ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the pharmacology of non-scheduled psychoactive drugs, namely alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. Alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the US and throughout the world. Once ingested, ethanol (alcohol) rapidly passes through the blood brain barrier allowing neural tissues to reach blood alcohol levels quickly. The pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence begins during the early stages of withdrawal by managing these symptoms with benzodiazepines. Nicotine is a pharmacologically active alkaloid produced by the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum. Tolerance to nicotine is both complex and incomplete. In fact, tolerance may need to occur to its aversive effects before nicotine's reinforcing effects may be experienced. Caffeine, an alkaloid found in a variety of plants, including coffee shrubs, tea plants, and cocoa plants, is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. Tolerance to caffeine's effects occurs quickly and can be observed after one to two weeks of moderate caffeine consumption.
