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Free Download Pharmacy ebook 3

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:21:00 +0000

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BASIC & CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY - 10th Ed. (2007)

FRONT MATTER

a LANGE medical book

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology

tenth edition

Edited by

Bertram G. Katzung, MD, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Department of Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology
University of California, San Francisco

McGraw-Hill Medical

New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto

McGraw-Hill Companies

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, Tenth Edition

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Free Download Pharmacy ebook 2

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:29:00 +0000

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HERBAL MEDICINE
Second Edition
by
Joanne Barnes, Linda A Anderson, J David Phillipson

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Free Download Pharmacy ebook 1

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:56:00 +0000

NEW ADDITIONS - ALWAYS UPDATE

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Tips : How to Get Medicines the Most Benefits with the Fewest Risks

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:28:00 +0000

no medicine is without risk. Besides benefits, medicines may cause side effects or allergic reactions, and they may be affected by interactions with foods, drinks, or other drugs.

For prescription drugs, Tips : a patient's first step to safe and effective treatment is to ask the doctor questions with each new prescription. For example:

* What is the medicine's name, and what is it supposed to do?
* How and when do I take it, and for how long?
* While taking this medicine, should I avoid:
o certain foods or dietary supplements?
o caffeine, alcohol, or other beverages?
o other medicines, prescription and OTC?
o certain activities, such as driving or smoking?
* Will this new medicine work safely with prescription and OTC medicines I'm already taking?
* Are there side effects, and what do I do if they occur?
* Will the medicine affect my sleep or activity level?
* What should I do if I miss a dose?
* Is there written information available about the medicine?
* Is there a generic version of the medication?
* How should I store my medications?
* Does this medication replace anything else I was taking?

Here are more tips for helping your medicines work as safely and effectively as possible.

General Advice

* Keep a record of all your current medicines, including their names and regimens (dose, time, and other instructions for taking). Write down any problems you have with the medicine so you can discuss them with your doctor or pharmacist.
* Using adequate light, read labels carefully before taking doses.
* Ask the doctor's or pharmacist's advice before crushing or splitting tablets; some should only be swallowed whole.
* Contact the doctor or pharmacist if new or unexpected symptoms or other problems appear.
* Never stop taking medicine the doctor has told you to finish just because symptoms disappear.
* Ask the doctor periodically to reevaluate long-term treatments.
* If you have questions, talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using an OTC medicine the first time, especially if you use other medicine.
* Carefully read OTC medicine labels for ingredients, proper uses, directions, warnings, precautions, and expiration dates. Many medicines contain the same ingredients. Be sure you're not taking the same drug in more than one form.
* Discard outdated medicine.
* Store medicine in the original container, where the label identifies it and gives directions.
* Never store medicine in the bathroom. Unless instructed otherwise, keep it away from heat, light and moisture.
* Never store medicine near a dangerous substance, which could be taken by mistake.
* Never take someone else's medicine.
* Tell your health professional if you:
o are breast-feeding or are, or may be, pregnant
o are allergic to drugs or foods
o have diabetes or kidney or liver disease
o take other prescription or OTC medicines regularly
o follow a special diet or take dietary supplements
o use alcohol or tobacco.

Children and Medicine

* Keep all medicine out of children's reach. Some medicines, such as iron supplements, are very toxic to children.
* Use child-resistant caps, and never leave containers uncapped.
* Examine dose cups carefully. Cups may be marked with various measurement units and may not use standard abbreviations. Follow label directions. Never substitute a cup from another product.
* When using a dosing syringe with a cap, discard the cap before use.
* Never guess when converting measuring units--from teaspoons or tablespoons to ounces, for example. Consult a reliable source, such as the pharmacist.
* Never try to remember the dose used during previous illnesses; read the label each time.
* Check with the doctor or pharmacist before giving a child more than one medicine at a time.
* Never give medicine to children unless it is recommended for them on the label or by a doctor. Don't give children drugs intended for adults; children's doses are almost always lower.
* Never use medicine for purposes not mentioned on the label, unless so directed by a doctor.
* Check with the doctor before giving a child aspirin products. Never give aspirin to a child or teenager who has or is recovering from chickenpox, flu symptoms (nausea, vomiting or fever), or flu. Aspirin may be associated in such patients with an increased risk of Reye syndrome, a rare but serious illness.

