Toxicology
The study of toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of alcohol and drugs on our bodies. It includes in the study of the symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of alcohol and drugs. The articles contained in this section discuss how alcohol and other drugs affect the human body, how long those effects can remain, even after long periods of sobriety, and how those effects impact the physical and mental functioning of those who use alcohol and other drugs.
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Alcohol Toxicology for Prosecutors Source - Prosecution | This 37-page report, subtitled targeting hard-core impaired drivers, was prepared by the American Prosecutors Research Institute. It contains a detailed discussion of the interpretation of alcohol results, and relates extensive information about how alcohol is measured and its effects on the human body. It discusses and illustrates rates of absorption, distribution, and elimination. It also explains how to calculate alcohol concentrations and how to calculate through retrograde extrapolation. There is also a discussion of common defenses encountered by the prosecution. The appendix contains alcohol charts for both males and females prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
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Health Risks and Benefits of Alcohol Consumption Source - Government | This seven-page report from the National Institute of Health summarizes the Tenth Special Report to the United States Congress on Alcohol and Health. The report discusses research which measures the health risks and benefits of alcohol consumption and discusses its effects on physical health, psychosocial consequences and cognitive defects, effects on society in general, and associates risk and benefits by age group. It is an excellent summary of the research, and contains an excellent bibliography setting forth the research in detail.
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The Science of Addiction Source - Government | This 32-page report, prepared by the National Institute of Health, U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services is an excellent discussion illustrating how science has revolutionized the understanding of drug addiction. It discusses how drugs change the brain and foster compulsive drug abuse. It provides specific scientific information about particular drug addictions, harmful consequences of drug abuse, and discusses basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat drug abuse. The report contains not only detailed information, but also illustrative images of the PET scans of normal and drug-addicted brains. The booklet can be obtained in multiple copies from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication Number 07-5605.