krzysio
March 20th, 2011, 04:59 PM
Having accurate information about drugs is important in order to make responsible decisions regarding yourself and others. But at the same time it is often difficult to find reliable information, especially when the drug in question is an illicit one.
Although it is a college textbook that contains both basic primers and advanced discussion, I think that A Primer of Drug Action by Dr. Robert M. Julien might be understandable by a wide audience, including highs school students and even younger. If you don’t have access to a recent edition of that text there are also plenty of Internet sources that are more or less reliable. Below is a short list of sources I use or would recommend using to learn about drugs. Not all serve the same function or contain all of the same information. Your best bet is you use a variety of these sources.
Primers on Illicit Drugs and Recreational Drug Use
Source: Erowid Psychoactive Vaults
Location: www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Variety of psychoactive drugs, both pharmaceutical and illicit.
Features of note: Wide variety of information not readily found through other primers.
Precautions: Although sometimes cited in academic publications, this resource is not academic and original information is not peer-reviewed. Controversial claims and information should be investigated through articles and reviews in academic publications. Personal accounts are unverified and may be exaggerated or even fabricated.
Recommended uses: General summaries of intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Source: DanceSafe
Location: www.dancesafe.org/drug-information
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Variety of psychoactive drugs, both pharmaceutical and illicit.
Features of note: Basic information on a variety of drugs in a convenient layout.
Precautions: Controversial claims and information should be investigated through articles and reviews in academic publications. Personal accounts and information on forums are unverified and may be exaggerated or even fabricated.
Recommended uses: General summaries of intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health “Information about drugs and addiction” section
Location: www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Information/index.html
Ownership and administration: Owned and administrated by the centre, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto.
Drugs covered: Selection of commonly used or discussed illicit drugs and illicit or recreational use of pharmaceuticals.
Features of note: Factsheets with information and claims not readily found through other sources.
Precautions: Not all information is referenced with citations.
Recommended uses: General summaries of the intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Primers on (Mostly) Medicinal Use of Drugs
Source: RxMed.com “Drug and Illness Information” section
Location: www.rxmed.com/b.main/b2.pharmaceutical/b2.prescribe.html
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated with a professional medical advisory board.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceuticals and herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: List of contraindications and precautions for given drugs.
Precautions: None that come to my mind.
Recommended uses: General information on pharmaceuticals.
Source: Mayo Clinic “Drugs and Supplements Health Information” section
Location: www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DrugHerbIndex
Ownership and administration: Owned and administrated by the prestigious, not-for-profit organization Mayo Clinic.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceuticals and herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: Letter grade reports on evidence for efficacy of supplements.
Precautions: None that come to my mind.
Recommended uses: General information on pharmaceuticals. Critical examination of claims about the effects of supplements.
Specialized Tools
Source: EcstasyData
Location: www.ecstasydata.org
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and operated laboratory.
Drugs covered: MDMA and other drugs that are sold as ecstasy.
Features of note: List of substances and ratios in ecstasy pills, posted with pictures and descriptions of said pills. Search of ecstasy pills by name, substance, and location.
Precautions: Mere resemblance of pills does not guarantee that the pills are the same or contain the same active substances.
Recommended uses: Getting an idea of how impure ecstasy pills often are.
Source: Office of Dietary Supplements
Location: ods.od.nih.gov
Ownership and administration: United States government agency owned and operated.
Drugs covered: Herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: Hosting and links to interesting articles such as http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/How_To_Evaluate_Health_Information_on_the_Internet_Questions_and_Answers.aspx and http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm137284.htm
Precautions: None that come to my mind: the website itself lists a host of precautions.
Recommended uses: Learning not only about particular supplements but also about how to evaluate health information.
Source: WebMD Pill Identification Tool
Location: www.webmd.com/pill-identification/default.htm
Ownership and administration: Corporately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceutical drugs.
Features of note: Search by imprint, color, and shape. Pictures of common drugs.
Precautions: The WebMD website itself is not a reputable source of health information. There are reasonable allegations that the website functions to convince readers to demand brand-name pharmaceutical medications from their physicians.
Recommended uses: Identification of unknown pills. Verification of a pill being what you are told, or what you think it is; although the mere similarity to actual pills of that sort is no guarantee of authenticity.
Academic Databases and Journals
Source: PubMed Central
Location: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Ownership and administration: United States government agency owned and operated, although various versions are available in partnership with agencies of other nations’ governments.
Features of note: Wide repository of articles from academic, peer-reviewed publications.
Precautions: One article, even from an academic publication may not be enough to establish conclusive facts about any aspect of a drug.
Recommended uses: Search for reputable sources of information to answer questions you might have about particular aspects of drugs of interests.
Source: Harm Reduction Journal
Location: www.harmreductionjournal.com
Ownership and administration: Owned and published by BioMed Central, a for-profit subsidiary of Springer. However many members of the editorial board are faculty at prestigious universities and institutes.
Features of note: Articles available for free viewing to the public. Research that shows minimized harm as a result of drug use.
Precautions: One article, even from an academic publication may not be enough to establish conclusive facts about any aspect of a drug.
Recommended uses: Search for reputable sources of information to answer questions you might have about particular aspects of drugs of interests.
