Pubdate: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal Contact: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 Page: C1 Health Briefs 'BUZZED' A PRIMER ON ABUSED DRUGS Just perusing the table of contents in "Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs From Alcohol to Ecstasy" is a sharp reminder of the huge role drugs play in American culture. Twelve hefty chapters present the pharmacopeia in nonjudgmental alphabetical order - alcohol, caffeine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, herbal drugs, inhalants, marijuana, nicotine, opiates, sedatives, steroids, stimulants - each followed by a lively list of slang and street names. The authors, Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder and Wilkie Wilson, all professors at Duke University, first published this compendium in 1998. Updated through the years with such listings as Rohypnol and Red Bull, a synthetic marijuana called Spice, designer stimulants called bath salts, e-cigarettes and ginkgo biloba, it comes in at nearly 400 pages. Some factoids: There's more caffeine in grocery store coffee than in cafe blends; cocaine users outnumber meth users five to one; one effect of heroin withdrawal is diarrhea; the brain has a specific receptor for cannabis. Every chapter tells you what the drug or class of drugs does, how it enters and leaves the body, and its short-term and long-term effects. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom