Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse

by Paul Gahlinger

• Does Ecstasy cause brain damage?
• Why is crack more addictive than cocaine?
• What questions regarding drugs are legal to ask in a job interview?
• When does marijuana possession carry a greater prison sentence than murder?

Illegal Drugs is the first comprehensive reference to offer timely, pertinent information on every drug currently prohibited by law in the United States.  It includes their histories, chemical properties and effects, medical uses and recreational abuses, and associated health problems, as well as addiction and treatment information.

Additional survey chapters discuss general and historical information on illegal drug use, the effect of drugs on the brain, the war on drugs, drugs in the workplace, the economy and culture of illegal drugs, and information on thirty-three psychoactive drugs that are legal in the United States, from caffeine, alcohol and tobacco to betel nuts and kava kava.

This book is a must-have resource for students, parents, health care workers, law enforcement officers, and anyone else who needs accurate information about drugs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Chemistry, Biology, Reference, Health

480 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2003

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

tbh was surprised by how readable this was. shoutout to my neuroscience prof for the recommendation. -1 star bc it's a little out of date

[Christian Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs is a book written by Paul M. Gahlinger that informs readers about the different types of illegal drugs and the chemical effects that stimulate the brain. Paul M. Gahlinger is an American scientist, physician, and author. Gahlinger was awarded many titles and prizes such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science. However, in 2014, he had to surrender his Utah medical license, and earlier was "stripped of his license to prescribe controlled substances by state regulators ... for continuing to prescribe controlled substances to patients even though he had not held a valid Drug Enforcement Administration registration in Utah since December 2013. The purpose of Illegal Drugs is to caution readers about the safety risks in every drug created in the U.S. It includes their histories, chemical properties and effects, medical uses and recreational abuses, and associated health problems, as well as addiction and treatment information.

First of all, Gahlinger supports his statements with many pictures. Pictures are crucial when captivating the reader’s eye, and I believe that Gahlinger successfully made his book interesting when using the many pictures of drugs listed in his book. However, the pictures are in black and white. It would be nice if the pictures had color to them so readers can identify which drug is which. If the pictures were in color, I believe that Gahlinger can further captivate the reader’s eye.

Secondly, Illegal Drugs by Paul Gahlinger uses a lot of big words. Some of the words I can make out, however it’s a little difficult to understand what he’s trying to say. A lot of the chemical names are large and I cannot pronounce most of them. I usually have to flip back to the definitions of the chemical compound before I can continue reading.

Finally, I like how Gahlinger separates his book into many sections that specifically state the purpose of every page. The table of contents is easy access to learn about a specific drug and the effects it can have on one’s body. Some of the titles make me laugh, such as “Cocaine: The Sacred Leaf. A Gift from the Gods.” However, Gahlinger does not put many jokes into his book. If he put more humor into Illegal Drugs, I believe that it will increase the book’s popularity.

In conclusion, I believe that Gahlinger is very passionate and is an expert of every drug. However, his book is very dense and is hard to understand at some points. His historic knowledge clearly shows in each page, however if he added some humor I believe that the quality of this book would drastically improve. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this book to one of my peers. Instead, I would recommend this book to a professor or student researching a certain drug.

[Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs is a book written by Paul Gahlinger. Gahlinger wrote this informative novel on the sole basis of teaching students and other audiences about not only the danger of but the effects and chemistry within drugs. Our chemistry teacher had us read this book in order to teach us the chemistry within drugs, in attempt to connect chemistry to the modern world. While having no high school diploma and having his medical license revoked, Gahlinger is a prime author for this type of book.

There are three different sections of this book, and the final section I thought to be very insignificant. The very beginning of the book describes the history of Illegal Drugs, this includes the laws that surround them, the drug families, and finally the war on drugs and it's assumed failure. These parts explain the use and abuse of drugs, and the testing process for them. Finally, he explains the chemistry behind the drugs themselves, the reason for why we read it. The next main section offers in-depth analysis of individual drugs. While the final section lists self-help recourses for addicts.

One of the book’s main attractions is the depth and detail it uses when explaining the drugs. For example, in each chapter the effects, long-term health problems, and withdrawal and overdose signs. Furthermore, Gahlinger does not leave out variants of drugs instead lists and explains them all in detail. Finally, all this information is accurate and backed up by either his personal experiences or one of the many sources in the book’s 15-page bibliography.

The book's second main attraction of the book is the fact that Gahlinger shows not just the cons of drugs, but also their pros. In no way does he promote their illegal use and explains in great detail the risks of drugs, but he explains the legitimate medical uses for some of them. Furthermore, Gahlinger explains the effectiveness of alternative control methods, including legalization.

Overall, I think that this a book worth reading as it contains very useful information that can be used in the future. This is especially important in terms of the medical information provided to the reader. I believe that this book offers the reader the knowledge that will help them to make good decisions revolving around drugs in the future and that this book is very good for this purpose.