Although it is a college textbook that contains both basic primers and advanced discussion, I think that A Primer of Drug Action by Dr. Robert M. Julien might be understandable by a wide audience, including highs school students and even younger. If you don’t have access to a recent edition of that text there are also plenty of Internet sources that are more or less reliable. Below is a short list of sources I use or would recommend using to learn about drugs. Not all serve the same function or contain all of the same information. Your best bet is you use a variety of these sources.
Primers on Illicit Drugs and Recreational Drug Use
Source: Erowid Psychoactive Vaults
Location: www.erowid.org/psychoactives/psychoactives.shtml
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Variety of psychoactive drugs, both pharmaceutical and illicit.
Features of note: Wide variety of information not readily found through other primers.
Precautions: Although sometimes cited in academic publications, this resource is not academic and original information is not peer-reviewed. Controversial claims and information should be investigated through articles and reviews in academic publications. Personal accounts are unverified and may be exaggerated or even fabricated.
Recommended uses: General summaries of intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Source: DanceSafe
Location: www.dancesafe.org/drug-information
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Variety of psychoactive drugs, both pharmaceutical and illicit.
Features of note: Basic information on a variety of drugs in a convenient layout.
Precautions: Controversial claims and information should be investigated through articles and reviews in academic publications. Personal accounts and information on forums are unverified and may be exaggerated or even fabricated.
Recommended uses: General summaries of intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health “Information about drugs and addiction” section
Location: www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Information/index.html
Ownership and administration: Owned and administrated by the centre, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto.
Drugs covered: Selection of commonly used or discussed illicit drugs and illicit or recreational use of pharmaceuticals.
Features of note: Factsheets with information and claims not readily found through other sources.
Precautions: Not all information is referenced with citations.
Recommended uses: General summaries of the intoxication and withdrawal effects, dosages, chemistry, health effects, legal statuses, and other information.
Primers on (Mostly) Medicinal Use of Drugs
Source: RxMed.com “Drug and Illness Information” section
Location: www.rxmed.com/b.main/b2.pharmaceutical/b2.prescribe.html
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and administrated with a professional medical advisory board.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceuticals and herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: List of contraindications and precautions for given drugs.
Precautions: None that come to my mind.
Recommended uses: General information on pharmaceuticals.
Source: Mayo Clinic “Drugs and Supplements Health Information” section
Location: www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DrugHerbIndex
Ownership and administration: Owned and administrated by the prestigious, not-for-profit organization Mayo Clinic.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceuticals and herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: Letter grade reports on evidence for efficacy of supplements.
Precautions: None that come to my mind.
Recommended uses: General information on pharmaceuticals. Critical examination of claims about the effects of supplements.
Specialized Tools
Source: EcstasyData
Location: www.ecstasydata.org
Ownership and administration: Privately owned and operated laboratory.
Drugs covered: MDMA and other drugs that are sold as ecstasy.
Features of note: List of substances and ratios in ecstasy pills, posted with pictures and descriptions of said pills. Search of ecstasy pills by name, substance, and location.
Precautions: Mere resemblance of pills does not guarantee that the pills are the same or contain the same active substances.
Recommended uses: Getting an idea of how impure ecstasy pills often are.
Source: Office of Dietary Supplements
Location: ods.od.nih.gov
Ownership and administration: United States government agency owned and operated.
Drugs covered: Herbal and dietary supplements.
Features of note: Hosting and links to interesting articles such as http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/How_To_Evaluate_Health_Information_on_the_Internet_Questions_and_Answers.aspx and http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm137284.htm
Precautions: None that come to my mind: the website itself lists a host of precautions.
Recommended uses: Learning not only about particular supplements but also about how to evaluate health information.
Source: WebMD Pill Identification Tool
Location: www.webmd.com/pill-identification/default.htm
Ownership and administration: Corporately owned and administrated.
Drugs covered: Many pharmaceutical drugs.
Features of note: Search by imprint, color, and shape. Pictures of common drugs.
Precautions: The WebMD website itself is not a reputable source of health information. There are reasonable allegations that the website functions to convince readers to demand brand-name pharmaceutical medications from their physicians.
Recommended uses: Identification of unknown pills. Verification of a pill being what you are told, or what you think it is; although the mere similarity to actual pills of that sort is no guarantee of authenticity.
Academic Databases and Journals
Source: PubMed Central
Location: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
Ownership and administration: United States government agency owned and operated, although various versions are available in partnership with agencies of other nations’ governments.
Features of note: Wide repository of articles from academic, peer-reviewed publications.
Precautions: One article, even from an academic publication may not be enough to establish conclusive facts about any aspect of a drug.
Recommended uses: Search for reputable sources of information to answer questions you might have about particular aspects of drugs of interests.
Source: Harm Reduction Journal
Location: www.harmreductionjournal.com
Ownership and administration: Owned and published by BioMed Central, a for-profit subsidiary of Springer. However many members of the editorial board are faculty at prestigious universities and institutes.
Features of note: Articles available for free viewing to the public. Research that shows minimized harm as a result of drug use.
Precautions: One article, even from an academic publication may not be enough to establish conclusive facts about any aspect of a drug.
Recommended uses: Search for reputable sources of information to answer questions you might have about particular aspects of drugs of interests.