Help : Any Medication Question ? Ask the Pharmacist

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:26:00 +0000

Latest Question and Answer About Medication or Prescription.

Q = what generic name Amoxsan, i'm looking the same medication but less expensive for my prescribed drug. b4 thank a lot
A = generic name is Amoksisilin trihidrat. maybe can cost 80 percent less than their brand-name.best result in cost saving for you and important to, generic's are safe. thank to

Q = Can you take Ibuprofen and Panadol about 30min apart?
A = Panadol usually contains paracetamol, so should be fine with Ibuprofen. Just check the ingredients on the Panadol pack-if it contains Ibuprofen, don't take the tablet as well. Please follow the dosage instructions on each packet, and try to take the ibuprofen after food.

Q = I'm taking mefenamic acid for periods but it's not relieving the pain. Can I take a pain killer on top of mefenamic acid?
A = You can take Paracetamol tablets along with the Mefenamic acid. Do not take Ibuprofen or aspirin as a painkiller, as they are similar to the mefenamic acid. The paracetamol can be taken as two 500mg tablets up to four times a day.

Q = I am an assessor for a medicines course and this contains a question about Piriton. As a nurse, I am sure this brand now only comes as tablet and syrup and not as an injection. Is this correct? Also is the branded injection Piriject still available or can you only obtain generic chlorphenamine? Many thanks
A = You are correct. Piriton comes as in a tablet and syrup form. I cannot find Piriject listed. Piriton contains chlorphenamine maleate, and a generic version exists as a 10mg/ml strength, in a 1ml amp. It is a prescription only medicine.

Q = I am 39 weeks pregnant. Can I take Lemsip max strength?
A = Manufacturer recommends that this product is not used by pregnant women. You can take paracetamol safely, but Lemsip is best avoided. very carefully to choise

Q = I am going to Indonesia in July for a week, do I need to take Malaria tablets?
A = At present (Up until October 2008) the recommendation is that there is very low risk of Malaria in Indonesia so no Anti malarial tablets need to be taken. However care should be taken to avoid being bitten by mosquito's, Use a good insect repellent (see travel section on our website), wear trousers and long sleeved clothing after dusk and possibly sleep under a mosquito net. This advice is only valid upto October 2008, as the recommendations are regularly updated.

If you have a question regarding medication or your prescription concerns, our team of qualified Pharmacists will be happy to provide a professional answer. Just comment To submit your question please.

9 Tips:Spend less on prescription medicines

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:27:00 +0000

If drug costs have been eating a hole out of your budget — or perhaps your parents’ budget — the tips in this column could be helpful for you.
And even if you’re nowhere near retirement age, much of this information could help you spend less money on the medicines you need.

1. Ask your doctor for help. Many people never ask their doctors about how they could save on medicines. Your doctor may have plenty of ideas – and he or she also may have access to free samples. Pharmaceutical companies provide prescription medicines free of charge to physicians whose patients could not afford them otherwise.

2. Ask your pharmacist for help. A frank discussion with your local pharmacist also could work wonders for you. “In my 44 years as a pharmacist I have assisted countless patients in finding ways to lower the cost of their medications,” Bowen said. “In my experience many, if not most, pharmacists are happy to suggest alternative, less costly drugs. Typically these are generics but (they) may be a less expensive branded drug from the same therapeutic class.”

3. Investigate helpful programs. To determine your eligibility for reduced-cost or cost-free drug programs, visit the Web site of Partnership for Prescription Assistance / drug manufacturers’ assistance programs.

4. Optimize your doses. Fewer pills can mean lower bills, so ask your doctor or pharmacist whether you can take a higher dose of your medication once a day rather than a lower dose more than once daily. Your doctor or pharmacist also can tell you whether it’s appropriate to buy higher-dose pills and split them yourself. You can buy a device specially designed for cutting pills, or ask your pharmacy to do it for you.

