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Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy
Neither a just say no treatise nor a how-to manual, this easy-to-read handbook is based on the conviction that the well-informed make better decisions. It provides information on how drugs enter the body, how they manipulate the brain, their short- & long-term effects, the high they produce & the circumstances in which they can be deadly. psychological & pharmacological research on drugs. Whether the reader is a student confronted by drugs for the first time, an accountant reaching for another cup of coffee, or a health educator, this book aims to provide a clear understanding of how drugs work & the consequences of their use.
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1998
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June 13, 2018
Buzzed is a straightforward book about drugs: which classes of substances are available, what they're called scientifically and colloquially, where they come from, how commonly they're used, and exactly what they do to your body. It's not a blanket condemnation of all drug use, but a sober (heh) commentary on the proven dangers and pitfalls, within the context of a range of acceptable use. Reading this book has easily quintupled my knowledge on the subject, and I wish every young adult could read it and spare themselves a lot of bad information and needless, heedless experimentation.
Who are these experts who wrote Buzzed, you ask? It's a trio of doctors from Duke University: Cynthia Kuhn is a professor of pharmacology, Scott Swartzwelder is a professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Wilkie Wilson is a professor of prevention science. The book is also written and commented on by two students (at the time of the first edition) who could share their own perspective on drugs. I was reading the fourth edition, released in 2014 (the original came out in 1998).
The book is oddly organized: if you plan to read it from cover to cover, they recommend you start with part 2, which serves as a primer on neural pathways, brain chemistry, addiction, legal ramifications and other important information you'll need to understand the rest of the book's explanations. Once you've finished the hind quarter, you can then hop back to the beginning and read about the drugs themselves. The authors did this because they felt many would use this as a reference book, but... can't reference readers just flip to later chapters? Anyhow, the odd structure slowed my process a bit. It was also a slow read due to the complexity of the effects described: neurotransmitters (GABA, dopamine, serotonin, etc.) interacting with the agonist and antagonist actions of various multisyllabic chemicals takes some work to grasp. I found myself re-reading many passages to get a mental picture of what was being described. Those complexities are necessary, and everywhere else the book was plainly and accessibly written.
Buzzed is clear about what we know and WHY we know it, and is also very frank about the things we don't know yet. There are constant references to the quality of various studies. For example: we're pretty sure this is true about drug x, but the studies could have been more robust and involved more sujects, so it could turn out to be the effects were more due to factor y. Or: people often warn about the dangers of z, but the only confirmation has been in animal studies where the animals were given FAR more of the substance than any human user would ever consume. There's also much care given to differentiate between the effects on bodies at various stages of development. Some drugs cross the placental barrier and have effects on developing fetuses, others can hamper growth and development in teenage years (I'm looking at you, marijuana), but might not be harmful in moderate amounts in adults. Some drugs easily cross the blood-brain barrier, but close relatives cannot. All of this is put in context for each drug and class of drugs.
The broad categories of substances addressed are alcohol, caffeine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, herbal drugs, inhalants (this is the one we are warned to simply NOT DO), marijuana, nicotine, opiates, sedatives, steroids, and stimulants. This book itself is stimulating, and I highly recommend it.
Who are these experts who wrote Buzzed, you ask? It's a trio of doctors from Duke University: Cynthia Kuhn is a professor of pharmacology, Scott Swartzwelder is a professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Wilkie Wilson is a professor of prevention science. The book is also written and commented on by two students (at the time of the first edition) who could share their own perspective on drugs. I was reading the fourth edition, released in 2014 (the original came out in 1998).
The book is oddly organized: if you plan to read it from cover to cover, they recommend you start with part 2, which serves as a primer on neural pathways, brain chemistry, addiction, legal ramifications and other important information you'll need to understand the rest of the book's explanations. Once you've finished the hind quarter, you can then hop back to the beginning and read about the drugs themselves. The authors did this because they felt many would use this as a reference book, but... can't reference readers just flip to later chapters? Anyhow, the odd structure slowed my process a bit. It was also a slow read due to the complexity of the effects described: neurotransmitters (GABA, dopamine, serotonin, etc.) interacting with the agonist and antagonist actions of various multisyllabic chemicals takes some work to grasp. I found myself re-reading many passages to get a mental picture of what was being described. Those complexities are necessary, and everywhere else the book was plainly and accessibly written.
