Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior (4 Volume Set) (repost)

This is a major revision of the 2001 edition by new editors Kranzler and Korsmeyer. The extensive appendix of addiction-treatment facilities that encompassed all of the second edition’s volume 4 is gone because of the more-comprehensive and constantly updated lists found online. Other appendixes that appeared in the second edition have been integrated into the entries, such as the list of drugs under government-control schedules. Out of a total of 545 entries, there are 133 new articles, and 236 others have been “substantially revised” for this edition. New articles include those on the views of addiction from other societies outside of the U.S.

Extensive changes in the entries related to treatment of addictions mirror better medical understanding of the physical processes involved and the resulting changes to treatment since the last edition. One useful article provides difficult-to-find definitions for slang terms associated with drugs and drug culture. If you are thinking Devil’s dandruff is a medical condition or Special K is a breakfast cereal, check the slang entries to clarify what folks are talking about. Most entries are written to be easily understood, though some of the chemical and medical entries could have been simplified for better lay understanding, for example, the entry on Cannabinoids. See also references at the end of each entry are helpful but could have been more extensive. The entry for Cannabis sativa fails to link articles on India or Africa, where the topic is explored rather extensively. The thorough and expanded index does provide these links. Controversy in treatment and policy issues is addressed objectively. Discussions of 12-step models are as balanced as those on drug-substitution models. U.S. policy toward drugs is balanced by articles on other regions and countries to give the reader a view of how other cultures handle drugs and drug use in society.