Illegal Drugs

Paul Gahlinger

Dec 2003 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

The reason the author wrote this book was to educate those unaware of the effects illegal drugs has to ones body and mind as well. He accomplished this goal by providing a thorough description of each drug and the repercussions it has to the body. When I first read this book, I wasn't aware of the formatting and how the author would present the information. Most chapters were easy to understand, and throughout the book I began to notice several patterns in which the chapters were divided. The thing I found most interesting from this book is how most of the drugs mentioned in the book share a lot of things in common. For example, two drugs might share the same withdrawal symptoms. Every chapter was similar in terms of how the information was listed. However, the book became entirely too repetitive. Repetition made reading the book somewhat boring. In efforts to resolve this dilemma, the author could consider dividing each chapter differently. Therefore, the book is more appealing and can encourage readers to learn more about the chemical components of illegal drugs. I recommend this book for those of my age to read. Illegal drugs can aspire students to learn more about chemistry and

It seems to me that this whole "control" of psychoactive chemicals is simply just that. Control. People want these chemicals, so the government... being wiser and obviously better at making decisions about your own life than you are, figured they can control everything for profit. Just follow the money. Opium Wars...Britain rapes China and even takes Hong Kong for their own. Big Business trying to control competition by making hemp illegal. Seriously...why are drugs illegal?? Because the government knows you want it and knows a black market will arise, so they can then confiscate anything and everything assocaited with it's production and distribution. Free cash. Free cars. Free airplanes, etc. Why do you think the CIA continues to opertae clandestine missions?? They use stolen drug money to finance it all. The War on Drugs is and always will be, a BIG JOKE and not about your health and safety but about controlling you. Getting you to submit to the all-powerful government. Oh, and yeah...so they can make billions by stealing all your money, taking your house and confiscating everything you own for their own profit. After all, THEY write the laws and the consequences. Right? How convenient. This book shows the history of this control and profiteering by governments and EVERYONE should read it.

I have done many drugs in my time. I have always had a curiosity about them and their history. This book covered it well. As a recovering addict I wish well on the success of other addicts to stay sober and informed.

About the author

 Dr. Paul Gahlinger has been involved in drug research since 1984 and is a professor of medicine at the University of Utah.  He is a certified substance abuse medical review officer, an FAA aviation medical examiner, and a consultant for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, and a passionate spokesperson on drug issues.