Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Why do people take drugs? -- 2. The body and drugs: structure and controls -- 3. How and where do drugs work? -- 4. Pharmacodynamics: the mechanisms of drug action -- 5. The classification of drugs and drug interactions -- 6. The hallucinogens -- 7. Marijuana -- 8. The stimulants -- 9. Tobacco -- 10. Depressant drugs -- 11. Alcohol -- 12. Opium and its derivatives -- 13. Drugs and pain -- 14. The contraceptive drugs -- 15. Drugs and human sexuality -- 16. Over-the-counter drugs -- 17. Special problems in the elderly -- 18. First aid in abused drug emergencies -- 19. Drugs and the law -- 20. Treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention.

The information is directed to those students who are not majoring in biology and who have had a modest scientific background, but who have questions about the therapeutic drugs that have been prescribed for them and about the recreational drugs they take.