Throughout history, drugs have inspired love and fear in almost equal proportions; no account of these substances can be called complete that seeks only to curse or praise them. This anthology is a microcosm that seeks to reflect the diverse worlds that come into being through the interplay of drugs and their users. There are individual sections for the most prominent drugs - cannabis, the narcotics, LSD as well as chapters for the lesser-known substances, such as nutmeg and crocodile dung for example. The anthology seeks to be a genuinely comprehensive collection in a variety of ways. In addition to writings from novels and short stories, there are works from other genres, including prayers, polemics, riddles. It also supplements western writings with ancient, oriental and tribal texts in an attempt to provide an exhaustive account of the drug experiences of all kinds of people. There are extracts from writers as diverse as Hunter S. Thompson, Winston Churchill, H.G. Wells, John Buchan and Cary Grant.