5. Consider generics. Generic drugs can cost 25 percent to 80 percent less than their brand-name counterparts, and because they must pass the same Food and Drug Administration tests, generics are safe. If generic alternatives aren’t available in your case, ask your doctor about less expensive substitutes for the prescribed drug.

6. Learn about your options. Consumer Reports has launched a Web site called Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs to help you identify the least expensive medicines that are effective for certain conditions. You can access this information free of charge.

7. Opt for the online or mail-order route. You can save both money and time by having your medications sent directly to your home. Some health plans will let you order a three-month supply at one time for nearly 30 percent less than it costs to buy three one-month supplies at a retail pharmacy.

8. Shop around online. To compare drug costs and arrange to have medicines sent to your home, visit Web sites such as drugstore.com, Walgreens.com and Medco.com. Also ask your health plan about mail-order and online pharmacy options that exist for you — particularly options that will result in cost savings for you.

9. Tell all your doctors about all your medications. Doing so could reveal duplication, over-medication and unnecessary expenses for medicines that may not be working the way they should.

DRUG INFORMATION

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:36:00 +0000

NARCOTIC AND PSYCHOTROPIC

METHAMPHETAMINE

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Today, methamphetamine is second only to alcohol and marijuana as the drug used most frequently in many Western and Midwestern states. Seizures of dangerous laboratory materials have increased dramatically—in some states, fivefold. In response, many special task forces and local and Federal initiatives have been developed to target methamphetamine production and use. Legislation and negotiation with earlier source areas for precursor substances have also reduced the availability of the raw materials needed to make the drug.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug with potent central nervous system stimulant properties. In the 1960s, methamphetamine pharmaceutical products were widely available and extensively diverted and abused. The 1971 placement of methamphetamine into Schedule II of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) and the removal of methamphetamine injectable formulations from the United States market, combined with a better appreciation for its high abuse potential, led to a drastic reduction in the abuse of this drug. However, a resurgence of methamphetamine abuse occurred in the 1980s and it is currently considered a major drug of abuse. The widespread availability of methamphetamine today is largely fueled by illicit production in large and small clandestine laboratories throughout the United States and illegal production and importation from Mexico. In some areas of the country (especially on the West Coast), methamphetamine abuse has outpaced both heroin and cocaine.

The drug has limited medical uses for the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorders, and obesity.

CONTROL STATUS

Methamphetamine is in Schedule II of the CSA.

STREET NAMES

Speed, Meth, Ice, Crystal, Chalk, Crank, Tweak, Uppers, Black Beauties, Glass, Bikers Coffee, Methlies Quick, Poor Man's Cocaine, Chicken Feed, Shabu, Crystal Meth, Stove Top, Trash, Go-Fast, Yaba, and Yellow Bam

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

As a powerful stimulant, methamphetamine, even in small doses, can increase wakefulness and physical activity and decrease appetite. A brief, intense sensation, or rush, is reported by those who smoke or inject methamphetamine. Oral ingestion or snorting produces a long-lasting high instead of a rush, which reportedly can continue for as long as half a day. Both the rush and the high are believed to result from the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure.

Methamphetamine has toxic effects. In animals, a single high dose of the drug has been shown to damage nerve terminals in the dopamine-containing regions of the brain. The large release of dopamine produced by methamphetamine is thought to contribute to the drug’s toxic effects on nerve terminals in the brain. High doses can elevate body temperature to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels, as well as cause convulsions.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Long-term methamphetamine abuse results in many damaging effects, including addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping on the skin, which is called “formication”). The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.

With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. In an effort to intensify the desired effects, users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while indulging in a form of binging known as a “run,” injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be coupled with extremely violent behavior.

Although there are no physical manifestations of a withdrawal syndrome when methamphetamine use is stopped, there are several symptoms that occur when a chronic user stops taking the drug. These include depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, and an intense craving for the drug.