Buzzed is clear about what we know and WHY we know it, and is also very frank about the things we don't know yet. There are constant references to the quality of various studies. For example: we're pretty sure this is true about drug x, but the studies could have been more robust and involved more sujects, so it could turn out to be the effects were more due to factor y. Or: people often warn about the dangers of z, but the only confirmation has been in animal studies where the animals were given FAR more of the substance than any human user would ever consume. There's also much care given to differentiate between the effects on bodies at various stages of development. Some drugs cross the placental barrier and have effects on developing fetuses, others can hamper growth and development in teenage years (I'm looking at you, marijuana), but might not be harmful in moderate amounts in adults. Some drugs easily cross the blood-brain barrier, but close relatives cannot. All of this is put in context for each drug and class of drugs.
The broad categories of substances addressed are alcohol, caffeine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, herbal drugs, inhalants (this is the one we are warned to simply NOT DO), marijuana, nicotine, opiates, sedatives, steroids, and stimulants. This book itself is stimulating, and I highly recommend it.
May 26, 2015
This fascinating book offers straight facts on all sorts of drugs: alcohol, caffeine, hallucinogens, herbal remedies, opiates, cannabis, steroids, amphetamines, sedatives, nicotine, and more. It explains the effects on the human body, and is neither a "how to" nor a "just say no" reference book. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for all late teens and young adults on up, because sometimes a bit of simple knowledge will go a long way in satisfying curiosity in a way that might discourage careless or harmful experimentation. I'm glad I have a copy for reference in my home library.
February 26, 2015
This book, as I recall, originated as an information guide for university students. Credibility being an issue, it was written and edited by a combination of medical, psychopharmacological, and psychiatric experts assisted by representative students. The result is a handy encyclopedia covering the psychoactive drugs most prevalent among young people at the time of publication. It was so good that, after reading it, I passed it on to a family nearby with four children, three of them drug-taking teens. It is so good that the youngest teen, no reader in real life, actually read it cover to cover.
In addition to the aforementioned siblings and their friends, I have a number of other young friends including a teenaged niece. Most of them take psychoactive substances, some of them quite regularly. So, too, do many of the adults I know. The difference, to my perception, between the younger and the older users is that the former experiment more. The old folks tend to stick with the tried and true and generally know what they're doing. This is different than how things were when I was a teen insofar as then more adults were experimenting, especially with LSD and other psychedelics.
There is one other important difference between then and now. Back then psychoactive pharmaceuticals were rare. Now they seem to be well nigh universal. You find them in family medicine cabinets. You see them pushed in advertising. The kids, some of whom are on prescribed drugs to begin with, have ready access to such drugs--legal agents taken illegally but with virtual impunity as no one is about to shut down sources like our nearby Searle Corporation.
The ready availability of innumerable psychoactive pharmaceuticals makes possession of current issues of the Physician's Desk Reference vital. Unfortunately, the PDR is not easy to use, is not cheap and is not just about the drugs kids take to get high. Something like Buzzed, updated regularly in cheap editions, would be a great aid.
One of the kids I knew, that I'd known since infancy, had recently been in and out of psychiatric and rehab facilities. His motives for use were mixed. His background had been unstable and much of his personal history unhappy. He had moved a lot, seen a lot of mental health workers of one sort or another, seen a lot of psychiatrists who had prescribed lots of different drugs. They were trying to make him "better" cost-effectively, administering drugs to make him feel better or, within institutions, to make him more manageable so as to make the harried, underpaid staffs feel better. Little real psychotherapy had ever been done, partly because the kid moved so often, partly because psychotherapy is expensive and good psychotherapists rare. Indeed, some drugs do make one feel better. Troubling thoughts can be blotted out. Emotions can be damped down or different ones evoked. Presumably, this was part of his motive. Another part, however, was social. There can be a communal aspect to illicit drug use. It can be a way of making friends quickly, of doing others favors, of achieving recognition. My pal was an expert, experientially speaking, and supplemented this with rather extensive research and reading about psychoactives of all sorts. His researches, however, did not seem to have any strong therapeutic aim. He seemed to be mostly into reading a little about a drug worked and a lot about its subjective effects. Web-sites are devoted to such accounts and he participated in some of them. There had come to be, in other words, an intellectual motive. Obtaining, using and knowing about drugs had become an established hobby for him.
