Comparison of Cocaine Information in NIDA and DPA
The drug is a substance that, when administered into the body, alters how the body functions. The effects are physical or psychological. The following is a list of drugs abused; Cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. Abuse of these drugs have both long-term and short-term effects. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) leading organization that are leading in advancing and teaching the public about drugs and their consequences in human body. Besides, these alliances, especially DPA, help in promoting the policies of the medicines which are anchored in science, health, compassion, and human rights. Both the organization’s relay essential information is useful to the user concerning a specific drug (Palamar 110). For instance, if one wants to know about the effects of a certain drugs like heroin, then they will be able to find this information in the official website of NIDA and DPA. The primary purpose of this paper is to compare the information of Cocaine in these two organizations (NIDA and DPA).
Cocaine is known as one of the most addictive stimulant drugs which are obtained from the Erythroxylon coca Lam leaves, coca plant species. It is cultivated in Andean, South America. Cocaine is plausibly used for medical reasons, especially as anesthesia when performing some surgeries. On the other hand, it is illegally used for recreational purposes.
DPA has stylistically presented its information about Cocaine. The following are styles used in conveying a message, namely, use of graphics such as images, use of multimedia such as videos and text. ‘Images speak louder than words’ is a common phrase we usually use in everyday life. DPA used this strategy to reach out to its general public. In this particular context, images are used with corresponding text to explain further what is presented in the picture. For instance, when coca leaves are drawn, then there is the text accompanying it to show that it is coca leaves. The use of videos is also evident in the DPA website and is one of the styles used to its’ targeted group. Some people do not like reading and may ignore text; however, appealing it may be. To make sure that no one is left out as far as drug issues are concerned, DPA has adopted the use of videos to help their customers in learning more about drugs. The use of text is also on the DPA website. The purpose of the book is most common in many organizations. The use of plain text is not worthwhile. For a document to be called a style, then what matters is how it has been used, its font, and color. This is what makes it appealing, able to catch the reader’s eye.
Lastly, the content in DPA is presented in frames form. This means that if a reader wants to know what is Cocaine, then he/she can access that information by clicking ‘What is cocaine?’ from its specific frame. Thus, most of subtopics about a particular drug are in frames. The website is relying on the pharmacological study.
NIDA has tactically used images and text. Images are used to explain more about a drug presented. For instance, Cocaine is in powder form and can be sold in sachets. Also, there is an image of the brain and this may mean that the drug affects the brain. Text is used and has been formatting way possible to be appealing to the user. For instance, there is the use of color, different fonts and subtitles are in bold to show that this is a sub-topic of Cocaine or any other drug.
The content on this website is presented in prose form, with each webpage explaining in details about a drug. The subtopics in Cocaine are as follows; what is Cocaine? How do people use Cocaine? Long-term effects of Cocaine and short-term impact of Cocaine. The website is relying on the pharmacological study.
The two sites seem to share a lot in common but different in the stylistic presentation of contents. Some of the differences found in these two websites are as follows; altered use of images, different content presentations, and DPA does not use videos while NIDA uses videos (Beeler-Stinn).
Images
Different images are used to convey the same message. In NIDA, Cocaine is presented in sachets while in DPA, Cocaine is offered in powder form. Coca plant leaves images are used in DPA and missing in NIDA. NIDA also uses brain image in demonstrating how the brain is affected by Cocaine, which is missing in DPA.
Use of videos
There is the use of videos in the DPA website, which gives a variety of reading resources as compared to NIDA. DPA has a video that explains ten facts about Cocaine.
Content Presentation
Content is presented differently on two websites. For instance, topics about Cocaine in NIDA are not the same in DPA. There are short-term effects of the thesis in NIDA, which is missing in DPA. The same case applies to DPA, whereby a question like ‘What happens when you mix cocaine with other drugs?’ which loses in NIDA (Lindsay).
Conclusion
NIDA is the most useful website when it comes to enhancing policies and providing policies about Cocaine. This is because it explains the essential details information required to be known by the reader. It is best to recommend to a friend and seems honest and reliable. It is best to base social policies.
Work Cited
Beeler-Stinn, Sara, Shih-Ying Cheng, and David Patterson Silver Wolf. “A Case Study of a Network Analysis of Drug Use and Emergency Department Visits in St. Louis: Supporting a Quicker Rehabilitation.” Journal of Life Care Planning 16.2 (2018).
Lindsay, Anne R. “A comparison of beliefs and attitudes about body image, eating and weight between incarcerated and non-~ incarcerated females.” (2015).
Palamar, Joseph J., et al. “Powder cocaine and crack use in the United States: An examination of risk for arrest and socioeconomic disparities in use.” Drug and alcohol dependence 149 (2015): 108-116.