Me, the drug

There are plenty of ways to get seriously wasted in today’s world. But have you ever wondered about the mechanism by which all those natural and artificial, legal and illegal substances actually affect our bodies and brains? Ondřej Dvořák, author of the successful book “Chemistry on a Plate,” this time takes a look at how addictive substances “work” from a chemist's perspective, revealing why their use is both popular in the long term and, at the same time, highly problematic. The list of questions is endless, and the answers are often unexpected and surprising!
What are the stages of drunkenness? How long does it take for the human body to recover after a bottle of wine? Why do we love tobacco so much? What do cocaine and crack do to our brains? Was pervitin (methamphetamine) originally intended for housewives? Does LSD let us see into a parallel universe? Are magic mushrooms better than fly agarics? What will happen to you after one joint? Can you smoke skunk? Can you get high from a tray of poppy seed buns? How many opiates and opioids do you know? What cocktail of drugs are you mixing for the weekend? Fancy something more exotic, like khat or betel? Is sugar an addictive substance? And the cherry on top: have you ever tried tripping on nutmeg?