I'm trying in all of this to get at what I perceive to be the major, generally unmentioned, drug problem in the USA: the legal drug industry. My friend got most of his drugs by prescription--either by prescriptions made out to him or to others. Indeed, while he was going to a drug rehabilitation program, a program designed to get him off illegal drugs, he was, he once told me, obtaining legal ones by trading his prescription medications for those of others attending the program. A little Haldol makes you mellow, a lot of Haldol...
My friend died of drug related causes some weeks ago.
In addition to the aforementioned siblings and their friends, I have a number of other young friends including a teenaged niece. Most of them take psychoactive substances, some of them quite regularly. So, too, do many of the adults I know. The difference, to my perception, between the younger and the older users is that the former experiment more. The old folks tend to stick with the tried and true and generally know what they're doing. This is different than how things were when I was a teen insofar as then more adults were experimenting, especially with LSD and other psychedelics.
There is one other important difference between then and now. Back then psychoactive pharmaceuticals were rare. Now they seem to be well nigh universal. You find them in family medicine cabinets. You see them pushed in advertising. The kids, some of whom are on prescribed drugs to begin with, have ready access to such drugs--legal agents taken illegally but with virtual impunity as no one is about to shut down sources like our nearby Searle Corporation.
The ready availability of innumerable psychoactive pharmaceuticals makes possession of current issues of the Physician's Desk Reference vital. Unfortunately, the PDR is not easy to use, is not cheap and is not just about the drugs kids take to get high. Something like Buzzed, updated regularly in cheap editions, would be a great aid.
One of the kids I knew, that I'd known since infancy, had recently been in and out of psychiatric and rehab facilities. His motives for use were mixed. His background had been unstable and much of his personal history unhappy. He had moved a lot, seen a lot of mental health workers of one sort or another, seen a lot of psychiatrists who had prescribed lots of different drugs. They were trying to make him "better" cost-effectively, administering drugs to make him feel better or, within institutions, to make him more manageable so as to make the harried, underpaid staffs feel better. Little real psychotherapy had ever been done, partly because the kid moved so often, partly because psychotherapy is expensive and good psychotherapists rare. Indeed, some drugs do make one feel better. Troubling thoughts can be blotted out. Emotions can be damped down or different ones evoked. Presumably, this was part of his motive. Another part, however, was social. There can be a communal aspect to illicit drug use. It can be a way of making friends quickly, of doing others favors, of achieving recognition. My pal was an expert, experientially speaking, and supplemented this with rather extensive research and reading about psychoactives of all sorts. His researches, however, did not seem to have any strong therapeutic aim. He seemed to be mostly into reading a little about a drug worked and a lot about its subjective effects. Web-sites are devoted to such accounts and he participated in some of them. There had come to be, in other words, an intellectual motive. Obtaining, using and knowing about drugs had become an established hobby for him.
I'm trying in all of this to get at what I perceive to be the major, generally unmentioned, drug problem in the USA: the legal drug industry. My friend got most of his drugs by prescription--either by prescriptions made out to him or to others. Indeed, while he was going to a drug rehabilitation program, a program designed to get him off illegal drugs, he was, he once told me, obtaining legal ones by trading his prescription medications for those of others attending the program. A little Haldol makes you mellow, a lot of Haldol...
My friend died of drug related causes some weeks ago.
January 13, 2020
學習需要所以買來作為入門的書，比較適合給有一定相關知識的讀者作為輔導讀物。作者系統科學地分析了各項上癮物，語言比較簡潔，同時描述得很清楚。雖然我個人倒是希望在描述時添加更多案例與歷史文件進行說明。
大概適合青少年在擁有一定正確世界觀的前提下作為科普來讀，或者當家用速查手冊。
（很多實際內容與我小時候受到的相關教育不同這點讓我有些震撼，可能是刻意的誇張化讓孩子從小知道毒品的危害吧……）
大概適合青少年在擁有一定正確世界觀的前提下作為科普來讀，或者當家用速查手冊。
（很多實際內容與我小時候受到的相關教育不同這點讓我有些震撼，可能是刻意的誇張化讓孩子從小知道毒品的危害吧……）
September 23, 2007
Buzzed is a pretty remarkable book. Designed to cut the BS out of propaganda for and against drug use, Buzzed is essentially a reference book for all psycho-active substances, legal or illegal, from caffeine to nicotine to ecstasy. It gives a breakdown of what damage is caused to the brain by excessive chocolate consumption, and it tells you why caffeine makes you feel so jumpy sometimes. It takes away a lot of the myths about some recreational, illegal drugs, but also gives frightening examples of what long-term use can do to the human brain and body. No more lies about marijuana leading teenagers to commit assaults, but plenty of scientific, understandable evidence about how abuse of ecstasy can lead to chronic, life-long depressive problems. In the one hand the book takes away the scare-mongering myths about drug experimentation, but they make clear the evidence for damages caused by chronic abuse of some drugs. In light of the clear-headed lack of scare tactics used in this book, the warnings have infinitely more merit than they do in any government-funded ad campaign on television. A very educational, helpful reference book for anyone who has ever known someone who likes to party too much some times.