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Paul Gahlinger wrote this book mainly to answer common question about drugs, their effects, and many other things about them. Despite not finishing high school he was still able to attend college and receive degrees from Berkeley and UC Davis, and he earned several awards. But sadly, in 2014 he was forced to surrender his Utah medical license. He is an American born scientist, physician, and author. I was assign to read this for chemistry class and write a book review, but I actually found it quite interesting. I don't enjoy reading too much, but this in particular is a subject that I do enjoy reading about. Great book!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Organized like a textbook but did not read like one. It was very informative and I learned a lot.

[Monte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Illegal Drugs" by Paul Gahlinger MD PHD, is a surprisingly, very interesting book. While this book may be about illegal drugs and their long history of abuse, it manages to still be more of an encyclopedia than a 'making drugs 101' guide. The book explains the positive side of certain drugs, the dangers of doing illegal drugs, and general things about drugs you probably didn't know. Here is a more in depth analysis.

While the title of the book is "Illegal Drugs", it does talk a lot about certain controlled drugs as well as illegal ones. In each chapter it gives a complete rundown on a specific drug. Besides talking about their abuse, the author also talks about their positive side. Amphetamines, for example, are a kind of drug that includes substances like Ritalin and Metadate and can be used by people who have ADHD to help them focus, I myself take amphetamines because I have ADHD. Morphine, commonly known as a very strong pain killer and a normally abused drug, can be used during surgery to knock a patient out or numb the pain of a tooth being pulled out. Also in the book, the author mentions drugs that can actually make drug users stop abusing drugs. One example is Pyote, a natural drug that comes from a certain cactus. It mentions in the book a person who was addicted to drugs and has gone through several rehabs but still couldn't kick his habit, until he tried Pyote. Pyote is also used in religion by the Native American Church as well.

While explaining the pros of some drugs, it also explains the dangers that follow drugs. One of the main danger that are explained is the purity of a drug. Designer drugs, or drugs that are made in labs (legitimate and illegal ones), can be made and reminded to a certain purity, the more pure the more strong the drug experience is. Sometimes though, a person might buy 500mg of cocaine for example. What the buyer doesn't know, is that the 500mg is very pure and, while it may be a small dose, can be lethal. That's how most ODs happen according to the book. The book also goes into the physical and psychological damage of taking drugs. In the chapter of LSD, it explains that addicts can develop paranoia, mental and auditory illusions, and even complete insanity. The book also describes the dangers of handling, making, and taking drugs. In one part of the book, it talks about how toxic meth labs are and how dangerous it is for cooks to even make the drug.

Like I said before, this book is more of an encyclopedia for drugs. In all the chapters that focus on drugs, the author gives a complete history on the drug, a chemical breakdown of the drug, and what to do if someone is having an OD. For example, the drug cocaine comes from the coca plant that is common in South America. During the age of exploring, when the Incan empire was discovered by the Spanish, the Spaniards noticed that the Incas chewed on the leaves of the coca plant so that they could work for long periods of time in the thin air of the tall hills of Machu Picchu. Also in the chapter of cocaine, there is a picture of the chemical formula for the active chemical in the plant. Towards the end of every chapter, there is a section dedicated to how to notice a person having an overdose and what to do in case of such an event. For most drugs, it's easy to tell if a person is having an OD, most symptoms include unconsciousness, shortness of breath, or even slow or abnormal heartbeat. In case of an OD, just take the person to a hospital for treatment.

The book "Illegal Drugs" is a very good book. It's surprisingly interesting and also very informative. I learned quite a number of things from this book and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious or to teachers who want to cement the fact that taking most drugs are bad to their students. I actually read this book because my chemistry teacher actually assigned this as reading for our class (insert Breaking Bad reference here). It is very interesting and for chemistry fans like me, it's worth a look.

[Joshua Widjanarko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illegal drugs: A Complete To their Chemistry, Use and Abuse, by Paul Gahlinger is a great read for those who wants to learn a bit amount of the sheer number of drugs, ranging from commonplace to obscure. Paul himself is a scientist, ex-physician (Lost his Utah License), and a Physicist who has studied drugs since 1948. While talking about the hundreds of drugs that exist, he emphasizes not only the effects and the chemistry but how any drug is potentially dangerous depending on how you use it. The most important thing seen through the book is that he never explicitly tells you doing drugs are bad, but just warns the consequences of it later.

Warning, some light spoilers ahead. This book is separated into multiple sections, divided by type, history, chemical properties, etc. The first one or two chapters focuses on drugs in general. These includes how people intake the drugs, four main types of drugs, naming dosage, and how governments determine how harmful it is. It then goes straight into the some of the biggest drugs and their long history (Opium, Marijuana, etc) and the war on drugs that follow. It then continues with regulation, crimes, and the legality of drugs. After a couple of chapter of this, it moves on to state a variety of different drugs and their effects.

