Sala B/Ghiţă Ionescu (8, Spiru Haret), November 26th, 12:00

The Political Science Club (formerly known as The SPE Nation Club) continues its series of events with a new concept: “Drugs, Sex, and Politics”. Inspired from the cliché idiom that designates the decadent and dionysiac lifestyle and bringing to the attention political events and phenomena, the series is intended to showcase the darker side of politics and policies.

On November 26th 2014, we will talk about drugs as taboo substances whose legality has changed throughout time. The movie screening will begin with a presentation the shifting perception of legal substances - from the time when soft drinks contained cocaine and were thought to possess miraculous medicinal powers, morphine was given to toddlers to silence them, and the doctors endorsed cigarettes in the 1950s United States of America, and all the way to the modern day warnings on potential health issues. Since the perception and presentation of such legal products has changed, the debate will continue by putting an emphasis on different movements and legislative frameworks from states like Portugal, The United Kingdom, and The United States of America. Thus, we will discuss on the topic of legalization of (now illegal) drugs and the extent in which the state should intervene in the citizens' vices of choice. Should self-destructive behavior be punished by the law, or should every individual possess the freedom to consume any substances and support no consequences other than health issues?

This is the second installment of the series Drugs, Sex, and Politics. During the first of these meeting, which took place on November 19th, the debates were dedicated to alcohol and the two most important cases cases when it was prohibited in the 20th century: the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution (1919) and the anti-alcohol campaign of Mikhail Gorbachev from The USSR (1985). The footage displayed consisted of US and Soviet propaganda from the respective eras, but also movements that took place against the reforms. In hindsight, we looked at the effect that the prohibition of alcohol has caused at a political and economic level – from the rise of the illegal factions that bootlegged alcohol, and all the way through to the governmental financial losses.
Join us throughout the two hours and present your point of view!

The Political Science Club, an initiative of the FSPUB students from the English language study programmes. All students are welcomed at the Club’s public events