Carl Hart

Honestly I wish I didn't take this course, I wouldn't advise anyone to take this course either. The lectures are engaging but the exams are extreme and are based from a book that professor Hart wrote himself. you have to remember dates and policies and its exhausting. The reviews will not help for the exam. from my experience, none of the information covered in the reviews was on the exam. though you can pass this course with a very long grade, if you have any plans for grad school I would advise you to stay clear from this horror show. in my opinion the entire psychology department here is a shit show. Beware and take at your own risk.

The worst class ever!! If you're not a PSYC major, don't bother taking the class (all my colleagues in my major + others did horrible when it came to final grades B- and lower). I did all the required readings, journal entries, aced the presentation, and still wasn't appreciated. What a Loser!! Oh well, we all live life to learn, good luck to all!!

I have a lot to say about this class. Firstly, it is hardly a psychology class, more a sociology class with some chemistry and psychology thrown in. In terms of course content, I found it very interesting but outrageously one-sided to Hart's personal beliefs. The evidence and arguments presented in class and in the textbook (which he wrote) are so dismissive of dissenting arguments that it almost makes me skeptical of the motives of professor Hart. Similarly, in class he is quick to dismiss anyone who brings up alternative evidence and is pretty self-righteous about his beliefs. Overall I'm very glad I took the course because I learned loads about drugs and their place in our society, as well as Hart's (admittedly well-argued and strong) opinion -- which, spoiler, is that no drugs are "evil" and all should be legalized. That being said, you kinda just have to sit back and regurgitate what he says in class or else you're kinda screwed when it comes to examination. Added bonus, professor Hart is a fascinating person and public figure that is entertaining and interesting to listen to, period.

Carl Hart, what a guy. I took drugs and behavior with Prof. Hart last semester and thought he was interesting and a decent professor, but in this smaller seminar I really got to know him. In the typical seminar-style, much of the class is student discussion, so Hart doesn't exactly teach, per se, but rather encourages a certain type of thinking. The atmosphere is very personal and Hart knows everyone's name. Class is 2 hours but really flies by. Just a fun time. The class focuses on a different drug every year, so it's fun to learn about a single substances really in depth. Although, if you think you'll be bored by reading about rats every week, don't take it...because that's the majority of the reading. Yet, the discussion in class is interesting enough to make up for any boring-ness of the readings.

Very, very frustrating experience. The overarching idea of the class is interesting but simple ("we're not told the truth about drugs"), but the prof's lectures are a bizarre mixture of sometimes very science-focused, sometimes purely anecdotal, sometimes just pushing his personal beliefs - all of which overlaps and contradicts. He is literally aggressive when anyone asks questions that challenge his ideas, and he is definitely a bit narcissistic. More annoying, the lectures generally have a very laissez-faire, conversational tone (he even insisted he "wasn't trying to trick anybody" several times) but the exams are very challenging and detail-oriented, to the point that for the final it was easy to observe many people just openly cheating on their phones (which, hey - if that's your game, prof is not present for exams and the TAs don't care to monitor at all). To be fair, I did not go to office hours (dunno if he actually attends or just TAs), but it really felt like the first prof I've had that did not overtly care for his students welfare and success. Maybe I've been spoiled so far.

This is a really interesting class content wise, and there is no homework or anything but the tests are SO HARD. I ended up PDFing it just because we cover so much material and the tests are unbelievably specific. Overall though I learned a lot, and Hart is a great professor.

A very interesting topic and manageable class; however, the emphasis on poor policy and lack of understanding of drugs amid even scientists themselves seemed to simply contribute to the hysteria he so ardently opposes. Takeaway from the class: nothing the media prints, no studies previously done on drugs are reliable and factual except his (even though in some cases only a handful of participants are studied). Every drug has predictable effects and so our basic understanding of drugs as a society is flawed. Just complete hysteria and exaggeration serves as the underlying current for the course and this to me went against the critical thinking he advocated so much for. With this said, lectures are engaging and the topic is interesting. He is also inspiring, as the light he shines on flawed policy and marginalization of minorities is extremely important and interesting. However, get ready to read his memoir and textbook written by his very own self and to regurgitate what is sad in lecture on the exams. For a professor who pretends he cares so much, he is unresponsive by email, which was disappointing. His celebrity status is important to him, in case you're curious.

WOW! His class is amazing and it really makes you realize that you know nothing about the true effects of drugs and the policies enforced. You will learn a lot from his class and the material will stay with you as the facts he says are extremely interesting. His classes are very interactive and interesting. He lectures from memory and from a power point presentation but does not post the lectures so you have to pay attention and write. He leaves each slide on the screen for a while and they aren't text heavy so it's very easy to listen and write at the same time. He requires a text book (that he wrote) and his autobiography. Might sound a bit pretentious but they are the best text out there on the subject without being bias. I rented both and ended up keeping them as I found them to be very interesting and helpful. Also, if you're planning on making this subject your career, knowing him will open many many doors. Plus, the videos he shows are hilarious and make strong statements. He uses Dave Chappelle and John Oliver. Take his class!!!

I loved this class! Even though lectures were at 8:40, I attended them all gladly because they were always super interesting. I thought Professor Hart was a great lecturer. If you're a psych major who isn't too interested in the brain/biology/neuroscience side of things (like me) then this is a great course too fulfill your neuroscience requirement because it isn't too heavy on that stuff. You will learn a lot and gain a lot of new perspective on drugs and drug use. However, I do have a couple of complaints... the tests were kind of ridiculous. He would give us these huge study guides and I would take hours going over all of the material on them, and then the test questions would come out of nowhere and I felt like I had wasted my time. I started working on the study guides at least a week in advance and studied for hours and got B's on all the tests. And I think B's were on the higher end of things....I saw a lot of grades in the 60s and 70s being passed back and one of my friends who also studied a lot consistently scored in the 70s. There isn't really a curve either, because I ended up with a B in the class. Second complaint is about the head TA Allison. I met with her to go over one of my tests and she was unbelievably rude and condescending to me. My friend had a similar experience. So if you want help in this class, definitely go to a different TA, even though she is kin…

I don’t usually write reviews, but I felt a deep disgust in my stomach when reading the review below. The criticism against this class and the professor largely focuses on the ‘boring’ and ‘stupid’ materials taught in a ‘severely anti-intellectual and mind-numbingly disorganized’ manner. But, this course did teach us about drug policies and pharmacokinetics. In fact, everything else taught was built upon these two major topics. Not only does Carl explain their effects on the public, but he also exposes us to the multiple methods in which the media and even researchers manipulate data to make any statement they want. Carl provides and inspires meticulous methods of reading research papers to demonstrate how the some conclusions made in the media such as the NY times are not demonstrated in the actual research, a problem which we need to be highly conscious of as thinkers. Carl integrates the ‘easy’ properties about drugs with the stupid politics of the real world to question our own deep-rooted biases against/for certain drugs. Therefore, people who believe this course is ‘boring’ and ‘stupid’ are either referring to the drug policies that exist today or to herself. But this course should not be criticized for making us more aware of our biases against drugs and aware of the 'stupid and boring' politics. Instead, this course should be praised for this enlightenment and the inte…