Illegal Drug Issues in the Classroom

Writer(s): 
Kyoko Yamada, Doshisha International Junior and Senior High School

Young Japanese people's perception toward illegal drugs is going through dramatic changes these days, but little has been done so far at schools (Nagashima, 1997, pp. 62-64) or at homes ("Yakubutsu kyoiku," 1996) to meet these new challenges. This paper proposes that English language classrooms address illegal drug issues. I will discuss why and how this should be done based on a course I have taught.

The students were upper-intermediate level seniors at Doshisha International High School. Last year, more than 90 percent of the 59 students (divided into two classes of 29 and 30) were returnees who had experienced life in English-speaking countries. There were three reasons why I felt drug issues deserved a place in my course.

First, illegal drugs are not only internationally high-profile issues but are recently becoming a serious domestic problem. The result of a government questionnaire on Japanese high school students' perceptions toward drug abuse revealed that 8.3 percent of second-graders have wanted to use illegal drugs in the past ("Yakubutsu tsukattemitai," 1998, p. 38). This, as well as the more frightening news of a seven-fold rise ("1996 haul," 1997) in the number of stimulants confiscated in 1996 from 1995 and a doubling in the number of high school students' arrests for stimulant abuses in 1996 from 1995 ( "Yakubutsu ranyo," 1998) indicate that illegal drug issues are now here to stay. Naturally, because of the increasing amount of media attention, many students are interested in learning about drug issues, and this forms the second reason for them to Japanese EFL classrooms.

The third reason stems from the increasing possibility that young Japanese will experiment with illegal drugs when they visit a foreign country and that they will end up behind bars on their return to Japan ("Deta ai," 1996; "Gakusei no," 1998). If English teachers can offer learners a chance to get to know the language used to discuss illegal drug issues and the disadvantages attached to illegal drug use, they can help students make informed choices.

Teaching Drug Issues

As illustrated by the failure of the anti-drug campaign in the U.S., "saying no" is no longer effective in keeping young people away from drugs (Buchsbaum, 1997, p. 6). Even in Japan, such a strategy would likely fail, as the growing minority of young people believe that trying drugs is all right "because it is not a nuisance to others, so it should be left to the individual's own free will" (Mizutani, 1998, p. 111; "Yakubutsu shiyo," 1997). Keenly aware of this, I chose to present drug issues as social problems that affect not just the well-being of individuals but also that of free and democratic societies. To achieve this effect, I decided to teach the illegal drug policies of Japan, the U.S., and the Netherlands, in order to compare their strengths and weaknesses and to have students participate in a role-play discussion where people having conflicting views about marijuana use discuss their points of view. The whole process took about eighteen 45-minute classes.

Drug Issues and Policies in Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands

Japan

I gave two 45-minute lectures in English on drug issues and policies in Japan. In the first lesson, I outlined the history of illegal drug abuse to show how it has corrupted personal freedom. For example, during World War II, the Japanese government administered stimulants to laborers working at state-run military factories. In the second lesson, I touched on the health effects of illegal drugs (stimulants, sleep-inducing drugs, morphine, cocaine, and cannabis) and the Japanese laws regulating them. I supplemented the lectures with a four-page handout in English which I wrote (see Koseisho, 1997; Nakamura, 1993).

The United States

I spent eight lessons on drug policies of the U.S. federal government and teen drug abuse issues. Information from drug-related articles ("Kids and Drugs," 1997; Nakamura, 1993), newspaper articles, and the Internet, especially the home page of Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (<http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/>) were helpful resources. The lessons revealed that the number of U.S. teen drug users is increasing with marijuana being their choice of drug (Buchsbaum, 1997, p. 4). The government's response has been to appeal to them not to use drugs ("The General's War," 1997, p. 7).

One class was spent on the history of drug abuse in the U.S. from the Civil War, when morphine was used as a pain-killer ("Ten Claims," 1997), through the Vietnam War and student movements in the 1960s and 1970s to the present (Nakamura, 1993). I distributed a time-chart for this lecture ("Ten Claims" (ibid.); Nakamura, 1993, pp. 43-50; "DEA History," 1997; Schaeffer, 1979; Tsuge, 1989). Following the lecture, students formed groups of three to five to exchange their opinions.

