Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances [Paperback]

Ronald K. Siegel Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

A scientific and cultural exploration of the pursuit of altered states of consciousness in both humans and animals

• Contains myriad studies and examples from the author's 20 years of research

• By the foremost authority on the social and psychological effects of drug use

History shows that people have always used intoxicants. In every age, in every part of the world, people have pursued intoxication with plants, alcohol, and other mind-altering substances. In fact, this behavior has so much force and persistence that it functions much like our drives for food, sleep, and sex. This "fourth drive," says psychopharmacologist Ronald K. Siegel, is a natural part of our biology, creating the irrepressible demand for intoxicating substances.

In Intoxication Siegel draws upon his 20 years of groundbreaking research to provide countless examples of the intoxication urge in humans, animals, and even insects. The detailed observations of his so-called psychonauts--study participants trained to explicitly describe their drug experiences--as well as numerous studies with animals have helped him to identify the behavior patterns induced by different intoxicants. Presenting his conclusions on the biological as well as cultural reasons for the pursuit of intoxication and showing that personality and guidance often define the outcome of a drug experience, Siegel offers a broad understanding of the intoxication phenomenon as well as recommendations for curbing the negative aspects of drug use in Western culture by designing safe intoxicants.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Siegal's book will be controversial, but his perspective on intoxication as a fact of nature and not just of culture cannot be ignored. Intoxication should be required reading for the nation's drug czar."
(Los Angeles Times Book Review
)

"[Ronald K. Siegal] knows more about how drugs work than anyone else alive. . .an intrepid researcher [and] cartographer of consciousness."
(Omni Magazine
)

"Siegal's book may draw spirited attacks. . .but his ideas are respected by drug authorities."
(Time )

"A rich feast of material . . . "
(Kirkus Reviews )

“Reading Intoxication one becomes conscious of the many different aspects of the drug problem, of the usefulness and dangers of psychoactive substances, and of their role and importance in medicine, in religious rituals, and in daily life. . . . Impressive . . . fascinating . . .”
(Albert Hofmann, Ph.D., author of LSD: My Problem Child and coauthor of Plants of the Gods )

“Compelling . . . fact-packed. . . . The author carefully surrounds any potential pro-drug interpretation with ample (and graphic) examples of the dangers of drug abuse. . . . thought-provoking.”
(Booklist )

"While carefully analyzing the human urge to seek out the effects of mind-altering substances, Siegal draws conclusions based on biological as well as cultural studies. . . .a very interesting and informative read."
(Vision Magazine, Oct 2005 )

"Presenting his conclusions on the biological as well as cultural reasons for the pursuit of intoxication, . . . Siegel offers a broad understanding of the intoxication phenomenon as wll as recommendations for curbing the negative aspects of drug use in Western culture by designing safe intoxicants."
(SirReadaLot.org )

“This book will delight those who want to be informed, but not lectured, about drugs. . . . I recommend it based on its merits. It's objective, interesting and highly readable.”
(Galina Pembroke, New View, May 2006 )

From the Back Cover

SOCIAL SCIENCE / DRUGS

“Reading Intoxication one becomes conscious of the many different aspects of the drug problem, of the usefulness and dangers of psychoactive substances, and of their role and importance in medicine, in religious rituals, and in daily life. . . . Impressive . . . fascinating . . . ”
--Albert Hofmann, Ph.D., author of LSD: My Problem Child and coauthor of Plants of the Gods

“Compelling . . . fact-packed. . . . The author carefully surrounds any potential pro-drug interpretation with ample (and graphic) examples of the dangers of drug abuse. . . . thought-provoking.”
--Booklist

History shows that people have always used intoxicants. In every age, in every part of the world, people have pursued intoxication with plants, alcohol, and other mind-altering substances. In fact, this behavior has so much force and persistence that it functions much like our drives for food, sleep, and sex. This “fourth drive,” says psycho-pharmacologist Ronald K. Siegel, is a natural part of our biology, creating an irrepressible demand for intoxicating substances.