NC
NC
September 29, 2019
Want a deep dive into substances that can alter your brain and body? This book covers alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and many more. I read this for my work as a school nurse, but I must say this would be a great book to share with a teen, young adult or an adult. Because it is science based, it gives just the facts, and then a person can make a wise choice depending on the facts. Since it covers the brain(one of my favorite topics), psychology, addiction, behavior, I found it fascinating.
March 11, 2023
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Book is written in stead of the idiotic slogans like “Just Say No” and “This is your brain on drugs“, that provides no information, and is blatantly ineffective scare tactic that leads to mistrust among the groups of people that should otherwise rely on one another. Without sugarcoating the book provides a list of addictive substances that can and are classified as drugs, why are they drugs, how they’re used, where, how it became “a thing“. Alongside what are the withdrawals like, what are the lasting effects, irreversable ones, what are other dangers, and all the simple science behind it all. Whether then it’s still worth it or not is left fully in the hands of the reader, without any judgement, and, rather, guiding to possible precautions, safety measures that can be taken to avoid even the simplest of these becoming a life-altering negative experience.
My Opinion: A people-friendly book, easy to read, highly informative, would need a slight update already, but if there’s none by the time you’re picking it up – it remains a fine read. It doesn’t talk down, instead providing information to stay safe, and hopefully even help reconsider, or consider quitting, rehab.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: Book is written in stead of the idiotic slogans like “Just Say No” and “This is your brain on drugs“, that provides no information, and is blatantly ineffective scare tactic that leads to mistrust among the groups of people that should otherwise rely on one another. Without sugarcoating the book provides a list of addictive substances that can and are classified as drugs, why are they drugs, how they’re used, where, how it became “a thing“. Alongside what are the withdrawals like, what are the lasting effects, irreversable ones, what are other dangers, and all the simple science behind it all. Whether then it’s still worth it or not is left fully in the hands of the reader, without any judgement, and, rather, guiding to possible precautions, safety measures that can be taken to avoid even the simplest of these becoming a life-altering negative experience.
My Opinion: A people-friendly book, easy to read, highly informative, would need a slight update already, but if there’s none by the time you’re picking it up – it remains a fine read. It doesn’t talk down, instead providing information to stay safe, and hopefully even help reconsider, or consider quitting, rehab.
April 24, 2023
I was required to read this for a college class but was pleasantly surprised at all the information packed into it. It contains information on all sorts of drugs from alcohol, caffeine, hallucinogens, herbal remedies, opiates, cannabis, steroids, amphetamines, sedatives, nicotine, etc. One of the things that I appreciated the most was that it was not presented in a way to talk you out of using them. Rather, it presented the information and was letting the reader decide if the rewards were worth the risks.
I have informed my teenage son that it will be part of his summer reading list and he is excited to read it. He wants to know the mechanics and how drugs affect a person's brain. I liked reading about the history and how they have progressed throughout societies. Whatever you are searching for this book will most likely answer your questions in a nonjudgmental way.
I have informed my teenage son that it will be part of his summer reading list and he is excited to read it. He wants to know the mechanics and how drugs affect a person's brain. I liked reading about the history and how they have progressed throughout societies. Whatever you are searching for this book will most likely answer your questions in a nonjudgmental way.