In the following class, I gave a ten-minute lecture on how differently illegal drugs are treated by the federal and state governments: Though the federal government may take a tough approach toward hard and soft drugs, some states like California ("State-By-State List of Marijuana Law," 1998) and Colorado ("State-By-State List of Marijuana Law," 1998) decriminalize the use of soft drugs. Then I showed a 15-minute video on Denver high school students' drug abuse, which was aired as part of The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour (Crystal, 1996). In it, eight high school students shared their views on teen drug abuse. Some of them had apparently tried illegal drugs before, and even those who hadn't were rather tolerant about them. After this program, students formed groups of three to five and discussed how they felt about the American students' views. Three dominant opinions emerged: The majority of students were not pleased with the Denver students' lax attitude. The second group of students stated that since drugs are more accessible in the U.S. than in Japan U.S. teens are compelled to experiment with illegal drugs. The third and smallest group said that there was nothing wrong with their wanting to try drugs.

The Netherlands

Drug policies in the Netherlands are among the most liberal in the world. This country tolerates the sale of soft drugs such as cannabis in coffee shops. I spent three classes on the Netherlands. In the first lesson, I used a periodical published and distributed by the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sports of the Netherlands to promote their drug policy ("Drug Policy in the Netherlands," 1997). We spent one lesson reading the main sections.

Next, students broke into groups to discuss their impressions of the Dutch drug policy, and I went around the class to hear what they had to say. The majority felt the Dutch system was special, but did not support it. A small group felt it was a good and interesting policy.

In the next class, I gave a lecture on the problems surrounding the coffee shops ("Introduction and Definition of the problem--complications and new trends," 1994-1995). I made a chart comparing the annual budget of the Dutch, Japanese, and U.S. federal governments in dealing with drug problems which showed that even if the Dutch system was workable, it would require very generous amount of tax payers� money to maintain it ("Drugs Policy in the Netherlands--Estimate of the Annual Financial Implications of the Policy Document on Drugs," 1994-1995; "Kids and drugs: The facts," 1997; M. Shimomura, Department of Heath and Welfare of Kyoto Prefectural Government, personal communication, October, 1997). Students commented that such a heavy tax burden would meet opposition in Japan. I pointed out that coffee shops are no longer immune to the influence of organized crime ("Policy on Soft Drugs and Coffee Shops--Regulation of Coffee Shops," 1994-1995)--the very thing the Dutch government wanted to avoid--and that many Dutch municipalities are now trying to reduce their number (ibid.; "Drug Policy in the Netherlands," 1997 ).

I discussed the situation in Colombia where democracy has long been threatened by a handful of drug cartels (Nakamura, 1993, pp. 50-53). The digression was made to encourage students to see illegal drug issues not simply as issues involving personal choice, but as those having to do with defense of freedom and fundamental human rights from criminal organizations which attempt to control us. Then, I suggested that those attempting to sell drugs in Japan are also related to criminal organizations: More than 90% of illegal drugs sold in Japan have connections with boryokudan (Japanese gangsters (Mizutani, 1997, p. 51). I stressed the fact that Japanese government bans the use, possession, and sales of illegal drugs not because it wants to stifle personal freedom, but because it wants to protect its people from dominance by criminal organizations.

Role-Play Discussion

The last phase of the unit on drugs was a role-play discussion on a problem encountered by an imaginary Doshisha University sophomore Taro Yamada, who was an exchange student at the prestigious Amherst College, Doshisha's sister school. The scenario which I created is as follows: One evening at a party, Taro is offered marijuana by his best friend Rod. But because he does not know how to respond, nine people offer him advice: (a) Josh Allison, a former drug addict (Diconsiglio, 1997, pp. 10-12); (b) Barry R. McCaffery, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy ("The General's War," 1997, p. 7); (c) Naomi Campbell, a mother of a college student, who tried drugs in the sixties; (d) Takuya Kimura, a father of a college student, who has never tried drugs before; (e) Ichiro Suzuki, Taro's law professor at Doshisha University; (f) Miwa Yoshida, Taro's girl friend at Doshisha University; (g) Abby Olsen, and (h) Tracy Ortega, participants in the Denver drug discussion in The MacNeil/Lehrer news hour (Crystal, 1996), who support the use of illegal drugs; and (i) Vincent Van Gogh, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the U.S.

Students read the scenario (Appendix), then divided into nine groups of two to five, each group representing one of the nine people who tried to give advice to Taro. Groups then formed opinions for their assigned "character" by rereading the materials that were distributed to them throughout the lectures and by answering the questions, inspired by Verderber (1994, p. 457), on the agenda: "What is Taro's problem?", "What might happen if Taro decides to smoke marijuana?", "What might happen if Taro decides not to smoke marijuana?",]"What might be the possible solutions to Taro's problem?", "Which solution will reduce the problem?", and "How will the solution be carried out?" It took about three class periods for the groups to read, discuss, and come to a consensus on the advice they would give Taro.

