The course provides an introduction/overview to the understanding of the role of drugs in health and disease. It will also provide background to the impact of colonization on the the use of addictive pharmaceutical and psychotropic drugs among Indigenous peoples. The course provides students with the knowledge of the differences between psychoactive and psychotropic drugs, and considers the impact on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous users. It will assist students to know the different types of illicit drugs and over-the-counter drugs.