ABSTRACT
What defines psychoactive substances is that they transform how the human brain works-how we think, feel, and act. They produce an “out of the ordinary” state of mind that some observers consider inappropriate. At a sufficient dosage, we call this state “intoxication,” and the achievement of the state, “getting high.” If we are sufficiently high or intoxicated, we are likely to engage in behavior that, norms dictate, we shouldn’t engage in, that may be deviant or even criminal. We do what we’re not supposed to do, according to authorities, and we don’t do what we’re supposed to do-such as perform adequately at our jobs, attend to our families, go to school, study and learn, be a functioning member of mainstream society. Under certain conditionssuch as driving, working, and even appearing in public-our very intoxicated state may be considered deviant or criminal. As a result, legislatures have deemed our possession of a number of these substances to be against the law and dominant medical opinion considers any and all use of them to be a form of drug “abuse.” Hence, we look at their use in a course or book on deviant behavior.
