• LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

MEGA - Courses and Careers related to Drugs

drop out after another year or so (halfway through is a good point once you've fulfilled a bunch of basic classes) and travel around the world for a year or so then come back and finish when you have a real good idea what you want your degree in.

That is a great idea, indeed - I couldn't agree more...

Now if only everyone followed it =D
 
drop out after another year or so (halfway through is a good point once you've fulfilled a bunch of basic classes) and travel around the world for a year or so then come back and finish when you have a real good idea what you want your degree in.

I kinda did do that. I didn't travel the world but I dropped out of college because I didn't want to get a degree in something only to realize I want to do something completely different. It took me 4 years but I know what I want to do. Coincidentally, it's pharmacology. I'm going to get certified as a pharm tech first, then go to school while working as a tech hopefully at a mental hospital, or just a regular hospital. Then I'm thinking about getting a Pharm.D so I can make money as a pharmacist while I go for my PhD to go into research. That's just a rough plan, but I figure it will get me working with what I'm interested in sooner. It's not research, but at least I'll be learning about drugs at work. It'll be easier to keep focused on what I'm going for that way I think, because I know I get sick of working at a shit job when I feel like I could be doing something I am interested in.

If you like drugs some sort of pharmacology is the way to go, but one thing to think about is this. Companies tend to like to drug test their pharmacy people. ;)
 
Look into the field of ethno-botany, if you're in first-year anthropology then you may be able to streamline directly into it in future years.
 
I have this same problem. My only real passion besides music, which I know I really can't make a living on is drugs. I'm majoring in psychology right now, and as a recovering opiate addict I think what I really want to do is be a substance abuse counselor. I recall going to multiple therapists, none of which had been in my position and it's extremely difficult to understand an addict unless you have been there yourself. I figured the best person to help out addicts would be an ex-addict. Of course I am still addicted to benzos, and recreationally using cocaine and marijuana about once a month but it's my first year in college so I'm not really worried yet. Having been addicted, or atleast having done every popular drug in existence and having been to the bottom, homeless with no friends or family left to trust me I feel like I can help others that have been there eventually. Obviously right now I'm not in a position to be a counselor, but I know that before I started getting my shit straight I would have killed for a therapist or counselor that had actually BEEN where I had been. So I feel like it's something I can be passionate about achieving, and will give me a reason to stop using drugs.
 
I must say, I once believed that drugs were what interested me. I was reading far more into medical journals and whatever information I could get my hands on regarding mode of action (this interested me the most, receptor sites and how they work and what chemicals are released/regulated/used in certain parts of the brain to produce certain effects. But science is soooo boring. It is cool to read about on the side but I could not become passionate over this stuff. But I truly don't use drugs often enough anymore to even say drug use is a passion of mine, so hmm...

When I came to university I became interested in all the injustices of the world. So I'm taking Human Rights, not saying this is in anyway for you, just displaying how much my views changed as I more realistically considered drug studies. Went from scientific to moral, worldly matters. I'm doing Philosophy and Human Rights and Philosophy is all <3<3<3 for me so I'm happy once things pick up and I finish this Math courses (WOOOOOOT!) I'll be a much happier boy.
 
I must say, I once believed that drugs were what interested me. I was reading far more into medical journals and whatever information I could get my hands on regarding mode of action (this interested me the most, receptor sites and how they work and what chemicals are released/regulated/used in certain parts of the brain to produce certain effects. But science is soooo boring. It is cool to read about on the side but I could not become passionate over this stuff. But I truly don't use drugs often enough anymore to even say drug use is a passion of mine, so hmm...

When I came to university I became interested in all the injustices of the world. So I'm taking Human Rights, not saying this is in anyway for you, just displaying how much my views changed as I more realistically considered drug studies. Went from scientific to moral, worldly matters. I'm doing Philosophy and Human Rights and Philosophy is all <3<3<3 for me so I'm happy once things pick up and I finish this Math courses (WOOOOOOT!) I'll be a much happier boy.

law school on the horizon for you?
 
I am dropping out of my university because I simply cannot handle myself at the school I'm in. I will attend a community college for a year, but when I return to a better school I was thinking of getting degrees in Botany and buisness. I don't know which will be the major and the other a minor, but I figure this is a lethal combination. The botany because I have an interest in cutting edge farm and food production techniques which could help to solve all sorts of hunger problems(and growing weed:p) and than the buisness to get the know how to profit from it(the botany studies.) Than once I have enough money I will be able to distribute this technology to the countries and people that need it. I also plan to put together a HUGE agriculture epicenter that cultivates and preserves different varieties of produce that are becoming extinct due to genetically mutated seeds, corporate patents and laws on GM seeds, and cross contamination of aboriginal crops. This will help end the corporate reign of seed companies.

So that is my plan.

