FOLLOWING DEFINITIONS OF TOXICOLOGY AND EXPLANATIONS FOR RECOGNIZING POISONING, THE TEXT TURNS TO INFORMATION ON THE COMPARATIVE TOXICOLOGY OF VARIOUS POISONS, THE HANDLING OF POISONING CASES BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL, THE THEORY OF TOXIC MECHANISMS OF ACTION, AND THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND FACTS OF TOXICOLOGY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. FURTHER TOPICS DEALT WITH IN DEPTH ARE POISONING IN RELATION TO SUICIDE, DRUG ABUSE, ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM, TOXIC GASES, POLICE RIOT CONTROL CHEMICALS, SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH CHILDREN, INORGANIC AND METALLIC POISONS, AND MISCELLANEOUS POISONS. FINALLY, THE QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF VARIOUS COMMON POISONS ARE OUTLINED. NUMEROUS TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS AID IN CONVEYING RELEVANT INFORMATION AND PRINCIPLES. APPENDIXES PRESENT DATA ON ALCOHOL-RELATED DISORDERS; ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION BY BEVERAGE, STATE, AND YEAR; DRUG AND CHEMICAL BLOOD LEVELS; AND THE MINIMUM LETHAL DOSES OF SOME REPRESENTATIVE VOLATILE HYDROCARBONS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--PRG)