Based on the most current psychological and pharmacological research, provides a reliable, unbiased look at the use and abuse of legal and illegal drugs -- from alcohol, caffeine, and anti-anxiety pills to heroin, ecstasy, and special-K.

While there have always been norms and customs around the use of drugs, explicit public policies--regulations, taxes, and prohibitions--designed to control drug abuse are a more recent phenomenon. Those policies sometimes have terrible side-effects: most prominently the development of criminal enterprises dealing in forbidden (or untaxed) drugs and the use of the profits of drug-dealing to finance insurgency and terrorism. Neither a drug-free world nor a world of free drugs seems to be on offer, leaving citizens and officials to face the age-old problem: What are we going to do about drugs? In Drugs and Drug Policy, three noted authorities survey the subject with exceptional clarity, in this addition to the acclaimed series, What Everyone Needs to Know®. They begin, by defining "drugs," examining how they work in the brain, discussing the nature of addiction, and exploring the damage they do to users. The book moves on to policy, answering questions about legalization, the role of criminal prohibitions, and the relative legal tolerance for alcohol and tobacco. The authors then dissect the illicit trade, from street dealers to the flow of money to the effect of catching kingpins, and show the precise nature of the relationship between drugs and crime. They examine treatment, both its effectiveness and the role of public policy, and discuss the beneficial effects of some abusable substances. Finally they move outward to look at the role of drugs in our foreign policy, their relationship to terrorism, and the ugly politics that surround the issue. Crisp, clear, and comprehensive, this is a handy and up-to-date overview of one of the most pressing topics in today's world. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

Offers a common-sense guide for parents on how to provide their children with the essential information about drugs and alcohol.

Provides information on drug and alcohol use, shares the stories of families who have lived through addiction, and teaches readers how to navigate peer pressure and stress.

A world-renowned authority on the science of alcohol exposes its influence on our health, mood, sleep, emotions, and productivity -- and what we can and should do to moderate our intake. From after-work happy hour to a nightly glass of wine, we're used to thinking of alcohol as a normal part of our daily lives. In Drink?, neuropharmacology professor David Nutt takes a fascinating, science-based look at drinking to unpack why we should reconsider our favorite pastime. Using cutting-edge scientific research and years of hands-on experience in the field, Nutt delves into the long- and short-term effects of alcohol. He addresses topics such as hormones, mental health, fertility, and addiction, explaining how alcohol travels through our bodies and brains, what happens at each stage of inebriation, and how it effects us even after it leaves our systems. With accessible, easy-to-understand language, Nutt ensures that readers recognize why alcohol can have such a negative influence on our bodies and our society. In the vein of This Naked Mind,Drink? isn't preachy; it simply gives readers clear, evidence-based facts to help them make the most informed choices about their consumption.

The dangers of illegal drugs are well known and rarely disputed, but how harmful are alcohol and tobacco by comparison? The issue of what a drug is and how we should live with them affects us all: parents, teachers, users – anyone who has taken a painkiller or drunk a glass of wine. Written by renowned psychiatrist, Professor David Nutt, Drugs without the hot air casts a refreshingly honest light on drugs and answers crucial questions that are rarely ever disputed. What are we missing by banning medical research into magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis? Can they be sources of valuable treatments? How can psychedelics treat depression? Drugs without the hot air covers a wide range of topics, from addiction and whether addictive personalities exist to the role of cannabis in treating epilepsy, an overview on the opioid crisis, and an assessment of how harmful vaping is. This new expanded and revised second edition includes even more details on international policies, particularly in the US. David's research has won international support, reducing drug-related harm by introducing policies that are founded on scientific evidence. But there is still a lot to be done. Accessibly written, this much-awaited second edition is an important book for everyone that brings us all up to date with the 'war of drugs'.

