Publisher's Synopsis
INTRODUCTION The history of substance use is as old as the history of mankind; hence it is not a recent phenomenon. Some drugs have been used for religious purposes in ancient times; priests and shamans have consumed plants for epochs to bring a state of dissociative trance. This group of substances is sometimes labeled as "entheogenic". In central Asia, a mushroom called Amanita muscaria; (agaric) has been used for at least 4000 years for religious rituals. In ancient India, Amanita muscaria had religious importance, and around 18th - century travelers documented the use of this substance in Northeastern Siberia (Crocq, 2007). Psychoactive substances have been also used for medicinal purposes and, as main commodities by enormous segments of the population in a socially accepted way (Crocq, 2007). As the oldest medical document, Ebers papyrus (1500 BC) describes, grains of the poppy plant was used to prevent excessive crying in children. In western countries, in the early 20th century, Opium was also used by people in good mental and physical health. For recreational purposes, some addictive drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine have been used by a substantial proportion of the population consistently and they have been considered as staple commodities. These substances are used by normal people since they are dissimilar to illicit substances which are hard drugs and considered traditionally as deviant (Crocq, 2007). Psychoactive substances are drugs that have an impact on mental processes (e.g. cognition) when taken in or administered into one's system. The term is comparable to psychotropic drugs and is the most expressive term for the whole class of substances; licit and illicit (Johnstone, 2013). Psychoactive substances usually encompass a range of drugs including alcohol in its various forms, tobacco, illegal drugs (e.g. Marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, etc.), and legally controlled psychotherapeutic drugs such as stimulant, sedatives, and tranquilizers (Johnstone, 2013). A drug is also a chemical applied to treat, cure, inhibit, or diagnose diseases or to heighten physical and mental well-being (Rice & Dolgin, 2008). There are also various aspects of definitions of drugs in terms of drug illegality, medical utility, and psychoactivity. Based on the model of medical utility, a drug is any kind of substance,
