance Use - Middlesex University

Did you ever wonder how far back in history you have to go to find evidence of alcohol or drug use – when did the first person get ‘drunk’ or ‘high’?

Or who was the first dealer? Or when did ‘society’ begin to get worried about the use of substances and enact the first law in an attempt to get control of use?
Who and maybe of more interest why do different societies or parts of the world decide which psychoactive substances are okay and others need to be controlled?
Are you clear about why you hold your current opinion, what ever that might be, about alcohol and drug use?
If you were asked to describe or profile a ‘typical’ (what ever that might be!) drug user or alcoholic – what does that individual look like? Did you immediately think of someone who is 65 years and older? Or did you (like most people) picture a much younger person?
This MOOC hopes to engage you in with these and many other questions .
To give you a taster of what we will be covering – why not begin to explore answers to the first set of questions by checking out Ithe International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) longest timeline of events in the history of drugs.