Description
By the numbers . . .
At the beginning of each chapter, a feature called By the Numbers . . . provides an often surprising and provocative insight into current viewpoints and research. It is presented in a brief, quantitative format that draws you into the chapter and sets the stage for further exploration.
Quick Concept Checks
Sometimes, when the material gets complicated, it is good to have a quick way of finding out whether you understand the basic concepts being explained. Each chapter of this book includes, from time to time, a Quick Concept Check, where you can see in a minute or two where you stand. Some of the Checks are in a matching format; others involve interpreting a graph or diagram. In some cases, you will be asked to apply the principles you have learned to a real-world situation.
Portraits
Seventeen Portrait features, one in each chapter, take you into the lives of individuals who either have influenced our thinking about drugs in our society or have been affected by drug use or abuse. Some of these people are known to the public at large, but many are not. The subjects of these Portraits include a brutal drug trafficker (Pablo Escobar, Chapter 2), a movie star (Robert Downey Jr., Chapter 4), a convicted killer (David Laffer, Chapter 5), a cultural icon (Timothy Leary, Chapter 6), and a depressive U.S. President (Abraham Lincoln, Chapter 13). All the Portraits put a human face on discussions of drugs and behavior. They remind us that we are dealing with issues that affect real people in all walks of life, now and in the past.
Drugs . . . in Focus
There are many fascinating stories to tell about the role of drugs in our history and our present-day culture, along with important facts and serious issues surrounding drug use. A total of 26 Drugs . . . in Focus features are presented in the Eighth Edition. The topics of these features cover a wide range, from questions about the origins of the word coca in Coca-Cola (Chapter 4) and possible hallucinogenic witchcraft in seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts, (Chapter 6), to future possibilities of gene doping in the Olympics (Chapter 12) and the present-day use of “truth serum” in terrorist interrogations (Chapter 13).
Health line
Helpful information regarding the effectiveness and safety aspects of particular drugs, specific aspects of drug-taking behavior, and new medical applications can be found in 22 Health Line features throughout the book. Health Line topics include understanding the neurological basis for drug craving (Chapter 3), the controversy over the use of stimulant medications as “smart pills” (Chapter 4), concerns over a new synthetic marijuana called Spice (Chapter 7), the risks of smoking mentholated cigarettes among African Americans (Chapter 10), “doctor-shopping” and prescription pain medications (Chapter 14), and alcohol prevention programs like Alcohol 101 on college campuses (Chapter 16), to name a few. health alert Information of a more urgent nature is provided in 14 Health Alert features. You will find important facts that you can use to recognize the signs of drug misuse or abuse and ways in which you can respond to emergency drug-taking situations, as well as useful Internet links where you can go for assistance. Health Alert topics in the Eighth Edition include strategies to avoid adverse effects of drug-drug and food-drug
combinations (Chapter 3), the risks of cocaine combined with alcohol (Chapter 4), emergency guidelines for adverse reactions to LSD (Chapter 6) or alcohol (Chapter 8), and the dangers of Rohypnol as a date-rape drug (Chapter 13).
point/Counterpoint Debates Drug issues are seldom black or white, right or wrong. Some of the most hotly debated questions of our day concern the use, misuse, and abuse of drugs. These issues deserve a good deal of critical thought. This is why at specific locations in this book, I have taken five important controversies concerning drugs, collected the key viewpoints pro and con, and created a Point/ Counterpoint debate based on a simulated conversation that two hypothetical people might have on that question. The Point/Counterpoint features appear at the end of the chapter that deal specifically with the controversy addressed in the debate. I invite you to read these debates carefully and try to arrive at your own position, as an exercise in critical thinking. Along with considering the critical thinking questions for further discussion that follow each Point/Counter- point feature, you may wish to continue the debate in your class.