With the various examples Paul provides, he emphasizes how common drugs people use every day can be worse than illegal drugs if used wrongly. One of my favorite examples of this is catnip (the stuff you give to cats). While most people use it for cats, some people smoke it or drink it as a tea. If the dose is large enough, it has a similar effect to LSD. Another common one is caffeine, found in thousands of students and workers coffee right now. While extremely common, it is also extremely addictive, with symptoms like insomnia, rapid heartbeat, restlessness, and even death in large enough doses. While illegal drugs like meth and heroin can be dangerous, alcohol and tobacco can be just as dangerous or even worse. Thousands have died from alcohol poisoning and drunk driving and people have gotten lung cancer from tobacco.However, these drugs are more socially acceptable, so many don’t see it as a threat to society (what constitutes a legal and illegal drug). While many activists cite marijuana and other drugs to cause addiction, over the counter drugs such as hydrocodone can be just as addictive. With the examples, he stresses that every drug (even the legal ones) can be harmful or beneficial.

Any drug can be a benefit, or harm to a society, depending on its use. Whether it's catnip, alcohol, heroin, meth, or poppy, they all can be misused and cause harm. While the book does focus a lot on the more negative aspects of drugs, the author never says to not use them. Alcohol, for example, helps people cope, but can also quickly become an addiction. The author does not tell readers what to do, but just gives straight facts (and a little history), which is enough for readers to make their own decision 8.3/10

[Anthony Blick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Gahlinger, the author of Illegal Drugs, chose to write the book because he wanted to provide knowledge about illegal drugs and how they are abused to others. He believes that one can not stop all drug use, but you can reduce the harm. This can be done by education. The author did a good job of doing this because he let the reader know what the consequences were of taking the drugs and what to do if someone overdosed.This is an informative book about both illegal and legal drugs from A to Z. It also goes into depths about the whole drug war. After reading it, I can see what a scam the 'War on Drugs' was and still is today. It is all about the media twisting our thoughts into what they and people in power want us to believe. This book review was assigned by my chemistry teacher in order to learn about the world of drugs.

It is scary to think about the 200,000 people that die every year from alcohol and the over 400,000 that die every year from tobacco, and those drugs are legal. Furthermore, even if illegal drugs are "bad" (by the way, combined, they only kill 5,000-8,000 people per year according to this book), who has the right to tell anybody what they can put in their own bodies? Who has the right to lock somebody up when the only person they endanger is their self? Illegal drugs, just like legal drugs, have potential for abuse and because of this, they should be treated as a health epidemic and not a crime. The government should spend their money teaching people about drugs instead of throwing them in jail.

The long term health problem section comes at the end of every chapter in the second part of the book. It talks about what long term health problems come with each drug. For example the marijuana part of the book says that people who smoke marijuana have the same long term health problems of people who smoke tobacco.

The cocaine section says that people often suffer from stomach ulcers to damaged intestines. In the origins of the drug section it talks about where drugs came from in the cocaine section it talks about how the leave came from the Andes, how it was originally used and how it turned into a powder.

Gahlinger gives us readers information about what type of drug it is that we are reading about, how it is taken, the duration of its effect, its physical danger, and its addiction potential. The format of each chapter follows this same beginning, giving it a very straightforward approach to factual information.

This book is extremely informative and a great buy for those in interest of this topic. It is especially great for students learning about the matter or teachers trying to integrate some new things into their curriculum. The book does an amazing job of informing the reader on this controversial yet intriguing topic. The book is also helpful in drug related situations by giving steps to helping or treating drug related problems. Overall, a great buy and amazing reference book.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Gahlinger, the author of Illegal Drugs, chose to write the book because he wanted to provide knowledge about illegal drugs and how they are abused to others. He believes that one can not stop all drug use, but you can reduce the harm. This can be done by education. The author did a good job of doing this because he let the reader know what the consequences were of taking the drugs and what to do if someone overdosed. When I started to read this book, I expected to learn about the drug itself and the harmful effects that it puts one through. This is exactly what I got, plus more. The best thing that I got from this book was the harm that the drugs can do to you. Some effects can lead to or even be death. The only thing that I would leave out is how to make the drugs. I feel like this could tempt people to try and make one of the drugs. The book could have been improved by adding more stories to make it more interesting. I would recommend this book to most students in order to help make them aware of the harmful effects of the drugs. I would also recommend it to anyone who is interested in the study of illegal drugs. This is a good choice for a chemistry class because it incorporated a lot of chemical formulas and equations and the mixing of different elements to create the illegal drugs. Illegal Drugs was written by Paul Gahlinger, for he wanted to provide in-depth knowledge about illegal drugs. He believes that the best decision regarding drugs is a well-informed decision, rather than simply saying yes or no. This can be done by education. Gahlinger accomplished his goal of informing the reader about the various illegal drugs; I learned a lot about both the physical and chemical sides of drugs.
When I first started to read this book, I expected the book to be all about why the drug is bad and such, but the book was written in an objective, informative manner. The best thing Ive taken away from reading this book is that certain drugs can vary on how dangerous they are. The worst thing I've taken away from this book is that drugs are made illegal simply because the drawbacks of taking the drugs outweigh the positive effects of the drugs. This book could be improved by removing the instructions on how to produce some of the easier to make drugs such as methamphetamine because the guide could promote drug use. I would definitely recommend this book. The The only thing that I would leave out is how to make the drugs. I would recommend this book to all middle-school+ students to make students more aware of the effects drugs have on them. I would also recommend it to someone who might be interested in a certain topic as most chapters cover the background info and stats of the drug well. Anyone can read this book, but it is NOT meant to be read from front to back. I recommend you treat it as a reference source.

