I have never given much thought to prescription drug laws, in my mind I just thought if I get sick or have a medical emergency a doctor or nurse practitioner will tell me what I need to get better and point me in the direction of any prescription drugs I may need. I have also never put time into thinking about the government’s paternalistic role in prescription drugs. This prompted me to ask myself, which is more moral, giving someone an untested drug they need knowing it could have negative side effects, or not giving someone an untested drug they need knowing they will suffer without it? Do I just think it makes sense to not give someone a drug we don’t know is safe because that is what dominant culture has told me? Did other countries adopt similar pharmaceutical regulations because they are a good idea or because they felt it was necessary? After listening to the podcast I have an increased idea in my mind that other countries have their reasons for the things they do, while we might think it is “normal” to regulate drugs I feel as though other countries would have had to decide on their own that it was a good idea to have prescription drug regulations because our normal is not automatically other counties normal.

I wrote a paper critiquing the rhetoric of Nancy Ragan’s “Just Say No” campaign in my FYS first-semester last year. I am really glad Dr. Bezio talked about the racial dynamic in the advisements in her podcast because it is a side of the campaign I did not come across in my research about the language of the campaign. On a side note, I have a feeling if I had my professor would not have enjoyed reading/wanted to read my paper on the subject, but I would have loved to explore it.