What is pharmacology?
Pharmacology is the study of chemicals - drugs - on living tissues and how those chemicals help diagnose, treat, cure, prevent disease, correct physiology of living tissues. Pharma (drugs) -ology (the science of). (Kamienski, Keogh. Pharmacology Demystified)
History of drug use in human civilization
Humans have been using drugs to alter the brain since it was discovered that chemicals can alter the state of the brain.
There are 5 main themes of drug use:
1. Human beings have a basic need to cope with their environment and enhance their existence.
2. Human brain chemistry can be affected by psychoactive drugs, behavioral addictions, and mental illness to induce and altered state of mind.
3. The ruling classes, governments, and industry, along with criminal organizations, have been involved in growing, manufacturing, distributing, taxing, and prohibiting drugs.
4. Technological advances in refining, synthesizing, and manufacturing of drugs have increased the potency of these substances.
5. The development of faster and more-efficient methods of delivering drugs into the body has intensified the effects.
(Inaba, Cohen. Uppers, downers, all arounders, pg 1.2)
There are 5 main themes of drug use:
1. Human beings have a basic need to cope with their environment and enhance their existence.
2. Human brain chemistry can be affected by psychoactive drugs, behavioral addictions, and mental illness to induce and altered state of mind.
3. The ruling classes, governments, and industry, along with criminal organizations, have been involved in growing, manufacturing, distributing, taxing, and prohibiting drugs.
4. Technological advances in refining, synthesizing, and manufacturing of drugs have increased the potency of these substances.
5. The development of faster and more-efficient methods of delivering drugs into the body has intensified the effects.
(Inaba, Cohen. Uppers, downers, all arounders, pg 1.2)
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