In scientific studies examining the consequences of long-term methamphetamine exposure in animals, concern has arisen over its toxic effects on the brain. Researchers have reported that as much as 50 percent of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged after prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of methamphetamine. Researchers also have found that serotonin-containing nerve cells may be damaged even more extensively. Whether this toxicity is related to the psychosis seen in some long-term methamphetamine abusers is still an open question.

COCAINE

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. Cocaine is not a new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs. The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source of cocaine, have been ingested for thousands of years.

Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses.

Cocaine abuse has a long history and is rooted into the drug culture in the U.S. It is an intense euphoric drug with strong addictive potential. With the increase in purity, the advent of the free-base form of the cocaine ("crack"), and its easy availability on the street, cocaine continues to burden both the law enforcement and health care systems in America.

The powdered, hydrochloride salt form of cocaine can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected. Crack is cocaine that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. This form of cocaine comes in a rock crystal that can be heated and its vapors smoked. The term “crack” refers to the crackling sound heard when it is heated.

CONTROL STATUS

Today, cocaine is a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, meaning that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as local anesthesia for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.

STREET NAMES

Blow, nose candy, snowball, tornado, wicky stick, Perico (Spanish)

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Cocaine’s effects appear almost immediately after a single dose, and disappear within a few minutes or hours. Taken in small amounts (up to 100 mg), cocaine usually makes the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, and mentally alert, especially to the sensations of sight, sound, and touch. It can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that the drug helps them perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, while others experience the opposite effect.

The duration of cocaine’s immediate euphoric effects depends upon the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. Also, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting is relatively slow in onset, and may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes.

The short-term physiological effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels; dilated pupils; and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user’s high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior. These users may experience tremors, vertigo, muscle twitches, paranoia, or, with repeated doses, a toxic reaction closely resembling amphetamine poisoning. Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. Cocaine-related deaths are often a result of cardiac arrest or seizures followed by respiratory arrest.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug. Thus, an individual may have difficulty predicting or controlling the extent to which he or she will continue to want or use the drug. Cocaine’s stimulant and addictive effects are thought to be primarily a result of its ability to inhibit the reabsorption of dopamine by nerve cells. Dopamine is released as part of the brain’s reward system, and is either directly or indirectly involved in the addictive properties of every major drug of abuse.

An appreciable tolerance to cocaine’s high may develop, with many addicts reporting that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first experience. Some users will frequently increase their doses to intensify and prolong the euphoric effects. While tolerance to the high can occur, users can also become more sensitive (sensitization) to cocaine’s anesthetic and convulsant effects, without increasing the dose taken. This increased sensitivity may explain some deaths occurring after apparently low doses of cocaine.

Use of cocaine in a binge, during which the drug is taken repeatedly and at increasingly high doses, leads to a state of increasing irritability, restlessness, and paranoia. This may result in a full-blown paranoid psychosis, in which the individual loses touch with reality and experiences auditory hallucinations.

HEROIN

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin.” Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine, fentanyl or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

First synthesized from morphine in 1874, heroin was not extensively used in medicine until the early 1900s. Commercial production of the new pain remedy was first started in 1898. It initially received widespread acceptance from the medical profession, and physicians remained unaware of its addiction potential for years. The first comprehensive control of heroin occurred with the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914. Today, heroin is an illicit substance having no medical utility in the United States.

Heroin can be injected, smoked, or sniffed/snorted. Injection is the most efficient way to administer low-purity heroin. The availability of high-purity heroin, however, and the fear of infection by sharing needles has made snorting and smoking the drug more common. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) researchers have confirmed that all forms of heroin administration are addictive.

CONTROL STATUS

Today, heroin is an illicit substance having no medical utility in the United States. It is in Schedule I of the CSA.

STREET TERMS

Smack, thunder, hell dust, big H, nose drops

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Intravenous users typically experience the rush within 7 to 8 seconds after injection, while intramuscular injection produces a slower onset of this euphoric feeling, taking 5 to 8 minutes. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, the peak effects of the drug are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. In addition to the initial feeling of euphoria, the short-term effects of heroin include a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and heavy extremities.