[Carson Fleece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book called Illegal Drugs by Paul M. Gahlinger is obviously about… Illegal drugs and what they do. The author had a very interesting way about his early life. He struggled in high school and dropped out. However he did enter college later and got the doctrines he needed to make his word more credible. I am writing this review after our chemistry read this book over the course of a couple months. Gahlinger wrote this book in order to give more information about drugs that are commonly known and very unknown. I believe this book was helpful and interesting.
I found this book to be surprisingly interesting and helpful in developing my knowledge of drugs. The chapter about marijuana was very interesting to me because there is currently a lot of controversy surrounding marijuana. I did find this chapter to be a little too lengthy however. This book also expanded my knowledge a lot because there were many chapters on drugs and drug terms I had no idea existed. For example, GHB and Psilocybin were both things I did not know could harm the human body. I also found what drugs affect the body and how it affects the body long term and short term. Some drugs are stimulants and some are depressants.
Drugs are more than something that goes into your body. Drugs are actually very scientific and have a lot of very advanced chemical makeups. I think the strongest part of this book and Gahlinger is the ability to break down the science and make it simple for the reader. Especially when the author talks about prescription drugs and opiates, which have a lot of scientific reasons why those are illegal drugs, I found the author to do a fantastic job at simplifying the complex language.
After reading this book I found it to be just as helpful as informative as well. The part that really helped me personally to expand my knowledge was at the end of each section and chapter the author would explain common withdrawal symptoms as well as long term versus short term health effects. I think it is just as important to learn the effects of drugs as well as why the effect you. I believe this because most people would not start doing heavy drugs if they knew the long term health issues it would cause. Gahlinger did a great job of explaining short term and long term health effects as well as withdrawal symptoms. This definitely expanded my knowledge from just knowing different drugs and whether they are stimulants or depressants.
I found this book to be very helpful and interesting to me. Gahlinger did a good job of breaking down complicated scientific language and informing the reader on things other than drugs and whether they are stimulants or not. I can conclude that my knowledge of drugs overall has greatly expanded. My knowledge of the effects mentally and physically have also grown greatly as well.

[Cyrus Bernier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of Illegal Drugs is named Paul M. Gahlinger. The book covers every drug and it says the chemicals used in it, how it’s made and the history of the drug. Gahlinger was viewed at the top of his field as being a physician and a scientist and a good author. Three years ago he surrendered his medical license because of prescribing drugs without valid DEA certification. While reading this book I did find it interesting, but as I found out that he had his medical license revoked, in a way I lost interest in his work and more on why he would do something to get it taken away. Gahlinger wrote this book to inform people about what drugs are made of and what they can do to people. It informs everyone and you can also discover new drugs that you have never heard of. Learning about different types and drugs in this book is great, but learning Gahlinger’s life was just as remarkable.
The Ayahuasca(Vine of Souls) is a psychoactive drug from South America. Even though many people in the U.S. haven’t heard of the drug, it’s been used for over 4,000 years. Although many people would think they could just get high and hallucinate off this drug, it is actually used for religious traditions and protected by Brazilian law since 1987. The side affects of this drug are vomiting and diarrhea, but produces a great dreamlike environment for up to 10 hours. When Paul Gahlinger was 14 he dropped out of High School to become a farmer after his dad died. He never got his diploma, but eventually went to Cal and UC Davis. He had succeeded in college and after. But only a few years ago, he broke the law and had his medical license revoked. He has lost much credibility, but still has done great works in his fields. According to Gahlinger and many experts in drugs, alcohol is one of the worst drugs around. The reason why it’s so popular is because it’s been around for such a long time and can be made from fruits and vegetables. Before people abused alcohol for pleasure, it was used to kill bacteria in your body. It is also considered to be more dangerous than drugs because of how many people it kills.
Gahlinger’s life is an amazing story and the types of drugs he has written about are just as amazing. Although the book was just about drugs, it also stated the history of it and by learning that makes you think of some of the great things drugs actually do for some communities. Even though drugs are terrible for people, it has just been the evolution of humans that have caused drugs to be used for recreational activities instead of medicine or even for religious traditions.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse by Paul Gahlinger is about illegal drugs in the United States today. Paul Gahlinger is an adjunct professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He is a certified-abuse medical review officer who has studied the effects of drugs in various workplaces. This book was assigned by our chemistry teacher for us to learn the science of drugs and to be more informed about drugs in general. The thesis of the book is to correctly provide information about drugs to the public for the understanding of drugs. The reason why I am writing this book review is that this book should get its recognition for its very clear understanding of drugs and its ability to provide a lot of information about drugs.

