Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

AD 101 Addiction CRN 10858 Class Details

For a more comprehensive and interactive overview of this class, please visit our website to access the Liquid Class Syllabus.

If you are unable to attend Week 1 to avoid being dropped from the course as a NO SHOW pls visit What if I am unable to attend week one?

This course spans 11 weeks and will be conducted remotely on Tuesdays, from 6:00 pm to 8:50 pm, January 6th through March 17th, 2026. Assignments are due at the beginning of each class.

While optional, it is crucial to offer some individual live Zoom sessions to get to know each other better.  Scheduling these sessions can be challenging due to various scheduling needs.  If you’re interested in scheduling a Zoom meeting, please reach out to me via email at guadalupe.aragon@pcc.edu.  Please include your “First Name” and “AD 101” in the subject line in every email. We will do our best to respond within 24 – 48 hours Monday through Friday!

The class provides a basic overview of addiction.  Considers the contribution of early childhood trauma on the developing brain and its influence on addictive behaviors, the signs and symptoms of addiction, the continuum of addictive behaviors, treatment, prevention, recovery, and relapse.  This is not a “counseling” course rather it is a course intended to provide essential information toward understanding the various aspects of addiction, treatment, and recovery. 

This course is a prerequisite for acceptance into the Addiction Counseling Program (C or above is required).

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Understand the evolving nature of addiction science and how to remain current in the field.
2. Understand the career pathways and certifications related to providing addiction specific services in the States of Oregon and Washington.
3. Describe the essentials of interpersonal neurobiology as it relates to trauma and the development of addictive behaviors.

Go to CCOG for a complete Course Content and Outcomes Guide.

Required Materials:

• Inaba, D., & Cohen, W. E. (2014). Uppers, Downers, All Arounders: Physical and Mental Effects of Psychoactive Drugs. Medford, OR: CNS Publications, Inc.
• Maté, G., & Ph., P. L. A. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction (Illustrated ed.). North Atlantic Books.

Recommendation:

Hanson, G. R., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2017).  Drugs and Society (13th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.  You can find it at PCC Library Online.

Additional resources for each topic and class will be available on D2L Brightspace each week.  These may include videos, articles, and websites for infographics.

Course Requirements

Attendance & Participation (27% of Final Grade):

Portland Community College leadership get that the more you show up the more successful you will be! 

1. Attendance - Students agree to attend all classes, however if you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to text the instructor prior to class.
2. In this course, a student who is absent more than six (6) hours of class (including finals week) will not be eligible to earn a passing grade, which will result in retaking the class. 
3. Participation - Participation will be evaluated using the “Classroom Etiquette” guidelines listed in the next section of this document and the Student Zoom Etiquette Guidelines.

  Attendance and participation are worth 10 points per day for a total of 100 points, or 27% of your final grade. 

Assignments

Self-care Assessment & Self-care Agreement Assignments (6% of Final Grade):

You will be asked to complete a Self-care Assessment and a Self-care Agreement for managing coursework and stress. These two assignments are worth 10 points each for a total of 20 points or 6% of your final grade.

Support Meetings Assignment & Reflections (6% of Final Grade):

Attend two support groups and write a one-page reflection on each. Online meetings are suggested. Resources will be provided in week 7; reflections are due in week 11. These two assignments & reflections are worth 10 points each for a total of 20 points or 6% of your final grade.

Addiction Project - Discussions (28% of Final Grade):

Choose something to give up for the term and document your experience weekly. Each week, (Week 1 - 9) write a reflection on your challenges; make sure and apply class concepts for that week.

• Initial discussion post (7 points, due Thursdays) and a
• Reply (3 points, due Sundays). 

Each discussion post and reply are worth 10 points for a total of 90 points, and all discussions together account for 28% of your final grade. 

Quizzes

Week 1 Quizzes (5% of Final Grade):

The first quiz (Liquid Class Syllabus Quiz) is worth 10 points and is due September 23rd, 2025 - for a total of 10 points. 

The second quiz (Course Information Quiz) is worth 10 points. These first two quizzes are worth 20 points and account for 5% of your final grade.

Remaining Weekly Quizzes (28% of Final Grade):

The remaining quizzes (Module 1 - 9) are related to the weekly lecture and reading material and are worth 10 points each for a total of 90 points or 28% of your final grade.

All quizzes combined are worth 110 points and account for 33% of your final grade.  All quizzes are auto graded.

Final Exam

There is no final exam for this course.

Technology

For this course, we will be using Open Educational Resources, and all required materials will be available electronically and posted on D2L Brightspace. 

We will be using Google Docs, Google Sheets, PDFs, Power Points, and some Word Docs. 

Digital Navigators

Digital Navigators are trusted guides who address the whole digital inclusion process — home connectivity, affordable devices, and digital skills training — with students and community members.