March 16, 2022
Lots of information in this book. Does a really good job at breaking down every drug and how they work. This was not a candy read just informational. The book was well represented and flowed decently. It was helpful to start with the last three chapters then go back to the beginning, not that you couldn’t read it straight
March 6, 2023
Read for school, I really enjoyed this. Really interesting and readable.
December 19, 2024
decent overview of different drugs, would prefer more legal and supplemental appendices. a bit too brief, wanted more!
July 25, 2021
Very interesting and informative. A strictly scientific and mostly unbiased view of almost every common drug, from street names to how they chemically affect the brain and body, including how addiction works. Some parts were over my head, but overall it was a very interesting and enlightening read. Not all drugs are bad, but some are. And some have many beneficial uses.
July 10, 2024
read for my neuropsychology of substance use seminar 😋
May 17, 2024
if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com
210714: very useful book i wish had been around when young, cynical, curious- when immortality was obvious, authority dubious, the universe endlessly fascinating. familiarity with drugs is mostly of those considered legal, mostly those prescribed. i do not drink alcohol, smoke anything, inject or snort anything. therefore little knowledge of drugs beyond curiosity about how they work on the brain, later interest in those drugs doctors gave me- anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, sedatives- but i know more than know nothing. socially, psychologically, family, genetics, i have been fortunate never much drawn to any drugs, physically susceptible, psychologically possible as behaviour. some of this book fills in, such as the very dangerous, toxic, fatal effects of inhalants. such as the uncertain possibilities of steroids. such as the generally dangerous heritage of bootleg or illegal drugs. i would rather earnestly give this book to any youth intrigued by drugs here and now and ever. clear, well-written, a good source of reasoned and not hysterical arguments and descriptions of all drugs. irony that some of the most dangerous drugs are legal and common to our society, such as solvents, such as nicotine, such as alcohol... my drug of choice in regular ingestion is caffeine, as found in my daily latte...
210714: very useful book i wish had been around when young, cynical, curious- when immortality was obvious, authority dubious, the universe endlessly fascinating. familiarity with drugs is mostly of those considered legal, mostly those prescribed. i do not drink alcohol, smoke anything, inject or snort anything. therefore little knowledge of drugs beyond curiosity about how they work on the brain, later interest in those drugs doctors gave me- anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, sedatives- but i know more than know nothing. socially, psychologically, family, genetics, i have been fortunate never much drawn to any drugs, physically susceptible, psychologically possible as behaviour. some of this book fills in, such as the very dangerous, toxic, fatal effects of inhalants. such as the uncertain possibilities of steroids. such as the generally dangerous heritage of bootleg or illegal drugs. i would rather earnestly give this book to any youth intrigued by drugs here and now and ever. clear, well-written, a good source of reasoned and not hysterical arguments and descriptions of all drugs. irony that some of the most dangerous drugs are legal and common to our society, such as solvents, such as nicotine, such as alcohol... my drug of choice in regular ingestion is caffeine, as found in my daily latte...
March 28, 2008
Jonathan just finished reading the chapter on caffeine for his Science Fair Project... great read... chapter by chapter on all types of substances... the good, the bad and the ugly.
Before children learn to "just say NO" to drugs, it is good that they "KNOW" about the drugs, see what they look like so they're not fooled into anything... to realize how cautious they need to be... especially beginning in an inner-city middle school... that some drugs really do look like candy and we don't take candy from strangers... or even some friends.
Before children learn to "just say NO" to drugs, it is good that they "KNOW" about the drugs, see what they look like so they're not fooled into anything... to realize how cautious they need to be... especially beginning in an inner-city middle school... that some drugs really do look like candy and we don't take candy from strangers... or even some friends.
January 22, 2009
I bought this book for someone else, but read a few chapters that interested me before I gave it to her. This is a striaghforward, non-partisian book that just gives you the straight facts. Its doesnt glamourize drugs or give a horror show frightening spin to them either. It is scientific without dumbing things down or making the text too dense and scholarly to comprehend and follow. My favorite thing about the book was how whenever they made examples they used "her" (her brain, her liver) instead of "his" - you never see that
reference
October 24, 2009An excellent source of information on pretty much any "drug". Even chocolate.
On a related note, wanna learn about "The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States", by Charles Whitebread, Professor of Law, USC Law School, in a speech to the California Judges Association 1995 annual conference—check this out. Amusing and informative. Thankfully, even 14 years later we haven't succumbed to his prediction that we'd make tobacco illegal.