For the role-play event, students formed a large circle by groups. I placed a large card in front of each group with the name of the person they were representing. Over two class periods, students discussed the agenda and I took the role of the chairperson. Because there were six questions on the agenda, every group member was told to serve as his/her group's spokesperson at least once. Most students read their answers from prepared notes, but some acted out their roles in character. The discussion of each of the agenda items was followed by time for questions and answers during which some students actively defended and attacked each other�s views. For example, when the group representing the Doshisha law professor suggested that Rod would not mind even if Taro rejected his offer because a good friend would respect individual's values and decisions, Takuya Kimura, a father and a non-drug user, questioned whether somebody who offers marijuana is really a good friend in the first place. In the end, the class reached the consensus that Taro should refuse his friend's offer. Even after this discussion the debate continued. The group that played the role of Barry McCaffery attacked the Dutch ambassador and demanded an explanation for his country's tolerant drug policy. Student feedback showed that the role-play discussion was a positive experience:

I learned (that) discussion is quite fun. I thought nobody will [sic] give their opinions, but I was wrong. It really looked like a real discussion.

...although this was a small discussion, there were a lot of arguments and disagreements between the groups. So I learned that there are all kinds of people who has [sic] different opinion[s], and it is important to listen [to] their opinion without spoiling it.

I learned that discussing a topic would lead us to think more deeply about the problems and solutions than just being taught and studying.

Conclusions

I recommend that teachers who would like to teach illegal drug issues in their English classes should keep the following in mind:

  1. Create an open atmosphere where students can express their views without fear of being punished. However, dispassionately challenge tolerant views some students might have about illegal drug use.
  2. Present data as objectively as possible. Contrast the situation in Japan with information about other countries.
  3. Emphasize the link between personal choice of using drugs and the effect that might have on society.
  4. To do the role-play discussion in a larger class, create more roles.

Though these drug lessons required a lot of research and preparation, I felt my hard work had paid off when I read the following comment written by one student after the lessons: I used to think that taking drugs was not such a bad thing, and I nearly tried it in Australia, but I didn't. Now I feel so happy that I did not do it.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Laura MacGregor and an anonymous reviewer for their advice. I am equally grateful to the Embassy of the Netherlands for providing me their drug policy periodical and Mr. Shimomura, Officer of drug section of Department of Health and Welfare, Kyoto Prefectural Government, for informing me of the Japanese government's annual budget on illegal drug control.

 

References

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Crystal, L. (Executive Producer). (1996, December). The MacNeil/Lehrer news hours. New York & Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.

DEA history. (1997). U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration--Briefing Book. [Online]. Available: <http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/briefing/1_2.htm>

Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Homepage. [Online]. Available: <http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/>.

Deta ai--Tabino haji, mayakukannren de houjin kennkyozou [Data-Eye--Shameful acts of Japanese overseas travelers; more arrested for drug-related charges]. (1996, December 5). Nihon Keizai Shinbun, p. 5.

Diconsiglio, J. (1997, May 2). Climbing back from rock bottom. Scholastic Update, 129(14), 10-12.

Drug policy in the Netherlands: Documentation. (1997). Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, The Netherlands. [Online] Avaliable: <http://www.minjust.nl:8080/a_beleid/fact/cfact7.htm#1>.)

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Note: Permission to reprint articles in Scholastic Update can be obtained by writing to: Ann Sandhorst; Permissions Editor, Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012-3999, U.S.A.; t: 1-212-343-6100.

 


 

Appendix

Taro Yamada is a sophomore at Doshisha University, majoring in law. He has graduated from Doshisha International High School, but prior to that he lived in Los Angeles for five years. Now he is back in the States for the first time in four years this time as an exchange student at Amherst College. Unlike what his senpai (i.e. his senior) has told him, his life at Amherst is not as stressful, and so far he has made many close friends.

One Saturday night in early November, he is invited to a party at his best friend Rod's apartment. The lights are dim, the food tantalizing, and the drink so soothing that he is in the mood for an adventure. He walks over to a beautiful blonde girl sitting alone by the windowsill. Butterflies are in his stomach, but he plucks up his courage and clumsily introduces himself. To his surprise, the girl responds with a big smile. "She is interested in me!" Taro chuckles to himself. "Who knows? This could be the beginning of a new romance!"

Just then, Rod interrupts. "Hey, Taro, you wanna try something neat? Here." Out from his brown bag he takes a couple of sloppily[-]rolled cigarettes, not the kind Taro has seen in grocery stores. While he is trying to make sense of what they are, Rod turns to the beautiful blonde girl and offers one to her:

"Hey Judy, want one?"

"You bet, Rod. You know I was waiting for this."

"Yeah! Call it the dessert of the evening."

While he is listening to this conversation, a thought flashes