Heroin laced with fentanyl and other poisons have been known to cause death within hours.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulites, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not really dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs.

One of the most significant effects of heroin use is addiction. With regular heroin use, tolerance to the drug develops. Once this happens, the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect that they are seeking. As higher doses of the drug are used over time, physical dependence and addiction to the drug develop.

Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as early as a few hours after the last administration, produces drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”), kicking movements (“kicking the habit”), and other symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal, although heroin withdrawal is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal.

HYDROCODONE

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Hydrocodone is an antitussive (cough suppressant) and analgesic agent for the treatment of moderate to moderately severe pain. Studies indicate that hydrocodone is as effective, or more effective, than codeine for cough suppression and nearly equipotent to morphine for pain relief.

Hydrocodone is the most frequently prescribed opiate in the United States with nearly 130 million prescriptions for hydrocodone-containing products dispensed in 2006. There are several hundred brand name and generic hydrocodone products marketed. All are combination products and the most frequently prescribed combination is hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Vicodin®, Lortab®, Lorcet®).

Hydrocodone diversion and abuse has been escalating in recent years. In 2006, hydrocodone was the most frequently encountered opioid pharmaceutical in drug evidence submitted to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) with 25,136 exhibits; the System to Retrieve Investigational Drug Evidence (STRIDE) analyzed 654 exhibits in 2006. In the 2005 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) combination products were associated with more emergency room visits than any other pharmaceutical opioid with an estimated 51,225 emergency room visits. Poison control data, medical examiners’ reports, and treatment center data all indicate that the abuse of hydrocodone is associated with significant public health risks, including a substantial number of deaths.

CONTROL STATUS

When the CSA was enacted in 1971, hydrocodone as a substance by itself was placed in schedule II while products, containing hydrocodone in specified amounts and in combination with other active ingredients, were placed in schedule III and V. At that time, hydrocodone was primarily utilized as a cough suppressant with limited prescriptions. Today, hydrocodone products are increasingly utilized for pain management and are the most frequently dispensed opioid pharmaceuticals in the United States.

STREET NAMES

Vikes, Hydro, Norco

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Hydrocodone in an analgesic and antitussive agent structurally similar to codeine but with effects more similar to morphine.

Hydrocodone is abused for its opioid effects. Widespread diversion via bogus call-in prescriptions, altered prescriptions, theft and illicit purchases from Internet sources are made easier by the present controls placed on hydrocodone products. Hydrocodone pills are the most frequently encountered dosage form in illicit traffic. Hydrocodone is generally abused orally, often in combination with alcohol.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

As with most opiates, abuse of hydrocodone is associated with tolerance, dependence, and addiction. The co-formulation with acetaminophen carries an additional risk of liver toxicity when high, acute doses are consumed. Data suggests that some individuals who abuse very high doses of acetaminophen-containing hydrocodone products may be spared this liver toxicity if they have been chronically taking these products and have escalated their dose slowly over a long period of time.

INHALANTS

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Inhalants are a diverse group of substances that include volatile solvents, gases, and nitrites that are sniffed, snorted, huffed, or bagged to produce intoxicating effects similar to alcohol. These substances are found in common household products like glues, lighter fluid, cleaning fluids, and paint products. Inhalant abuse is the deliberate inhaling or sniffing of these substances to get high, and it is estimated that about 1,000 substances are misused in this manner. The easy accessibility, low cost, legal status, and ease of transport and concealment make inhalants one of the first substances abused by children.