Illegal Drugs is a book that talks about the history and use of every known drug in the United States from cocaine, marijuana, LSD, and heroin to propoxyphene, hydrocodone, normorphine and other drugs. The book gives a lot of information about the origins of both new drugs and the old drugs. Much of the book is separated into sections about various drugs beginning with the origin/history of drugs than going into the uses of drugs and the reasons for their abuse. After the general sections, the book talks about specific drugs and their history, chemistry, use, and abuse.

The book shows their very depth understanding into drugs both medical and illegal. Paul Gahlinger has a depth understanding of drugs based on his background in medicine and drugs. Therefore, his information strives for accuracy to give the full guide of illegal drugs in a world where drug use is very clear in society.

Illegal Drugs also involves the chemistry of some drugs as it becomes very applicable to what I am learning in chemistry class. In our chemistry class, we have learned about structures of molecules and their formulas. We've also learned about the naming of compounds based on the elements involved. This all relates to the understanding of chemistry through something like drugs

In conclusion, this book should be read for its content about drugs because it has a very clear understanding of drugs and its ability to provide a lot of information about drugs. In the end, this book is a great way to learn about drugs so that will be more educated in drugs when they appear. Lastly, this book should be read by many so drugs don't become a problem in the future because people will understand the uses and the effects of abusing these drugs.

[Sarah McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this felt more like a textbook than a conventional book at just over 400 pages, it was extremely thorough in all aspects of the subject material such as drugs’ complex political and cultural history, the chemistry of the addiction process overall, drugs’ impact on human anatomy, drug testing in the workplace, and an extensive guide to both legal and illegal substances. The last hundred few pages of the book were dedicated completely to specific drug categories, devoting individual sections to amphetamines, barbiturates, and many others. Within these sections are the chemistry of the reactions the drug users experience, the history of its use both culturally and legally, and how to identify and treat someone who is experiencing a drug overdose. There were a lot of interesting facts within this book about specific substances I didn’t know about, especially the list of psychoactive drugs that aren’t illegal including nutmeg and hydrangea, or the laws surrounding employee drug testing.
My favorite part of the book was by far the chapter on chemicals and the brain and different demographics’ drug tolerance. I found it fascinating to see the specific chemicals blocked or mass produced through the smoking, inhalation, or injection of various substances; for example, one of my favorite diagrams showed the difference between the way cocaine blocks the “re-uptake” of neurotransmitters and how heroin conforms to fit the receptors in the production of key endorphins. Surprisingly, out of the seven different types of drug tolerances listed, I had only ever come across two of them.
My rating of this book is a 4/5 , because while I found it extremely fascinating since substance laws and chemistry are something I enjoy learning about, the sheer density of this guide was overwhelming. Others who would likely enjoy this book would either be those who are as interested in drug abuse as I am, or those needing a reference guide for professional purposes. Instead of pushing scare tactics and misleading statistics in order to convince people to avoid drug abuse, simply allowing people to learn the facts about drug abuse for themselves with a book like this would be far more effective and a much better alternative.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the book, in my opinion, the author wrote this book in order to educate people on illegal drugs. He wrote this in a very impartial matter, and it was obvious that he was neither for nor against the use/abuse of these drugs. The author served as a simple educator, teaching readers about everything that has to do with the drugs, from their history to their chemistry and use. By writing this way, he was able to accomplish writing a very educational book about drugs without trying to persuade readers one way or another. During the process of reading the book, I expected the book to be solely concerned with the chemistry of the drugs in question. But, I was pleasantly surprised and completely wrong with the amount of information the author wrote about, as I was able to learn about drugs as a whole, and not just the little pieces and small amounts of information about the entire topic. Because of this book, reading the book was much more enjoyable and I feel that I got more out of it than I would have with just a boring chemistry textbook. The most meaningful thing I got from this book was the history and information about each drug, rather than the chemistry itself. With the history of each drug it is really amazing how far the human race has gone and analyzed all these drugs. This was because it gave me information applicable to my daily life. By the author being neutral and just giving me the facts about drugs in certain situations, I learned all of the negative properties of these drugs and the horrible side effects they caused. In my opinion, I could not find anything wrong with the book which could be improved, although I think it would have been more interesting if the author included a little paragraph at the end stating his opinion on the matter. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about illegal drugs, and even to people who don't. The more you know the better, and I can definitely say that this book has increased my knowledge on the matter by a lot.

[Darius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs, a Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use, and Abuse: is book written by Paul Gahlinger is an informative book to educate people on different drugs. Paul Gahlinger is a scientist, physician, and author. Gahlinger had to surrender his medical licence for prescribing controlled substances because he continued to prescribe substances even though his Drug Enforcement Administration registration was not valid. I was assigned to read this book for my chemistry class to learn more about chemistry and effects that these drugs can have. This book is about many drugs, the chemistry behind them, history behind them and the consequences that come from abuse of certain drugs. This book informed me a lot more on drugs and about the serious consequences that can come from the abuse of certain substances.

The book has different sections related to the Chemistry, the History, drugs in general, different types of drugs, etc. The book talks about a drug’s history and chemistry and also talks about the abuse and how they can be harmful.

