Medical-Legal Aspects of Drugs

Drug use is at least as longstanding as recorded history. Many centuries ago humans, as well as some animal species, discovered medicinal and intoxicant properties of a variety of plants. Nowadays drug users' options have been vastly expanded by new discoveries of plant materials and by new compounds developed in both legal and illegal laboratories. Relieving, healing, and intoxicating are powerful properties. The use and abuse of drugs will continue.

This book addresses the challenge of this ever-changing industry with accurate, cutting-edge information from acknowledged experts. You'll learn about psychoactive drugs, effects of various kinds of drugs on behavior, and the development of anxiolytics, antidepressants, and antihistamines. These effective medications for depression, insomnia, anxiety, chronic allergic rhinitis, and numerous other disorders are a great boon to medical practice. Tnfortunately, there is also a cost in terms of safety, both when the drugs are used appropriately and when they are abused. The author of Chapter 7 capably brings us up to date with a review of the scientific data.

For cases of abuse, a specimen--typically breath, blood, or urine--is obtained from a suspected offender near the time of an incident. If analysis of the specimen reveals the presence of a drug or drugs, that finding can become critical evidence in legal proceedings. The admissibility or weight of the evidence then frequently is argued. Was the analysis of a specimen conducted properly? Were the instruments and procedures reliable and appropriate? What statements can be made about the effects of a given level of a drug found in a specific specimen? Such highly technical questions are beyond common knowledge, and we are fortunate here to be instructed about these issues by the authors of Chapters 2-5.

These wide-ranging examinations of the medico-legal aspects of drugs have been written by a group of uniquely knowledgeable individuals. Their willingness to share their expertise about drugs will provide anyone with the knowledge they need regarding medical-legal aspects of drugs.