The introductory chapter discusses consumer patterns of illicit drug use, focusing on primary study results, societal costs, principal drugs of abuse, methods of ingestion, and international drug trafficking. Subsequent chapters cover the relationships between drugs, crime, and addiction; drug laws and prevention programs; and drug pharmacology, classification, and testing. The next series of chapters discuss the characteristics of various drugs including sedatives and depressants, alcohol, narcotics, heroin, designer drugs and anabolic steroids, stimulants, hallucinogenic and psychedelic drugs, marijuana, and inhalants. The author examines the evolution of drug laws, techniques of drug law enforcement and investigations, undercover narcotics and clandestine lab investigations, and the linkages between drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime. The final chapters address drug treatment and rehabilitation approaches, drug prevention and education programs, and the effectiveness of these various drug control activities. 3 appendixes