Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy

""The gap between scientific information and public information about drugs is growing hour by hour,"" declare the authors of this thorough, popular guide to pharmaceutical and recreational chemicals. The public's misinformation, they say, is only compounded by the fact that most descriptions of drugs' benefits and risks are oversimplified, inaccurate and politicized. Marijuana, for example, is portrayed by some organizations as a wonder drug, and by others as a dangerous contagion. The authors' guide aims to avoid such pitfalls. Divided into a dozen sections--Alcohol, Caffeine, Ecstasy, Hallucinogens, Herbal Drugs, Inhalants, Marijuana, Nicotine, Opiates, Sedatives, Steroids, and Stimulants--the book adopts a straight, neutral tone that reflects its commitment to providing unbiased, scientific fact. As professors at the Duke University Medical Center, Khun, Swartzwelder and Wilson are well-qualified to analyze and synthesize lots of complicated information, and this second edition of the guide has been fully revised to reflect scientists' growing knowledge of how chemicals of all kinds affect our health and development. Best of all, the descriptions are jargon-free, making this book a great choice for anyone looking for clear, reliable information about any kind of drug. 8 pages color illustrations not seen by PW.