Features, effects, and emergency treatment. Why does a person become addicted? What happens in the body during dependency and drug use? What types of drugs exist and how do they work? When and how do drug emergencies occur, and what should be done then? What paths out of addiction are available? This book addresses all these questions in a well-readable, academically rigorous manner. The second edition incorporates current statistics on drug use and relevant study results, includes new drug phenomena in Germany such as Khat or Meth, and updates therapeutic measures to the present state. The legal information has been adjusted to the current legal situation.