Scientifically accurate and easy to read, this no-nonsense handbook gives the most balanced, objective information available on the most often used and abused drugs, from alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine to heroin, ecstasy, and special-K. It reports both in quick-reference summaries and in depth on how these drugs enter the body, how they manipulate the brain, their short-term and long-term effects, the kinds of "high" they produce, and the circumstances in which they can be deadly.

Little information has previously been made accessible to the general public on the most current psychological and pharmacological research on drug use -- and even less that is not distorted by anti-drug hysteria, leading many people, especially young people, to distrust any official pronouncements. But whether the reader is a student confronted with drugs for the first time, an accountant reaching for his fourth cup of coffee, or a health educator, this book will provide a clear understanding of how drugs work and the consequences of their use. Neither a "Just Say No" treatise nor a "How-to" manual, this book is based on the conviction that people make better decisions when well-informed than when in the dark.