Goodman & Gilman's Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, 12e > Section II. Neuropharmacology > Chapter 23. Ethanol and Methanol Marc A. Schuckit

Ethanol and Methanol: Introduction

"The two-carbon alcohol ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH), or beverage alcohol, is one of the most versatile drugs known to man, with multiple direct effects on a diverse range of neurochemical systems. Produced in nature, rewarding in its effects, and easy to manufacture, it has been taken by humans since the beginning of recorded history, is consumed by a large majority of people in the Western world, and is likely to contribute to more morbidity, mortality, and public health costs than all of the illicit drugs combined. Yet most pharmacologists, pharmacists, and healthcare providers receive only minimal education about ethanol and the mechanisms through which it contributes to such diverse pathology...."