BACK COVER #
This book, intended for a wide audience from college students and professors to organic, pharmaceutical, and medicinal chemists, provides an accessible explanation of drug-receptor interaction and organic chemical structures, as well as descriptions of the discovery, isolation, and syntheses of the chemical substances responsible for drug activity. It is a rigorous, scientifically objective, and thoroughly documented exposition of acute pharmacological and psychological effects of nearly every known substance that affects human consciousness, from alcohol to zopiclone. Also featured are first-hand accounts and descriptions of the social, cultural, and religious milieus in which many psychotropic plants are used.BLURBS #
"The presentation is . . . carefully crafted with a scholarly delineated clarification of a complex subject throughtfully leavened with humanistic elements, making its encyclopedic ormat user-friendly. The result is an authoritative updated resource available for both the lay and professional reader to obtain a reliable introduction to the complex interaction of certain chemical compounds affecting the state of consciousness and behavior. The incorporation of historical, anthropological, sociological, and humanistic vignettes underscores the factors influencing the drug experience."-- Albert A. Kurland, M.D., Director of Research, Taylor Manor Hospital
"[The author] has done a supurb job . . . in all instances an interesting text which is quite rigorous."
-- Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., The Johns Hopkins University