P.S. I'm not against corporate america. But seed companies are ruthless. Make the oil companies look like saints.
 
Yes

hello. I'm right now a freshman in college. My major currently is anthropology, and i realized recently that my interests lay elsewhere.


My passion is drugs, and how they interact with the body. What major should i take to pursue a career in researching psychedelics and learning about psychoactives?

definetly more fun
 
Focusing your degree to learn more about recreational drugs is a bad idea.

Studying chemistry and pharmacology and stuff at a university level is waaaaaay different to surfing bluelight thinking about getting high.

You should use the early part of your degree to take a few different courses to see what you're interested in. Do some science sure, but maybe take some psychology or some art history or literature or something to broaden your horizons.

Drugs aren't going to be your only passion forever. Everyone gets over the drug thing eventually.
 
vortex30 - take it ketamine was your drug of choice when drug use was a passion of yours ;).

I'm currently studying pharmacy myself (in my 2nd year) and tho I do take MDMA recreationally from time to time I know that I will never be involved in any kind of synthesis of illigal drugs. trust me if your going to do a course that is that intense your not going to risk it all acting a renegade, i'd imagine its simple enough to practice syntheses until you reach an acceptable level without a 5 year pharmacy degree. On the RC side of things, as many of the previous posts stated if your going to get into that area of research your going to have to be at the top of the field (at least this is the case for pharmacists, to get into any kind of research a phD is probably the minimum your going to need), personally I don't think I would have the dedication (and willingness to sacrifice my social life in aid of study:)) to persue such a goal even though I can say neuropharmacology is one of, imo, the more interesting parts of my course. Myself I chose pharmacy because i'm interested in all therapeutic drugs (be they psychotropic or not ;)) and because i'll have good job prospects and opportunities to travel when I qualify. Good luck anyways whatever you choose.

Also has anybody seen Breaking Bad? tv show about a chemistry teacher who turns to cooking meth to fund his cancer treatment, its a good watch. Just thought about it when I read this thread. Anyway i'm out, I shouldn't be doing this much writing when i'm on my christmas break=D
 
I got a useless BA degree :( and i havent used it once after graduating in 2004.


Thing is i spent all my money on this shit and didnt know there was a student loan!!! (i kno poor informed and all) And now when i want to read a reallyu usefull degree i CANT get a student loan because i alreadhy have a degree.

WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS IT??
 
I feel like doing a course in organic chemistry
But dont have enough resources to be honest
 
Yeah, I am interested medicine/pharmacology. So I ended up studying Chemistry at university. But it turns out that the stuff that they are teaching me (Organic / Inorganic Chemistry) has very little relevance to my interests.

Sometimes I feel like I should drop out or change majors or something, because the stuff I am learning is boring as hell.
 
Get a degree in organic chemistry, spend as much time as possible in the lab while you're there. Learn how to synthesize some unschedule tryptamines and phenethylamines, and take your skills straight to the underground. Don't worry about getting a PhD and research grants.
 
Before you make this mistake (I made this mistake and 'wasted' 2 years as a bio major) ask yourself this one big, important question:

DO I TAKE DRUGS MORE OFTEN THAN I READ MEDICAL JOURNALS / HARD SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE?

If the answer is yes, then you are passionate about taking drugs. Even if they are hallucinogens and your trip dreams revolve around your mind and how it works!

I spent two years in biology, not including my perfect 5 ap bio test which netted me 8 credit hours. After my fourth semester it hit me, memorizing huge quantities of shit about the mesolimbic pathway and blah blah blah is NOT INTERESTING. The only reason to do that is if you're obsessed and love it (you read it for pleasure already) or to suffer your way to a career in medicine. It is all memorizing shit and taking books at face value until you're a grad student. Then you get to tediously explore the smallest section of some biochemical pathway under the dictatorship of some research professor or whatever. Plus you don't ever have prospects for making money.

but don't let me stop you, college isn't that expensive, waste a few years on it to see if you like it. Even take one or two bio classes. LOL I don't know why I post.


Couldnt have put it any better..... Its all fun and games until you hit Organic-Chem. You be surprised how many freshmen "pre-meds" there are versus the exhausted, burntout upper classmen who FINALLY get to begin to apply to schools {something like 33% get accepted btw}
 
one word toxicology, how chems interact with the human/animal body, many diffrent fields that you can pursue, wether it be agricultural, or pharmacutical toxicology. the first being my current major, sophmore year.
 
Go ahead and look at my thread I just posted, you should get some useful info out of people's responses to that too. I asked a question similar to yours but with a little more detail.
 
Get a degree in organic chemistry, spend as much time as possible in the lab while you're there. Learn how to synthesize some unschedule tryptamines and phenethylamines, and take your skills straight to the underground. Don't worry about getting a PhD and research grants.

Really dude? Even Shulgin has a DEA license.
 
Top