"Morphine," writes Richard J. Miller, "is the most significant
chemical substance mankind has ever encountered." So ancient that
remains of poppies have been found in Neolithic tombs, it is the
most effective drug ever discovered for treating pain. "Whatever
advances are made in medicine," Miller adds, "nothing could really
be more important than that." And yet, when it comes to
mind-altering substances, morphine is only a cc or two in a vast
river that flows through human civilization, ranging LSD to a
morning cup of tea. In DRUGGED, Miller takes readers on an
eye-opening tour of psychotropic drugs, describing the various
kinds, how they were discovered and developed, and how they have
played multiple roles in virtually every culture. The vast scope of
chemicals that cross the blood-brain barrier boggle the very brain
they reach: cannabis and cocaine, antipsychotics and
antidepressants, alcohol, amphetamines, and Ecstasy-and much more.
Literate and wide-ranging, Miller weaves together science and
history, telling the story of the undercover theft of 20,000 tea
plants from China by a British spy, for example, the European
discovery of coffee and chocolate, and how James Wolfgang von
Goethe, the famous man of letters, first isolated the alkaloid we
now know as caffeine. Miller explains what scientists know-and
don't-about the impact of each drug on the brain, down to the
details of neurotransmitters and their receptors. He clarifies the
differences between morphine and heroin, mescaline and LSD, and
other similar substances. Drugged brims with surprises, revealing
the fact that antidepressant drugs evolved from the rocket fuel
that shot V2 rockets into London during World War II, highlighting
the role of hallucinogens in the history of religion, and asking
whether Prozac can help depressed cats. Entertaining and
authoritative, Drugged is a truly fascinating book.
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