The book contains material involving the medical usage and the illegal usage of different drugs. He talks about how people can abuse drugs that aren’t really illegal, but still isn’t good for you. Gahlinger coming from a background involving prescribing patients substances definitely knows what he is writing about. His explanations gives a clear understanding to anyone who may not know a whole lot on this subject.

Gahlinger talks about the chemistry about drugs and what they contain. He gives information that is relevant to things I have learned in my chemistry class. He talks about the structure common drugs and what molecules make up many different drugs.

The book is meant to inform people about many things that they might not know about different drugs. The author talks about things like the chemical make up and formulas of drugs. He talks about the usage and how people can abuse drugs. I believe that this book is very informative about a topic that is very relevant in our society.

[Zack Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the author wrote this book in order to educate people on illegal drugs. He wrote this in a very impartial matter, and it was obvious that he was neither for nor against the use/abuse of these drugs. He served as a simple educator, teaching readers about everything that has to do with the drugs, from their history to their chemistry and use. By writing this way, he was able to accomplish writing a very educational book about drugs without trying to persuade readers one way or another. Originally, I expected to read a book that was solely concerned with the chemistry of the drugs in question. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of information the author gave me, as I was able to learn about the drug as a whole, and not just the nitty gritty bits of its chemistry. Because of this, reading the book was much more enjoyable and I feel that I got more out of it than I would have with just a boring chemistry textbook. The best thing that I got from this book was, in fact, the history and information about each drug, rather than the chemistry itself. This was because it gave me information applicable to my daily life. Now, I am not saying that I do these drugs, nor do I plan to. This is partly in fact because of the information that this book gave me. By staying neutral and just giving me the facts, I learned all of the negative properties of these drugs and the horrible side effects they caused. This actually convinced me to steer away from these drugs more than any sort of persuasive work could have. To me, there wasn't anything bad about the book that could be improved, although it may have been interesting if the author included a bit at the end that stated his opinion on the matter. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about illegal drugs, and even to people who don't. The more you know the better, and I can definitely say that this book has increased my knowledge on the matter by a lot.

[Carlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of Illegal Drugs is Paul M. Gahlinger. The main theme of this book is that it answers common questions about illegal drugs, what they do on the human body, and other such things. Paul is an American scientist, physician, and author but In 2014, he had to surrender his Utah medical license due to that fact that he was prescribing his patients with controlled substances even though he didn’t have a valid Drug Enforcement registration since December of 2013, which is a little concerning. But none the less he was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science prize in Philosophy of Science in 1984 so he does know he is talking about.
While reading this book I found this book to be a very well written and a good model to help guide and teach the world about illegal drugs, as well as giving more information on ones we already know and telling us about ones we've never even heard of. Coming from the perspective of a high school student I feel that Paul Gahlinger wrote this book in order for us not to just consider drugs as poisonous, dangerous, or lethal acids that corrupts society, but it displays the interesting chemicals including their effects and history.The most fascinating portion of each chapter was the long term effects on one's health and the level of addictiveness. As a high school student these drugs may not play an important role In my life but it is important to know about the effects it has in someone and how it can change them, so it was very informative and helpful so that I can avoid them at a young age. As a student in high school I would recommend this book to kids around my age and older. This book does a considerable job of informing people on which drugs are the most dangerous. In conclusion, I believe that the content was very interesting and worth reading if you're into this.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roman Degliantoni
The Book illegal drugs, written by Paul Gahlinger, gives you a good amount of background on drugs as a whole. Paul Gahlinger has a MD PHD and MPH and he is a professor at The University Of Utah. He made this book to try and educate people on Drugs and he says, “The origin of drug use is quite simple. Humans are inquisitive creatures. If something can be done— no matter how bizarre, silly, or dangerous— somebody, somewhere, will try to do it.”(179) This was a really good book about drugs and the effects they have on people today. .This book gives you a lot of information about the well-known drugs as well as the info on the less common drugs. I had no idea about the chemistry of certain drugs. I knew most of the effects of weed, but I wasn’t completely aware of all of them. I like how he organized the book by type of drug. He added interesting stories about most of the drugs giving background and the affects in a real life situation. For example that certain people use drug for ritualistic purposes. Some of the drugs in this book I didn’t even know existed until I read this. It gives you information about the sedative Flunitrazepam which is a date rape drug. Another drug that is the opposite of this is Barbiturates that gives your sleeplessness and numbness. If anything this book has taught me to be more aware of my surroundings and the drugs that people take today. One of the big take aways I got from this book is learning about what drug people might be on when you call them crazy. You see people who you think might be acting “crazy” almost every day but it’s always good to keep an open mind. It’s important to think of their current situation and what they have done with their life before you start to judge.