There are four general categories of inhalants:

*

Volatile solvents are liquids that vaporize at room temperatures. They are found in a multitude of inexpensive, easily available products used for common household and industrial purposes. These include paint thinners and removers, dry-cleaning fluids, degreasers, gasoline, glues, correction fluids, and felt-tip marker fluids.
*

Aerosols are sprays that contain propellants and solvents. They include spray paints, deodorant and hair sprays, vegetable oil sprays for cooking, and fabric protector sprays.
*

Gases include medical anesthetics as well as gases used in household or commercial products. Medical anesthetic gases include ether, chloroform, halothane, and nitrous oxide, commonly called “laughing gas.” Nitrous oxide is the most abused of these gases and can be found in whipped cream dispensers and products that boost octane levels in racing cars. Household or commercial products containing gases include butane lighters, propane tanks, whipped cream dispensers, and refrigerants.
*

Nitrites often are considered a special class of inhalants. Unlike most other inhalants, which act directly on the central nervous system (CNS), nitrites act primarily to dilate blood vessels and relax the muscles. While other inhalants are used to alter mood, nitrites are used primarily as sexual enhancers. Nitrites include cyclohexyl nitrite, isoamyl (amyl) nitrite, and isobutyl (butyl) nitrite, and are commonly known as “ poppers” or “snappers.” Amyl nitrite is used in certain diagnostic procedures and was prescribed in the past to treat some patients for heart pain. Nitrites are now prohibited by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but can still be found, sold in small bottles, often labeled as “video head cleaner,” “room odorizer,” “ leather cleaner,” or “liquid aroma.”

CONTROL STATUS

Inhalants are not regulated under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

STREET NAMES
Air blast=Moon gas
Ames=Oz
Amys=Pearls
Aroma of men=Poor man's pot
Bolt=Poppers
Boppers=Quicksilver
Bullet=Rush Snappers
Bullet bolt=Satan's secret
Buzz bomb=Shoot the breeze
Discorama=Snappers
Hardware=Snotballs
Heart-on=Spray
Hiagra in a bottle=Texas shoe shine
Highball=Thrust
Hippie crack=Toliet water
Huff=Toncho
Laughing gas=Whippets
Locker room=Whiteout Medusa

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Most inhalants act directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to produce psychoactive, or mind-altering, effects. They have short-term effects similar to anesthetics, which slow the body's functions.

Inhaled chemicals are rapidly absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream and quickly distributed to the brain and other organs. Within seconds of inhalation, the user experiences intoxication along with other effects similar to those produced by alcohol. Alcohol-like effects may include slurred speech, an inability to coordinate movements, euphoria, and dizziness. In addition, users may experience lightheadedness, hallucinations, and delusions.

Prolonged sniffing of the highly concentrated chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can induce irregular and rapid heart rhythms and lead to heart failure and death within minutes of a session of prolonged sniffing. This syndrome, known as "sudden sniffing death," can result from a single session of inhalant use. Chronic exposure to inhalants can produce significant, sometimes irreversible, damage to the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

The chronic use of inhalants has been associated with a number of serious health problems. Sniffing glue and paint thinner causes kidney abnormalities, while sniffing the solvents toluene and trichloroethylene cause liver damage. Memory impairment, attention deficits, and diminished non-verbal intelligence have been related to the abuse of inhalants. Deaths resulting from heart failure, asphyxiation, or aspiration have occurred.

A strong need to continue using inhalants has been reported among many individuals, particularly those who abuse inhalants for prolonged periods over many days. Compulsive use and a mild withdrawal syndrome can occur with long-term inhalant abuse. Additional symptoms exhibited by long-term inhalant abusers include weight loss, muscle weakness, disorientation, inattentiveness, lack of coordination, irritability, and depression.

LSD

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Chemist Albert Hofmann, working at the Sandoz Corporation pharmaceutical laboratory in Switzerland, first synthesized LSD in 1938. He was conducting research on possible medical applications of various lysergic acid compounds derived from ergot, a fungus that develops on rye grass. Searching for compounds with therapeutic value, Hofmann created more than two dozen ergot-derived synthetic molecules.

LSD is sold on the street in tablets, capsules, and occasionally in liquid form. It is an odorless and colorless substance with a slightly bitter taste that is usually ingested orally. It is often added to absorbent paper, such as blotter paper, and divided into small decorated squares, with each square representing one dose.
CONTROL STATUS

LSD is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs, which include heroin and MDMA, have a high potential for abuse and serve no legitimate medical purpose. Its two precursors lysergic acid and lysergic acid amide are both in Schedule III of the CSA. The LSD precursors ergotamine and ergonovine are List I chemicals.

