Cocaine: Scientific and Social Dimensions – Ciba Foundation (1992)

Cocaine poses interesting problems for neurophysiologists and neuropharmacologists and there is important new data on the effects of cocaine on the brain (its initial site of action at the cellular level now appears to be the dopamine transporter). Includes chapters on the far-reaching toxic effects of cocaine, on the epidemiology and the economics of drug addiction, on the past and present use of cocaine in the U.S. and in South America, and on the moral issues raised by drug use and abuse.

The use of the psychoactive drug cocaine has a long and fascinating history. Although cocaine is not a new drug, its use and abuse have become matters of serious concern in a number of countries. Cocaine poses interesting problems for neurophysiologists and neuropharmacologists and there are important new data on the effects of cocaine on the brain (its initial site of action at the cellular level now appearing to be the dopamine transporter). This symposium brought together scientists and other scholars from a range of fields to review the latest scientific findings on cocaine in its various forms and to discuss the problems of treating cocaine abusers, by means of a range of strategies which include psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy the latter based on curieus explanations of the powerful reinforcing effects of this drug. The participants also discussed the problems of formulating rational policies for dealing with the spread of cocaine abuse. The book includes chapters on the far-reaching toxic effects of cocaine, on the epidemiology and the economics of drug addiction, on the past and present use of cocaine in the USA and in South America, and on the moral issues raised by drug use and abuse. This book should appeal to an unusually wide range of specialists and also to non-specialist readers concerned about the increasing problems of drug dependence.