HLTH 449Substance use in Contemporary Society
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Health
- Subject
- Public Health Sciences
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course will provide an overview of substance use in contemporary society. Students will develop a critical understanding of substance use pleasures, risks, or harms, and related public health interventions and strategies. Students will explore the social, political, economic, and biological determinants of substance use, and then critically examine real-world drug policy and practice issues.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
- Students must be in level 4A or higher
- Complete 1 of the following
- Enrolled in Addictions, Mental Health, & Policy Minor, H-Health Sciences, or H-Public Health
- Enrolled in Health Studies
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEM 001 | 7645 | 0 / 20 | F 11:30–14:20 |
| SEM 701 | 8231 | 62 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
100% liked it100% easy100% useful
From 2 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
amazing course, engaging and interesting - perfect amount of course work for a fourth year course
Mar 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Learned a lot. Highly recommend (especially as AMHP minor elective if you're completing that)! Course breakdown is 25% participation (10% for submitting weekly discussion questions, 15% for coming to class and participating), 30% seminar that you deliver with a partner (or two), 35% final paper, 10% final paper proposal. Apparently there wasn't much course info until now cause last offering was ~10 years ago.
Mar 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
4 posts and comments in 2 threads mention HLTH 449, July 2015 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2020
Does anyone know the terms HLTH 449 and HLTH 471 are typically offered in? 2 points, 4 comments
u/girlieirlie725: “Thanks in advance!”
u/uwactscquestion: “https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/cscf/teaching/schedule/expert”
u/girlieirlie725: “i still can't seem to find when HLTH 449 is offered tho lol, but thanks anyways!”
u/Ob1canolli1: “HLTH 471 is offered this winter term but it’s full, I’m pretty sure it’s only offered winter term HLTH 449 has to be a new course, never seen it before”
Spring 2015
Any fun/interesting courses in Health Studies? 3 points, 6 comments
“I'm interested in taking one of my electives with that faculty. Anyone have any classes they might want to recommend that they thought were good?”
u/GramTheDon: “… - HLTH449 Alcohol and Drugs sem. - Would be a cool seminar about booze & drugs. - HLTH447 Psychopharmacology - Was one of my all time favorite courses. Really cool if you like drugs, brains, or brains on drugs. …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them