High Price is the harrowing and inspiring memoir of neuroscientist Carl Hart, a man who grew up in one of Miami’s toughest neighborhoods and, determined to make a difference as an adult, tirelessly applies his scientific training to help save real lives. Young Carl didn't see the value of school, studying just enough to keep him on the basketball team. Today, he is a cutting-edge neuroscientist—Columbia University’s first tenured African American professor in the sciences—whose landmark, controversial research is redefining our understanding of addiction. In this provocative and eye-opening memoir, Dr. Carl Hart recalls his journey of self-discovery, how he escaped a life of crime and drugs and avoided becoming one of the crack addicts he now studies. Interweaving past and present, Hart goes beyond the hype as he examines the relationship between drugs and pleasure, choice, and motivation, both in the brain and in society. His findings shed new light on common ideas about race, poverty, and drugs, and explain why current policies are failing.

The authors provide insight into the world of college drug dealers, affluent, upwardly mobile students who have everything to lose and little to gain, and offer an important corrective to the traditional distorted view of the US drug trade as primarily involving poor minorities. Drawing on six years of fieldwork at a predominately white private university, their ethnography explores issues of deviance, race, and stratification in the US war on drugs.

Does Ecstasy cause brain damage? Why is crack more addictive than cocaine? What questions regarding drugs are legal to ask in a job interview? When does marijuana possession carry a greater prison sentence than murder? Illegal Drugs is the first comprehensive reference to offer timely, pertinent information on every drug currently prohibited by law in the United States. It includes their histories, chemical properties and effects, medical uses and recreational abuses, and associated health problems, as well as addiction and treatment information. Additional survey chapters discuss general and historical information on illegal drug use, the effect of drugs on the brain, the war on drugs, drugs in the workplace, the economy and culture of illegal drugs, and information on thirty-three psychoactive drugs that are legal in the United States, from caffeine, alcohol and tobacco to betel nuts and kava kava.

Equips the upcoming generation of addiction counselors with crucial knowledge to skillfully treat current and future addictions Grounded in leading-edge, evidence-based research, this hands-on text applies a step-by-step approach to addictions counseling. This book encompasses assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning; case management; and relapse prevention, with an incisive focus on process addictions and co-occurring disorders. The text covers all essential topics as outlined in the gold standard SAMSHA Counselor Training Manual. Included are detailed guidelines on how to write succinct treatment plans and conduct effective client sessions; case studies; role-playing exercises; and clinical applications to assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning, and case management. Counselor Perspectives--interviews with experienced clinicians working with varied populations throughout the country--offer the wisdom of those who have been there. Critical topics unique to the book include the role of neuroscience in addiction treatment, relapse prevention, and advocacy. In addition, the text offers specific chapters on process addictions and co-occuring disorders as well as a separate chapter on multicultural counseling covering gender, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, age, religion, and disability issues. It is also distinguished by an abundance of downloadable forms and documents, including screening instruments, treatment plan format templates, treatment plan examples, biopsychosocial assessment forms, informed consent forms, confidentiality forms, case management forms, and more. Pedagogical elements to help learners process and apply concepts inlcude key terms, learning activities, discussion questions, recommended readings/resources and chapter summaries. Faculty aides include an instructor's manual with sample syllabi, CACREP mapping tools, test bank, and PowerPoint slides. This essential resource will be valued as a primary textbook for any course that focuses on addiction counseling and treatment. Purchase includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers. Key Features: Describes a variety of etiological models and how they become a means of assessing biopsychosocial risk factors Delivers step-by-step guidelines on how to write concise treatment plans and for conducting effective treatment sessions Devotes a chapter to motivational interviewing to promote willingness to change Includes cutting-edge research pertaining to neuroscience and its applications and evidence-based treatment practices Provides separate chapter on multicultural counseling and substance use disorders among people of diverse races, ethnicities, genders, class, ages, and spirituality Offers real-world insights with "Notes from the Field" feature Facilitates practical application through role play exercises, treatment technique and assessment case examples, biopsychosocial assessment guidelines, how to provide client feedback, and more Includes multiple digital downloadable tools