Table of Contents

Preface
Prologue
Introduction

Part I: The Drugs
1 War in Eden
Origins of Plant Drugs
2 A Trip of Goats
Discovery of Poisons and
Intoxicants
3 Falling Birds and Flying Cats
Accidents with Hallucinogens
4 A Shrewdness of Apes
Learning to Use Tobacco and
Other Drugs
5 Ark on the Rocks
Alcohol as the Universal Intoxicant
6 Milk of Paradise
Romance and Addiction with
Opium
7 Emerald Laughter
Hashish and Marijuana
8 Forced March
Coca and Cocaine
9 A Bevy of Beasts
Drugs in the Social Group

Part II: The Drive
10 The Fourth Drive
Motivation for Intoxication
11 Fire in the Brain
Mental Marvels, Murder, and
Mechanisms of Control
12 Star-Spangled Powders
Drugs and the American Way
13 War on Drugs
Enduring Supplies and Demands
14 Waking Dreams
Drugs in the Future

Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Ronald K. Siegel, Ph.D., is a psychopharmacologist on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine and is a leading authority on the social and psychological effects of drug use. The author of Fire in the Brain and Whispers: The Voices of Paranoia, his research has also appeared in Psychology Today, Scientific American, and Omni as well as the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

"Siegal's book will be controversial, but his perspective on intoxication as a fact of nature and not just of culture cannot be ignored. Intoxication should be required reading for the nation's drug czar."
*Los Angeles Times Book Review*

"[Ronald K. Siegal] knows more about how drugs work than anyone else alive. . .an intrepid researcher [and] cartographer of consciousness."
*Omni Magazine*

"Siegal's book may draw spirited attacks. . .but his ideas are respected by drug authorities."
*Time*

"A rich feast of material . . . "
*Kirkus Reviews*

“Reading Intoxication one becomes conscious of the many different aspects of the drug problem, of the usefulness and dangers of psychoactive substances, and of their role and importance in medicine, in religious rituals, and in daily life. . . . Impressive . . . fascinating . . .”
*Albert Hofmann, Ph.D., author of LSD: My Problem Child and coauthor of Plants of the Gods*

“Compelling . . . fact-packed. . . . The author carefully surrounds any potential pro-drug interpretation with ample (and graphic) examples of the dangers of drug abuse. . . . thought-provoking.”
*Booklist*

"While carefully analyzing the human urge to seek out the effects of mind-altering substances, Siegal draws conclusions based on biological as well as cultural studies. . . .a very interesting and informative read."
*Vision Magazine, Oct 2005*

"Presenting his conclusions on the biological as well as cultural reasons for the pursuit of intoxication, . . . Siegel offers a broad understanding of the intoxication phenomenon as wll as recommendations for curbing the negative aspects of drug use in Western culture by designing safe intoxicants."
*SirReadaLot.org*

“This book will delight those who want to be informed, but not lectured, about drugs. . . . I recommend it based on its merits. It's objective, interesting and highly readable.”
*Galina Pembroke, New View, May 2006*

“...a fascinating insight into the intoxication complex.”
*Psychedelic Press UK, April 2013*