STREET TERMS

Acid, blotter acid, window pane, dots, mellow yellow

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

The short-term effects of LSD are unpredictable. They depend on the amount of the drug taken; the user's personality, mood, and expectations; and the surroundings in which the drug is used. Usually, the user feels the first effects of the drug within 30 to 90 minutes of ingestion. These experiences last for extended periods of time and typically begin to clear after about 12 hours. The physical effects include dilated pupils, higher body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. Sensations may seem to "cross over" for the user, giving the feeling of hearing colors and seeing sounds. If taken in a large enough dose, the drug produces delusions and visual hallucinations.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

LSD users often have flashbacks, during which certain aspects of their LSD experience recur even though they have stopped taking the drug. In addition, LSD users may develop long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression. LSD is not considered an addictive drug - that is, it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine do. However, LSD users may develop tolerance to the drug, meaning that they must consume progressively larger doses of the drug in order to continue to experience the hallucinogenic effects that they seek.

MARIJUANA

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. It might also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor.

The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana.

CONTROL STATUS

Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

STREET NAMES

Grass, pot, weed, bud, Mary Jane, dope, indo, hydro

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

When marijuana is smoked, its effects begin immediately after the drug enters the brain and last from 1 to 3 hours. If marijuana is consumed in food or drink, the short-term effects begin more slowly, usually in 1/2 to 1 hour, and last longer, for as long as 4 hours. Smoking marijuana deposits several times more THC into the blood than does eating or drinking the drug.

Within a few minutes after inhaling marijuana smoke, an individual’s heart begins beating more rapidly, the bronchial passages relax and become enlarged, and blood vessels in the eyes expand, making the eyes look red. The heart rate, normally 70 to 80 beats per minute, may increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute or, in some cases, even double. This effect can be greater if other drugs are taken with marijuana.

As THC enters the brain, it causes a user to feel euphoric— or “high”—by acting in the brain’s reward system, areas of the brain that respond to stimuli such as food and drink as well as most drugs of abuse. THC activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine.

A marijuana user may experience pleasant sensations, colors and sounds may seem more intense, and time appears to pass very slowly. The user’s mouth feels dry, and he or she may suddenly become very hungry and thirsty. His or her hands may tremble and grow cold. The euphoria passes after awhile, and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency toward obstructed airways. Cancer of the respiratory tract and lungs may also be promoted by marijuana smoke. Marijuana has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke.

Marijuana's damage to short-term memory seems to occur because THC alters the way in which information is processed by the hippocampus, a brain area responsible for memory formation. In one study, researchers compared marijuana smoking and nonsmoking 12th-graders' scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills. Although all of the students had scored equally well in 4th grade, those who were heavy marijuana smokers, i.e., those who used marijuana seven or more times per week, scored significantly lower in 12th grade than nonsmokers. Another study of 129 college students found that among heavy users of marijuana critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours.

MDMA (Ecstasy)

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. MDMA is an illegal drug that acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, as well as distortions in time and perception and enhanced enjoyment from tactile experiences.

Adolescents and young adults use it to promote euphoria, feelings of closeness, empathy, sexuality and to reduce inhibitions. It is considered a "party drug" and obtained at "rave" or "techno" parties. However, its abuse has expanded, to include other settings outside of the rave scenes, such as a college campus.

Although MDMA is known universally among users as ecstasy, researchers have determined that many ecstasy tablets contain not only MDMA but also a number of other drugs or drug combinations that can be harmful as well. Adulterants found in MDMA tablets purchased on the street include methamphetamine, caffeine, the over-the-counter cough suppressant dextromethorphan, the diet drug ephedrine, and cocaine. Also, as with many other drugs of abuse, MDMA is rarely used alone. It is not uncommon for users to mix MDMA with other substances, such as alcohol and marijuana.

