Accessible guide for healthcare professionals offers data on drug abuse. Updated edition includes material on gamma hydroxbutyrate and the Internet as an information resource. Also discusses LSD, OTC, cannabis, opioids, performance-enhancing drugs, and volatile substances.

Critical Issues in Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse Testing, Second Edition, addresses the general principles and technological advances for measuring drugs and alcohol, along with the pitfalls of drugs of abuse testing. Many designer drugs, for example, are not routinely tested in drugs of abuse panels and may go undetected in a drug test. This updated edition is a must-have for clinical pathologists, toxicologists, clinicians, and medical review officers and regulators, bridging the gap between technical and clinical information. Topics of note include the monitoring of pain management drugs, bath salts, spices (synthetic marijuana), designer drugs and date rape drugs, and more. - Serves as a ready resource of information for alcohol and drug testing - Ideal resource for making decisions related to the monitoring and interpretation of results - Includes concise content for clinical laboratory scientists, toxicologists and clinicians

Drug abuse and addiction are common in clinical practice. Often they interfere with patient treatment or require an alternative approach. Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment is a major contribution to the literature, a gold standard title offering a comprehensive range of topics for those who care for patients with addiction, conduct research in this area, or simply have an interest in the field. Offering state-of-the-art information for all those working with drug abusing or addicted patients, or for those interested in this topic from other research perspectives, the volume is a first of its kind book -- rich, comprehensive, yet focused, addressing the needs of the very active theoretical, basic, and clinical research in the field. Comprised of 46 chapters organized in four sections and developed by the leading international experts, Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment covers virtually every core, as well as contemporary, topic on addiction, from the established theories to the most modern research and development in the field. Enhancing the educational value of the volume, every chapter includes an abstract and two boxes summarizing learning objectives and directions for future research. Drug Abuse and Addiction in Medical Illness: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment discusses the topic in a authoritative, systematic manner and is an indispensable reference for all clinicians and researchers interested in this rapidly changing field.

Drug use and abuse continues to thrive in contemporary society worldwide and the instance and damage caused by addiction increases along with availability. The Effects of Drug Abuse on the Human Nervous System presents objective, state-of-the-art information on the impact of drug abuse on the human nervous system, with each chapter offering a specific focus on nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, sedative-hypnotics, and designer drugs. Other chapters provide a context for drug use, with overviews of use and consequences, epidemiology and risk factors, genetics of use and treatment success, and strategies to screen populations and provide appropriate interventions. The book offers meaningful, relevant and timely information for scientists, health-care professionals and treatment providers. - A comprehensive reference on the effects of drug addiction on the human nervous system - Focuses on core drug addiction issues from nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and other commonly abused drugs - Includes foundational science chapters on the biology of addiction - Details challenges in diagnosis and treatment options

This book provides a broad reference covering important drugs of abuse including amphetamines, opiates, and steroids. It also covers psychoactive plants such as caffeine, peyote, and psilocybin. It provides chemical structures, analytical methods, clinical features, and treatments of these drugs of abuse, serving as a highly useful, in-depth supplement to a general medical toxicology book. The style allows for the easy application of the contents to searchable databases and other electronic products, making this an essential resource for practitioners in medical toxicology, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, pharmaceuticals, environmental organizations, pathology, and related fields.

Finally - a book that covers all aspects of the illicit use of cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy and/or designer drugs such as GHB, written by two experts in their field. The use of these drugs remains a continuous threat in health and medical care delivery, and this book will be an essential asset to the physician who may have to face the evaluation of patients whose use of these drugs compromises an effective treatment plan for other health issues. The book has been conceived to fill the void in existing physician reference materials, and provides a comprehensive review of the theoretical knowledge and scope of pharmacotherapy in individuals who are hooked on a psychoactive substance. While detailed scientific information is obtainable in other major articles, the book's straightforward format and style, along with its illustrations, will make for easy reading as emphasis is put on information specifically related to drugs that occur most abused in today’s society. The information provided is based on clinical practice rather than pure experimental data, which will give the physician more effective tools useful in their daily practice. Many mechanisms of action of abuse are described in detail and references are provided to direct the reader to further sources for additional information. As a special feature, the book incorporates uncluttered tables and charts, which result in immediate clarification of the mode of action on the central nervous system and the reason for misuse, thus avoiding usual long and fatiguing text in common reference books. The book aims to give the reader a clear and concise plan on what to do when being faced with an overdose situation. A well-organized Table of Contents rapidly leads the reader from general pharmacological issues to the specific overdose syndrome and its management. Additionally, significant emphasis is placed on the practical do's and don’ts for physicians, with special reference to the predictive signs of aberrant drug-related behavior and the identification of the drug diverter by using urine drug screening.

This volume features a comprehensive set of protocols featuring a range of both old and new technologies that can be used to analyze drugs of abuse, including prescription drugs, new psychoactive substances and psychoactive plants. Chapters guide readers through the application of color tests, light microscopy-based particle imaging, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, capillary electrophoresis, ultra-high performance LC-tandem MS, DART-MS, MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging, LC-MS/MS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS to the analysis of abused drugs in wastewater, hair, urine and plant-derived materials, among other matrices. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Analysis of Drugs of Abuse aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Methods of Assessing the Reinforcing Properties of Abused Drugs presents a synopsis of the preclinical procedures used to assess drug reinforcement. Researchers using one technique are provided with an overview of the other available methods, and clinicians who wish to evaluate drug abuse research reports can gain the necessary background from this volume. Although emphasis is placed on the methodological aspects of assessing drug reinforcement, some of the scientific conclusions derived from using these techniques are also presented. This edited collection offers a lasting framework for interpreting the results of current experimental findings.

Drug Abuse: Concepts, Prevention, and Cessation serves as a comprehensive source of information on the topography of, causes of, and solutions to drug problems. The text covers conceptual issues regarding definitions of drug use, misuse, abuse, and dependence. Importantly, the text addresses a variety of theoretical bases currently applied to the development of prevention and cessation programs, specific program content from evidence-based programs, and program processes and modalities. Information regarding etiology, prevention, and cessation is neatly delineated into (a) neurobiological, (b) cognitive, (c) micro-social, and (d) macro-social/physical environmental units. The book is ideally suited as a primary source for students and professionals in chemical dependence programs, clinical and health psychology, public health, preventive medicine, nursing, sociology, and social work, among other fields, on the nature, causes, prevention, and cessation of the abuse of legal and illegal drugs.

This volume is intended for clinicians, researchers, residents, and students. The range is wide and the depth considerable for all the topics covered in the treatment of this timely and relevant subject. This book may serve equally well as a general introduction and a scholarly reference. Ultimately, it is designed to serve those patients suffering from abuse of and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The content and organization of the book flow from general concepts of abuse and addiction to specific details of the pharmacology of alcohol and drugs. Special chapters on topics not found in most other books, such as pharmacology of drug-drug interactions, abstinence, and prevention, are included. This book is written especially for the clinician interested in the pharma cology of alcohol and drugs of abuse and addiction. The pharmacology is integrated into a conceptual approach to diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. The form and style are didactic, critical as well as straightforward in presentation. Literature references from recent clinical research and basic research provide the foundation for the chapters throughout the book. Be cause the book is written by a clinician-researcher, the information is readily adaptable to clinical problems and research ideas. I would like to express my deep appreciation to Susan Newsom and Darlene Tucci for their invaluable technical assistance. Norman S. Miller vii Contents Preface ....................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Pharmacological Effects of Alcohol and Drugs and Addiction on the Brain and Behavior .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 1 . . . . . .