On a related note, wanna learn about "The History of the Non-Medical Use of Drugs in the United States", by Charles Whitebread, Professor of Law, USC Law School, in a speech to the California Judges Association 1995 annual conference—check this out. Amusing and informative. Thankfully, even 14 years later we haven't succumbed to his prediction that we'd make tobacco illegal.
July 22, 2025
5 stars
April 8, 2018
Buzzed, published 1998, is an informational book discussing 12 different types of drugs by their classification, common names, effects to our body, risk factors, interactions with other medications, and benefits. The center pages of the book give great illustrations of many of the drugs covered in the book. This is definitely a great reference book for any research project to get the facts about many different types of common drugs.
I found this book informative and extremely interesting. My mother is a nurse and she talks very openly about drugs, saying no to drugs, and even tells stories about events that she has witnessed, without using patient names, and I have always found it very interesting to hear her stories. I was very uneducated about different types of drugs that were out there. I was able to better understand them after reading this book. I was amazed at the chapter on caffeine and its effects, because such a large population of people use this daily. The chapter on marijuana is very interesting and you can see how our nation has changed its views on legalizing it in the United States versus what was discussed in that chapter. Each state now has to make their own laws about legalization, but federally it is still a crime. It is still used for medical treatments and as the book says we have much bigger drug problems now.
One of those problems is nicotine, and now the use of vapor cigarettes. Second hand smoke and how it goes through the body was very interesting. I have noone in my family that is a smoker. I am very lucky. But I have seen and heard a lot recently about the risk of the new vapor cigarettes not even discussed back in 2003. The next drug I wish to touch on is heroine. I have heard much about heroine and young people using and becoming addicted after just one use. They use it, like the book says, to get a high and and need it on a daily use. After reading about this and many other drugs, it makes you think about what effects it will have on your body, mind and future.
I recommend this book for teenagers and older people who want a factual book, broken down by drug type and effects on the body. It would be a very helpful reference for a research project. Some of the information may be outdated and the world is changing daily with drug use, but the general information of the book was very informative and a good read. I liked the way it broke down the chapters by drug, how the drug originated, how it is made and what the intended use is for.
I found this book informative and extremely interesting. My mother is a nurse and she talks very openly about drugs, saying no to drugs, and even tells stories about events that she has witnessed, without using patient names, and I have always found it very interesting to hear her stories. I was very uneducated about different types of drugs that were out there. I was able to better understand them after reading this book. I was amazed at the chapter on caffeine and its effects, because such a large population of people use this daily. The chapter on marijuana is very interesting and you can see how our nation has changed its views on legalizing it in the United States versus what was discussed in that chapter. Each state now has to make their own laws about legalization, but federally it is still a crime. It is still used for medical treatments and as the book says we have much bigger drug problems now.
One of those problems is nicotine, and now the use of vapor cigarettes. Second hand smoke and how it goes through the body was very interesting. I have noone in my family that is a smoker. I am very lucky. But I have seen and heard a lot recently about the risk of the new vapor cigarettes not even discussed back in 2003. The next drug I wish to touch on is heroine. I have heard much about heroine and young people using and becoming addicted after just one use. They use it, like the book says, to get a high and and need it on a daily use. After reading about this and many other drugs, it makes you think about what effects it will have on your body, mind and future.
I recommend this book for teenagers and older people who want a factual book, broken down by drug type and effects on the body. It would be a very helpful reference for a research project. Some of the information may be outdated and the world is changing daily with drug use, but the general information of the book was very informative and a good read. I liked the way it broke down the chapters by drug, how the drug originated, how it is made and what the intended use is for.
October 15, 2020
Really interesting, and just as detailed and informative as it needs to be. It gives a slightly more than general overview of almost every drug you can think of. I like that it is split into sections based on what class of drug they are discussing (opiates, stimulants, sedatives, etc.). I am someone who is super interested in this topic and (kind of) researching for a book. So, this is incredibly helpful if you want basic information about every drug out there, legal or not.
