Although drug abusers often report a preference for a particular drug, such as alcohol or opiates, the concurrent use of other drugs is common. Multiple drug use often involves substances that may have different pharmacologic…

Phencyclidine (PCP), a cyclohexylamine derivative, is widely used in veterinary medicine to briefly immobilize large animals and is sometimes described as a dissociative anesthetic. PCP binds to ionotropic n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the nervous system, blocking…

The discovery of the psychedelic effects of LSD in 1947 led to an epidemic of LSD abuse during the 1960s. Imposition of stringent constraints on the manufacture and distribution of LSD (classified as…

The abuse of methamphetamine, also referred to as “meth,”“speed,”“crank,”“chalk,”“ice,”“glass,” or “crystal,” has been declining in many metropolitan areas and communities throughout the United States. This decrease is attributed in part to drug seizures and the closures…

Cannabis sativa contains >400 compounds in addition to the psychoactive substance, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Marijuana cigarettes are prepared from the leaves and flowering tops of the plant, and a typical marijuana cigarette contains 0.5…

Cocaine and other psychostimulant drug abuse remains a major public health problem in the United States and throughout the world; its prevalence appears to be increasing in some metropolitan areas…

Cocaine
Cocaine is a stimulant and local anesthetic with potent vasoconstrictor properties. The leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca ) contain 0.5 to 1% cocaine. The drug produces physiologic and behavioral effects when administered…