Abuse and Addiction: Chemical, Biological, and Cultural Aspects of Drugs

Timetable

2025-2026 (summer or in winter semester)

5 meetings (3x45min)

Module aim (aims)

The main aim of this course is to provide students with the knowledge of natural products with narcotic activities and other drugs of natural and synthetic origin.Chemical structure of the compounds being a part of tranquillizers, stimulants, and drugs will be presented; mechanisms of their biological activity, as well as the historical and cultural aspect of their use and abuse.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Knowledge of the CNS, synapses, stimulants, hallucinogens and narcotics on basic level.

Syllabus

Teaching and learning methods and activities:

- Lecture with multimedia presentation of selected issues

- Audio and/or video demonstrations

- Discussion

 

The following topics will be presented:

1) Influence of the drugs on the CNS, the structure and operation of synapses, receptors and their action with the specific groups of discussed bioactive compounds will be explained.

2) Introduction of the nervous system presenting the principles of the central nervous system (CNS), synapse construction.

3) compounds from the group of stimulants of the central nervous system of natural and synthetic origin: caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and other derivatives of amphetamine.

4) opioids - natural products like morphine, codeine,- semisynthetic: heroin, oxycodone, hydromorphone,- synthetic: fentanyl, phencyclidine.

4) cannabis compounds (cannabinoids and terpenoids),

5) semi-synthetic hallucinatory and naturally occurring substances in mandrake and fungi, including tropane alkaloids, tryptamine (psilocybe), ergolines (LSD), carbolines (harmaline) and salvinorin A.

 

Attendance at lectures and multiple-choice test. The test questions and answers are based on the lecture content

Assessment Criteria
In accordance with the Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) grading system in Poznań:

• Excellent (A; 5.0): 100% attendance at lectures and test score of 90%-100%
• Very Good (B; 4.5): 100% attendance at lectures and test score of 84%-89%
• Good (C; 4.0): At least 80% attendance at lectures and test score of 76%-83%
• Satisfactory (D; 3.5): At least 80% attendance at lectures and test score of 68%-75%
• Sufficient (E; 3.0): At least 80% attendance at lectures and test score of 60%-67%

Fail (F; 2.0): Insufficient attendance at lectures and/or failure to achieve the assumed learning outcomes with a test score below 60.0%

Reading list

• J. Corey, Barbara Czakó, László Kürti, ”Molecules and Medicine”. Wiley, 2007
• P. Friedman, S. Rusche, “False Messengers – How addictive Drugs Change the Brain”, Amsterdam, 1999.
• F. Casy, R. T. Parfitt, “Opiod Analgesics – Chemistry and Receptors”, Plenum Press, New York and London, 1983.
• G. Cannon, “Pharmacology for Chemists”. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 1999.

• Suzanne Bell: Drugs, Poisons and Chemistry, USA 2009.
• New scientific papers and websites discussing the presented topics (Scopus).