This is a rock solid, systematic, encyclopedia style primer on drugs of abuse. The coverage (for each drug) includes; the "Buzz", essentially a brief description of the subjective effects, and other important psychological, social, biological and psychopharmacological information.

The idea is to provide essential information without the hype and scare tactics usually employed in educational materials of this ilk. It is one of the stated objectives of the book to dispel unsupported (i.e. bogus) myths often employed by traditional DARE type educational programs. This ostensibly makes the information regarding the negative ramifications of the drugs quite a bit more effective for dissuading use due to its high credibility.

The last 3 chapters on 1: the Brain, 2: Addiction, and 3: Legal issues were the best of the book and in my opinion, should have come first. But I'm sure the authors and editors had their reasons for leading with the information on the drugs themselves.

As you can imagine, the reading can get a little dull. As is the case with any encyclopedic exposition. When taken cover to cover the experience can become more of a chore than the passionate journey of discovery elicited by other styles of nonfiction. But this format definitely has it's advantages, e.g. as a reference manual, and is actually quite actually engaging at times.

I highly recommend this book for curious users, concerned parents and significant others, clinicians and educators alike. It's a one-of-a-kind truly sober (just the facts ma'am) handling of a subject that is unfortunately plagued with histrionic, transparently manipulative nonsense.

The world needed this information compiled in this straightforward and affordable fashion. Bravo!