In this book Siegel draws upon his twenty years of groundbreaking research to provide countless examples of the intoxication urge in humans, animals, and even insects. The detailed observations of his so-called psychonauts--study participants trained to explicitly describe their drug experiences--as well as numerous studies with animals have helped him to identify the behavior patterns induced by different intoxicants. Presenting his conclusions on the biological as well as cultural reasons for the pursuit of intoxication and showing that personality and guidance often define the outcome of a drug experience, Siegel offers a broad understanding of the intoxication phenomenon as well as recommendations for curbing the negative aspects of drug use in Western culture by designing safe intoxicants.

RONALD K. SIEGEL, PH.D., is a psychopharmacologist on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine and is a leading authority on the social and psychological effects of drug use. The author of Fire in the Brain and Whispers: The Voices of Paranoia, his research has also appeared in Psychology Today, Scientific American, and Omni as well as the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He lives in Los Angeles.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594770697
• ISBN-13: 978-1594770692
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite essential reading, really, May 25, 2006

By 

Stefan Isaksson "www.stefanisaksson.se" (Malmoe, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances (Paperback)

Ronald K. Siegel, Ph.D, a psychopharmacologist at the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA School of Medicine, has written a truly mind-boggling (quite literally) book about what he believes to be the fourth strongest drive in the human animal: that of intoxication. What? The struggle for intoxication is a drive, just like hunger, thirst, and sex? You bet, and Siegel has the research to prove it. Which probably make no difference to people that still connect "drugs" with strung-out heroin junkies who do just as much damage to themselves as to their friends and family.

Well, such stubborn people need to do some serious rethinking. Because what good is science unless it questions and investigates? But to make Spiegel even more controversial; he also experiments on animals when investigating why animals (and remember, the human being is an animal, too) choose to become intoxicated by various means. And also when they choose not to. These experiments clearly show how all animals use narcotics. So in other words, man is not alone in this struggle for a changed state of mind.

So what does this all mean? Well, it shows that the so-called War on Drugs is as futile as it is pointless, since there will always be and always has been people who choose to subject their bodies and minds to different drugs that the state or ruling class has decided should be illegal, and it also shows that it's indeed possible use narcotics and still be a very functioning member of society. Not all drug users end up as pathetic heroin junkies. The politics of drugs are extremely complicated, but arguing strictly from emotional points of views while refusing to accept new and mind-blowing ideas is, to put it simple, quite stupid.

Of course Siegel doesn't imply that everyone should do as much drugs as possible all the time whenever they feel like it. But what he does indeed do is giving all those millions of users of legal drugs - prescribed medication, coffee, cigarettes, and so on - something to think about, and he also clearly shows how all those Just Say No and other anti-drugs campaigns do more harm than good. After all, it's a human drive to become intoxicated, so why should some campaign manage to erase this drive? It's not going to happen, and people need to understand that.

Our culture encourages and even romanticizes the use of alcohol and cigarettes - two of the most deadly drugs man has ever come up with - and large corporations make billions of dollars from prescription drugs that are often a whole lot more harmful than the strongest your local dealer can provide you with. This is hypocrisy to such an extent that it's almost impossible to even comprehend, and Spiegel and his team of researchers therefore deserve all the credit they can get for trying to enlighten people they way they do. But just like any other type of fundamentalism, the anti-drug people will probably ignore Mr. Spiegel and all his knowledge, and this will in the long run do more harm to the human race than all the drugs in the world could ever do.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intoxication, a review by Bruce Moffitt, March 13, 2011

By 

Bruce Moffitt - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances (Paperback)

This is a very important book that offers a broad insight into the use of intoxicants in the animal world and in particular, the human part of it. It covers the chemistry and effects of the psychoactive agents available, and the ways societies use them. It also carefully covers the more basic questions pertaining to why they are used. Dr. Siegel is an old student of psychopharmacology and the human condition, and the experiments he has devised are both elegant and clever. The scholarship is superb. I can highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the pharmacology and effects of intoxicant usage, and its history and causes. It is especially pertinent to the present "War on Drugs".

5.0 out of 5 stars Wanna get high?, November 13, 2010

By 

Clay Emerton (ATL, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances (Paperback)

This book was exceptional. The author is a scholar but his sense of humor makes him a riot as well. I recommend this book to intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals who like reading about psychology.