This new edition provides an up-to-date examination of the key issues of the drug problem, including cigarettes, heroin, alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. It offers a current review of definitions of drug use and dependence, the latest developments regarding tobacco use and the historical agreement between government and industry, and research and analysis from a cross-cultural perspective. A detailed account of opium and heroin distribution and control in the region of Afghanistan provide valuable insight. Whether it be illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine or legal substances including cigarettes and alcohol, drug use is a deeply imbedded characteristic of society. An immense amount of money and human resources is spent in the United States to address drug use. For example, the cost of substance abuse to the U.S. economy each year is estimated to be over $414 billion. In terms of illegal drugs alone, the U.S. drug market has been estimated to be $150 billion a year. The annual federal anti-drug budget for law enforcement is about $12 billion per year; and about $3 billion goes to overseas drug wars alone with about half of that amount going to Colombia to eliminate opium and coca cultivation. It has been reported that substance abuse and addiction will add at least $41 billion to the costs of elementary and secondary education for 2001 due to class disruption and violence, special education and tutoring, teacher turnover, truancy, children left behind, student assistance programs, property damage, injury, and counseling. The cost to the nation for each of its hard-core addicts, per year, is about $30,000. The amount spent on the drug problem does not include the cost of drug use measured in human suffering, increased violence, and lost lives, nor does it include the damage done by cigarettes and alcohol. The second, updated edition of this important work examines issues about the use and abuse of legal and illegal drugs from multiple perspectives including the social context of reality, historical and present patterns of use, causal factors associated with addiction, research findings including those of a cross-cultural nature, case studies of addicts, and the management of services provision.

The articles in this collection provide an overview of the research and writing on this topic between 1991 and 1995.

"This resource will educate students and pharmacists on traditional drug information topics while providing an extensive background on more recent practice areas. This is a user-friendly text with multiple examples that can be used in education and training, as well as clinical practice. Each chapter includes learning objectives, key terms, examples and cases, and review questions"--

The International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders was prepared by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to support Member States in developing and expanding effective, evidence-based and ethical treatment for drug use disorders, especially in less-resourced settings. They provide key principles for organizing treatment services for drug use disorders and describe the main components of treatment systems, including treatment settings, modalities and interventions. Additionally, they include considerations for populations with special treatment and care needs.

The premier text on substance abuse and addictive behaviors is now in its updated and expanded Fourth Edition, with up-to-the-minute insights from more than 150 experts at the front lines of patient management and research. This edition features expanded coverage of the neurobiology of abused substances, new pharmacologic therapies for addictions, and complete information on “club drugs” such as Ecstasy. New sections focus on addiction in children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly and women’s health issues, including pregnancy. The expanded behavioral addictions section now includes hoarding, shopping, and computer/Internet abuse. Includes access to a Companion wesbite that has fully searchable text.