Types of Inhalants Being Abused Inhalants encompass a wide range of pharmacologically diverse substances that readily vaporize. Unlike most other substances of abuse, which are classified into groups that share a specific central nervous system (CNS) action or perceived psychoactive…
Introduction The sedative-hypnotics and anxiolytics are central nervous system depressants that also have muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant effects and are widely used in psychiatry, neurology, anesthesiology, and general medicine. The most common of these are the benzodiazepines and the new-generation…
Introduction Methamphetamine, developed in 1893, is a synthetic stimulant that affects the central nervous system and other major organ systems. Until the 1950s, no prescription was necessary to obtain methamphetamine or other amphetamine-containing products. Prescriptions for variants of these drugs…
Classification Medications derived from Papaver somniferum , the opium poppy, have played a central role in medical practice for well over 3500 years. Sumerian clay tablets, which include our oldest known medical texts, called the opium poppy “Hul Gil,” the…
Introduction Marijuana (also referred to as cannabis) is a drug that is derived from the flowers, stems, leaves, and seeds of the hemp plant ( Cannabis sativa ). Cannabis is the generic term that refers to the psychoactive substances derived…
Epidemiology Cigarette smoking is the principal cause of premature death and disability in the United States. In 2016 about 480,000 deaths in the United States were caused by cigarette smoking. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, tobacco…
Introduction The effects of cocaine on the nervous system have been studied for more than a hundred years. Early observers noted that among the symptoms produced by frequent cocaine use, one of the most prominent was cocaine craving. In time,…
Acknowledgments We thank Catharine Helms and Robert H. Cormier, Jr., for their assistance with manuscript preparation. Introduction Alcohol is one of the oldest and the most widely used psychoactive substances in the world, second only to caffeine. The use of…
Acknowledgments We thank the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for its support through the Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood (NADIA) consortium (AA020024, AA020023), the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies (AA011605), and the U54 collaborative partnership among NCCU,…
Acknowledgment The writing of this chapter was supported in part by funding of the following NIH grants: DA012498, DA003628, and DA06634 (SEH). Introduction The comprehensive sequencing of human and other important genomes has enhanced our understanding of the cellular organization…