Drugs of Abuse and Pharmacotherapies for Substance Use Disorders: An Introduction

Abstract

Drug abuse continues being a public health problem. Old drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and cannabis; newer drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, hallucinogens, sedatives, and anabolic steroids; and the newest drugs such as the synthetic cannabinoids are producing devastating medical and psychosocial consequences among people of all ages and in most countries of the world. This section provides an overview of the pharmacological and psychosocial effects of the most common drugs of abuse as well as the state-of-the-art treatments of the addictive disorders that may result from their compulsive use. The section also includes chapters that highlight some specific therapeutic approaches, special issues related to the implementation of some treatments in some countries, and topics related to the research of new pharmacotherapies for drug addictions. In addition, this section offers a unique international perspective to these topics, which is consistent with the global nature of the drug abuse problem and responds to the need of going beyond country boundaries to effectively tackle this worldwide epidemic.