One thing I need to point out, however, is the horrible paragraph summing up the cultivation of Coca leaves in South America. Specifically in Bolivia, where I lived and studied for a short time, it is not called “Cocaine leaves” and most people I met didn’t like how tied the plant is to illegal cocaine. Even though cocaine is derived from the coca plant, coca leaves themselves do not cause the same effects as cocaine. During my time there, I was given Coca leaves and used them almost everyday. They promote wellbeing, mental clarity, a healthy immune system, and help with altitude sickness. Very different from the chemical substance that is actually “cocaine.” (Indigenous peoples of south america certainly weren’t soaking their coca leaves in gasoline!)
The sentence, “The Natives of South America used cocaine as an important part of their daily life” is really bad misinterpretation of their use of the coca plant
This insinuates (to me) that Coca consumers in South America were and are always high on coke, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.
That could have and really should have been researched better. (Or researched at all really).
One thing I need to point out, however, is the horrible paragraph summing up the cultivation of Coca leaves in South America. Specifically in Bolivia, where I lived and studied for a short time, it is not called “Cocaine leaves” and most people I met didn’t like how tied the plant is to illegal cocaine. Even though cocaine is derived from the coca plant, coca leaves themselves do not cause the same effects as cocaine. During my time there, I was given Coca leaves and used them almost everyday. They promote wellbeing, mental clarity, a healthy immune system, and help with altitude sickness. Very different from the chemical substance that is actually “cocaine.” (Indigenous peoples of south america certainly weren’t soaking their coca leaves in gasoline!)
The sentence, “The Natives of South America used cocaine as an important part of their daily life” is really bad misinterpretation of their use of the coca plant
This insinuates (to me) that Coca consumers in South America were and are always high on coke, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.
That could have and really should have been researched better. (Or researched at all really).
December 5, 2025
The perfect book for recreational substance and more!I've always been looking for the "perfect" book on these types of drugs, stimulants, alcohol, opioids, hallucinogens, etc. and never found the right one, until now!
This book only has what's required knowledge but still has length, revealing its density!! It has everything from what are the names of drugs, class of drug, commons names (aliases), effects (both good and bad), and so many more it's impossible to say! but by far, my favorite is the "brief history" because always wanted a drug like this, one that explains them scientifically, but also one that has some narrative or no-so-textbook-y feel about it. Now, the history is short, usually about a page, but it covers what you need!
The book scatters little facts about history, the drug, it's effects, and so many things about it that, if you know and share, people will assume you're so smart!
This book is incredibly dense that I had to only read a max of 3 chapters a day because I wouldn't remember anything if I stuffed my brain. If you get the real book, it also has photos of many drugs on it! I learned so much, and even if you read 1 chapter a day, which is what I did most days, you'll feel as if you read a whole book! The book is so diverse in it's expertise, from chemistry (which was so hard because the names and compounds are impossible to remember, for me), statistics, the medical field, and my 'expertise' psychology!
The performance is great also! At first I didn't like it but after a while, his voice matched the tone of the book, in a im-smarter-than-you-but-not-snarky way; very professional and professor-like!!
This book only has what's required knowledge but still has length, revealing its density!! It has everything from what are the names of drugs, class of drug, commons names (aliases), effects (both good and bad), and so many more it's impossible to say! but by far, my favorite is the "brief history" because always wanted a drug like this, one that explains them scientifically, but also one that has some narrative or no-so-textbook-y feel about it. Now, the history is short, usually about a page, but it covers what you need!
The book scatters little facts about history, the drug, it's effects, and so many things about it that, if you know and share, people will assume you're so smart!
This book is incredibly dense that I had to only read a max of 3 chapters a day because I wouldn't remember anything if I stuffed my brain. If you get the real book, it also has photos of many drugs on it! I learned so much, and even if you read 1 chapter a day, which is what I did most days, you'll feel as if you read a whole book! The book is so diverse in it's expertise, from chemistry (which was so hard because the names and compounds are impossible to remember, for me), statistics, the medical field, and my 'expertise' psychology!
The performance is great also! At first I didn't like it but after a while, his voice matched the tone of the book, in a im-smarter-than-you-but-not-snarky way; very professional and professor-like!!
May 4, 2018
Buzzed is an informational book discussing 12 different types of drugs by their classification, common names, effects to our body, risk factors, interactions with other medications, and benefits. The center pages of the book give great illustrations of many of the drugs covered in the book. This is definitely a great reference book for any research project to get the facts about many different types of common drugs. I found this book informative and extremely interesting.
