This accessible, comprehensive book provides the reader with a thorough introduction to the field of behavioral pharmacology and prepares one to analyze drug information from a variety of sources. The text describes the effects of drugs on behavior, facilitating an understanding of both the actions of drugs and the way people use them. Starting with an overview of basic pharmacology, the book is divided by chapter into each class of drugs, and explains the historical and social contexts of each. It covers alcohol, tranquilizers and sedative hypnotics, inhaled substances, tobacco and nicotine, caffiene and the methylxanthines, psychomotor stimulants, the opiates, antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants and mood stimulators, cannabis, and hallucinogens. For those working in the fields of behavioral psychology, psychopharmacology, and pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and others in the medical profession.