Introduction

This book was developed to provide students with an openly licensed free textbook for a popular undergraduate course at Palo Alto College. The course, titled “Drug Use and Abuse,” is described in the course manual as a “study of the use, misuse and abuse of drugs and other harmful substance in today’s society. Physiological, sociological, pharmacological and psychological factors will be emphasized.”  As a survey course that considers community and colleges resources concerned with drug use and misuse with an emphasis on personal and social actions for responsible drug use.

As this course is taught through the Department of Sciences and Kinesiology, at Palo Alto College, drug use and misuse are discussed in this text through the lens of the field of kinesiology, and the impact of drug use and misuse on community health. The book contains eight distinct chapters addressing the background of drug use and misuse, including key terms, as well as an introduction to different categories of drugs including gateway drugs, opioids, and prescription drugs, and concluding with evidence-based prevention and treatment models.

It is our sincere hope that this book will help students better understand their own relationship with drugs and drug use as well as the broader societal impact of drug use and misuse on community and personal health. Additionally, it is our hope that instructors will find this as a resource to use with their own classes both at Palo Alto College and beyond.