I recommend this book for teenagers and older people who want a factual book, broken down by drug type and effects on the body. It would be a very helpful reference for a research project. Some of the information may be outdated and the world is changing daily with drug use, but the general information of the book was very informative and a good read. I liked the way it broke down the chapters by drug, how the drug originated, how it is made and what the intended use is for.
I recommend this book for teenagers and older people who want a factual book, broken down by drug type and effects on the body. It would be a very helpful reference for a research project. Some of the information may be outdated and the world is changing daily with drug use, but the general information of the book was very informative and a good read. I liked the way it broke down the chapters by drug, how the drug originated, how it is made and what the intended use is for.
May 26, 2017
The book is very well documented and it gets bonus points for the impartiality and the objective touch. Say no to drugs is trnasformes in say know to drugs which is a better aproach for stoping drug consumption among teenagers and not only. Humans tend to not take drugs if it is their own decision and not just because someone tells them to stay away from drugs. They can choose drug abstinence if they know the harm drugs do. In this book all the facts are scientifically presented and based on studies so this helps with the cause we want for the world: abstinence by self choice. It is a must read for any college student or any highschool student who has the basics in biology. Anyway some brain basics are in the 2nd part of the book which is very useful for most readers. I appreciate it for the unbiased tone and the medical and scientific accurate data.
December 22, 2016
By far one of the more informative and fun books to read, Buzzed presents a teen and young adult explanation for the newest and most common of drugs, both legal and illegal, in the US market. While providing not only the name and effects of the drugs in question, Buzzed has pictures to match making it more attractive to teen readers. Buzzed does, however, have a very serious reason for its creation: to educate the reader on the effects and uses of various drugs both good and bad. A solid and informative read, Buzzed is not there to entertain but instead to educate, and it acheives that goal and so much more in the 350 or so pages.
September 28, 2022
Review based on the Fourth Edition which is not on GoodReads.
While this book was informative and a good review, it really made me feel for all my professors/teachers over the years that begged me to cut down and be more concise. Holy Moly, talk about redundant and repetitive, the same sentence literally appeared three times in one chapter. This book could have EASILY been 100 pages shorter. I will also say the organization and structure was lacking, at a glance, it looks very organized, however, actually reading it was rather confusing and I can’t imagine someone not in this field or knowing some of this information previously being able to completely follow along.
While this book was informative and a good review, it really made me feel for all my professors/teachers over the years that begged me to cut down and be more concise. Holy Moly, talk about redundant and repetitive, the same sentence literally appeared three times in one chapter. This book could have EASILY been 100 pages shorter. I will also say the organization and structure was lacking, at a glance, it looks very organized, however, actually reading it was rather confusing and I can’t imagine someone not in this field or knowing some of this information previously being able to completely follow along.
August 23, 2018
This is an absolutely fantastic book, but I wouldn't recommend it for a cover-to-cover read-through (hence the four stars). It's a reference book, and it cuts through all the bullshit related to drugs that has been promoted by the government in favor of pure scientific facts. Great for anyone who is interested in brain chemistry or anyone who might have a loved one addicted to a controlled substance.
May 22, 2019
A well written and researched resource. One late spring night, while I was teaching Drugs and Society at UConn, I knocked on a neighbor's door to ask them to turn down their party a bit. They invited me in for a moment to be social. I heard a young person call out my name by my title, and there were two of my students with three other party-goers huddled around this book, which I'd assigned. One of my favorite moments.
March 18, 2021
Good survey of the health impacts of various drugs. Frankly, I'm shocked that there are no citations. Also, the authors qualitative assessment of what drugs subjectively do is nearly worthless. The description of PCP, for example, as like being drunk while on a stimulant and psychedelic is about as far off from capturing the experience as I could imagine. The do better quoting Burroughs for heroin.
October 23, 2022
Basically a high school report of drugs. Very shallow, and just propaganda for "drugs bad overall". Research experiments are all quite inconclusive as to whether or not drugs are bad -- seems like a lack of research out there?
I was hoping to read about some crazy experimental drugs that people don't know about, crazy stories, or even some sage advice to kids about why or why not to do drugs. This book is none of that, so you're probably better going to Psychonaut wiki.
I was hoping to read about some crazy experimental drugs that people don't know about, crazy stories, or even some sage advice to kids about why or why not to do drugs. This book is none of that, so you're probably better going to Psychonaut wiki.
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