[Jason Arzhintar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History Chemistry, Use, and Abuse is written by Paul Gahlinger. The book is about the chemistry behind certain illegal drugs. Gahlinger is an American scientist, physician, and author, born in Greenbay, Wisconsin. Despite not finishing high school he was still able to attend college and receive degrees from Berkeley and UC Davis, and he earned several awards. But sadly, in 2014 he was forced to surrender his Utah medical license. I was assign to read this for chemistry class and write a book review. The main point of this book is to inform readers to being aware about the effects of drugs.The book was informative because it gives readers background and uses of drugs that were illegal in the year of 2001 in the United States.
Illegal Drugs reveals the true nature of these drugs, which are commonly misrepresented in society. Gahlinger’s expertise on the world of drugs is a key for this book’s revelations about today’s abuse of drugs. The goal of Gahlinger’s book is that the revelations from it are scientifically accurate and get the facts out. This book relates closely to high school chemistry because of its discussion of the chemical properties, molecular structure, and formula. It is also extremely relevent in a high school classroom because during this time, teenagers like to experiment and try some of these drugs. This would all be better if one was informed beforehand. This book is a very good book to read, simply to understand drugs and how they work and affect the body. It does a very good job of getting real facts about drugs that are abused. Books like these that get true facts out into the world are a great source of information and can lead to a more educated population.

[Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Paul Gahlinger, who is a writer and a scientist, this books explains the uses of illegal drugs and how they are used. He has been awarded many different scientific awards, but he was eventually required to surrender his Utah medical license. He writes about many different drugs, their background, their uses, and their chemical backgrounds. I’m writing this for a science review.
The first big problem I have with this book is it is more of an encyclopedia for drugs, it is a very boring book because he just give a background on drugs. For example he gives a huge background on the cocoa plant and how it was discovered. It is super boring unless you need to look up a specific drug.
But he very cleverly added pictures to captivate the reader's eye, this way he can write a lot of boring stuff and the book can still be interesting. It would be a lot better if the pictures weren’t just black and white because you can’t really tell what they fully look like. But still having pictures makes it easier for the reader to understand what the drugs look like.
Another good thing about the book which kinda made it boring was how organized and humorless it was. There were a few good jokes like the title of the Cocaine section, but if it had a few more jokes I believe that this books could have been a lot more popular if it weren’t so dead.
In conclusion I believe that this book is a good encyclopedia for drugs but it isn’t a very good read for casual readers or uninterested students. It is great for serious scientist that are very serious about their subject and learning about the chemical properties.

[Nicholas Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Illegal Drugs" written by Paul Gahlinger is a very interesting book. The book is about illegal drugs and their long history of abuse. But, the fact that the author was a Scientist, physician, and author is what makes it the reading worth it. The book explains the positive side of certain drugs. The dangers of doing illegal drugs, from an author that knows what he is talking about.

The title of the book is "Illegal Drugs", which it does talk a lot. It goes beyond that, certain controlled drugs as well as illegal ones. In each chapter, it gives a complete rundown on a specific drug history, the cause and effects. Besides talking about their abuse, the author also talks about their positive side. Amphetamines, for example, are drugs that include substances like Ritalin and Metadata. It is used by people who have ADHD to help them focus, I myself take amphetamines because I have ADHD.

Also in the book, the author mentions drugs that can actually make drug users stop abusing drugs. One of the drugs is Pyote, a natural drug that comes from a certain cactus. If someone is addicted to drugs and has gone through several rehabs but still couldn't stop, should use Pyote. Pyote is also used in religion by the Native American Church as well.

The book is interesting and also very informative. I learned a lot of things from this book. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to help someone stop drug addiction. If you want a book that goes in depth about the history of drugs and facts about them this is the book for you.

[Eli]

The author of Illegal Drugs is Paul M. Gahlinger. The main theme of this book is essentially to answer common questions about illegal drugs, their effects on the human body, criminal sentences, etc. Paul M. Gahlinger is an American born scientist, physician, and author. Although he lacks a high school education or diploma, Gahlinger received degrees from Cal and UC Davis. In 2014 Gahlinger was stripped of his Utah Medical License. This book review is a product of a homework assignment for our sophomore chemistry class. Gahlinger wrote this book to inform the public about various tidbits of controlled substance information. The point of this book review is to provide a subjective opinion about the book.
Gahlinger presents information about controlled substances, what they can do to the body, criminal sentences given for possession, usage, or distribution. Different kinds of drugs, including opiates, cocaine, and marijuana, to name a few, are discussed.
Gahlinger provides a good explanation of what police can charge people for. For example, on page 84 he provides examples of situations where one could be arrested for just being around drugs. Gahlinger also describes how humans discovered drugs very well. On page 6 he states the fact that Neanderthals used drugs over 50,000 years ago. This provides a view into the origin story of drug use.
Gahlinger provides a very comprehensive summary of illegal drugs, their origins, usage, consequences, and much more.

[Daddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author wrote this book to teach people about the truths and myths about illegal drugs, as well as show what kind of effects they can have on the body. The author accomplished this goal very well because it is impossible to read this book without gaining knowledge about illegal drugs. I expected to learn as much as I did. I already had a little bit of a foundation of knowledge about illegal drugs. But this book expanded on that foundation greatly. The best thing I learned from this book is the negative effects that some drugs can have on the body. Either during the high or the long term effect. At times though this book got very tough to read. I had a hard time comprehending all the information in a short period of time. This book could be improved by having people share their stories or experiences with these drugs. I would recommend this book because even though it was tough, I learned a great amount of knowledge about illegal drugs. I would recommend this book to people who want to learn more about drugs and what they can do to your body. This book was a good choice for our first book in chemistry because it talks about stuff that is relevant to our society as well as having aspects of chemistry tied into it. In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about each of the 178 illegal drugs in the United States in Paul Gahlinger’s book. Although the structure may have been repetitive, the content was very interesting and worth your time.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of Illegal Drugs Paul M. Gahlinger. The book mentions pretty much every drug. Gahlinger is a physician and author I thought this book was interesting because it informed me about drugs that I’ve never heard about, and not to do them. The book was written for just that reason. It informs people about the many different types of complex drugs. Learning about different types and drugs in this book is great was overall very interesting
The book shows a very in depth knowledge into drugs both medical and illegal. Gahlinger has a great understanding on drugs. This is due to the fact that his overall background was based in medicine and drugs. Because the book is very insightful and interesting to read. this information strives for accuracy and gives a respectable guide of illegal drugs of all the drug in a world.
Gahlinger life is a very interesting story. The types of drugs he has written about are rather interesting as well. Although the book was just about drugs, it also stated the history of them.This combined two classes of mine, which worked seamlessly. Overall this book was a good read and I would highly recommend it to curious individuals.

[David Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Alvarez
Book Review for Illigel Drugs
The author wrote this book because he wanted to share his information about illigel drugs with others and wanted to get the information out there. I think he accomplished his goal because the book was great with lots of helpful information. I expected this book to be another boring textbook but found it to be very interesting and learned a lot about the different types and the effects of illegal drugs. The thing I got th most from this book was the ability to concentrate through long chapters and learned how to mak clear and detailed notes. The worst thing about the book is that it is very repetitive. I think the book is great and I have no recommendations for improvement except to have it less repetitive. I would recommend this book to other teenagers because it teaches about illegel drugs and if you really want to put these harmful drugs in your body. I would recommend this book to teenagers and young adults. I think this was a great 1st book for chemistry because it got me into chemistry and made me excited to come to class.

[Eric Hong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History Chemistry, Use, and Abuse is written by Paul Gahlinger. The book is about the chemistry behind certain illegal drugs. Gahlinger is an American scientist, physician, and author, born in Greenbay, Wisconsin. Despite not finishing high school he was still able to attend college and receive degrees from Berkeley and UC Davis, and he earned several awards. But, in 2014 he was forced to surrender his Utah medical license. I was assign to read this for chemistry class and write a book review. The main point of this book is to inform readers to being aware about the effects of drugs.
The book was informative because it gives readers background, uses (medical and recreational), and addiction causes and treatment. It gives relevant information about every drug that is currently illegal in the United States (2001).
Some chapter discuss the history is drug use, effects on the brain and body, and the economy and culture of illegal drugs. It also gives legal examples of addictions such as tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine.

[Terence L]

Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History Chemistry, Use, and Abuse is written by Paul Gahlinger. The book is about the chemistry behind certain illegal drugs. Gahlinger is an American scientist, physician, and author, born in Greenbay, Wisconsin. Despite not finishing high school he was still able to attend college and receive degrees from Berkeley and UC Davis, and he earned several awards. But sadly, in 2014 he was forced to surrender his Utah medical license. I was assign to read this for chemistry class and write a book review. The main point of this book is to inform readers to being aware about the effects of drugs.
The book was informative because it gives readers background and uses of drugs that were illegal in the year of 2001 in the United States.
Some chapter discuss the history is drug use, effects on the brain and body, and the market for these drugs. It also gives examples of addictions such as tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine.

[Derekbarrientos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Illegal drugs educated me much in my knowledge of drugs and what they do. The author wrote this book to educate people about illegal drugs, and to me, he did a great job in doing so. At first the book talked about drugs in general which caused it to be a little hard to understand. But as the book continues, it talks about drugs one on one. Explaining each and every one in their own individual chapter. To me learning about the different types of drugs was my favorite. In some parts of the book, the chapters became really long which caused the reader to not be interested in it later on. I recommend this book to anyone who likes science in general and likes to learn about the different kinds of drugs there are. This book really kept me engaged in what i was learning and i definitely recommend it.

[Chris Horsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that the author did a very good job of accomplishing his goal to educate the readers about drugs. When I first read this book, I expected to be reading another boring book on drugs, but it was actually pretty cool. The best thing I learned from this book was how dangerous some drugs are. The only way that this book could be improved upon is by in cooperating personal stories and experiences. I recommend this book to others because it does a great job on educating people about drugs. I think that this book is a great read for anyone , but especially for young adults. All and all, I think this was a great book, and I recommend that you read it to!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent overlook on the major illegal drugs found in America, along with several others I hadn't even heard of. Full of factual information rather than wild assumptions, compounded with amusing and pertinent quotes from well known people regarding the subject matter.