CONTROL STATUS

In the 1980s, MDMA gained popularity as a drug of abuse resulting in its final placement in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

STREET TERMS

MDMA, Ecstasy, XTC, E, X, Beans, Adams, Hug Drug, Disco Biscuit, Go

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. On rare but unpredictable occasions, this can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system failure, and death.

Because MDMA can interfere with its own metabolism (breakdown within the body), potentially harmful levels can be reached by repeated drug use within short intervals.

Users of MDMA face many of the same risks as users of other stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. These include increases in heart rate and blood pressure, a special risk for people with circulatory problems or heart disease, and other symptoms such as muscle tension, involuntary teeth clenching, nausea, blurred vision, faintness, and chills or sweating.

Almost 60 percent of people who use MDMA report withdrawal symptoms, including fatigue, loss of appetite, depressed feelings, and trouble concentrating.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Research in animals links MDMA exposure to long-term damage to neurons that are involved in mood, thinking, and judgment. A study in nonhuman primates showed that exposure to MDMA for only 4 days caused damage to serotonin nerve terminals that was evident 6 to 7 years later. While similar neurotoxicity has not been definitively shown in humans, the wealth of animal research indicating MDMA’s damaging properties suggests that MDMA is not a safe drug for human consumption.

OXYCONTIN

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

OxyContin® is a prescription painkiller used for moderate to high pain relief associated with injuries, bursitis, dislocations, fractures, neuralgia, arthritis, lower back pain, and pain associated with cancer. OxyContin® contains oxycodone, the medication's active ingredient, in a timed-release tablet. Oxycodone products have been illicitly abused for the past 30 years.

Oxycodone is a Schedule II narcotic analgesic and is widely used in clinical medicine. It is marketed either alone as controlled release (OxyContin®) and immediate release formulations (OxyIR®, OxyFast®), or in combination with other nonnarcotic analgesics such as aspirin (Percodan®) or acetaminophen (Percocet®). The introduction in 1996 of OxyContin®, commonly known on the street as OC, OX, Oxy, Oxycotton, Hillbilly heroin, and kicker, led to a marked escalation of its abuse as reported by drug abuse treatment centers, law enforcement personnel, and health care professionals. Although the diversion and abuse of OxyContin® appeared initially in the eastern US, it has now spread to the western US including Alaska and Hawaii. Oxycodone-related adverse health effects increased markedly in recent years. In 2004, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for marketing generic forms of controlled release oxycodone products.

CONTROL STATUS

Oxycodone products are in Schedule II of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

STREET NAMES

Kicker, OC, Oxy, OX, Blue, Oxycotton, Hillybilly Heroin

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Pharmacological effects include analgesia, sedation, euphoria, feelings of relaxation, respiratory depression, constipation, papillary constriction, and cough suppression. A 10 mg dose of orally-administered oxycodone is equivalent to a 10 mg dose of subcutaneously administered morphine as an analgesic in a normal population. Oxycodone’s behavioral effects can last up to 5 hours. The drug is most often administered orally. The controlled-release product, OxyContin®, has a longer duration of action (8-12 hours).

The most serious risk associated with opioids, including OxyContin®, is respiratory depression. Common opioid side effects are constipation, nausea, sedation, dizziness, vomiting, headache, dry mouth, sweating, and weakness. Taking a large single dose of an opioid could cause severe respiratory depression that can lead to death.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

As with most opiates, oxycodone abuse may lead to dependence and tolerance. Acute overdose of oxycodone can produce severe respiratory depression, skeletal muscle flaccidity, cold and clammy skin, reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, coma, respiratory arrest, and death.

Chronic use of opioids can result in tolerance for the drugs, which means that users must take higher doses to achieve the same initial effects. Long-term use also can lead to physical dependence and addiction -- the body adapts to the presence of the drug, and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced or stopped. Properly managed medical use of pain relievers is safe and rarely causes clinical addiction, defined as compulsive, often uncontrollable use of drugs. Taken exactly as prescribed, opioids can be used to manage pain effectively.

STEROIDS

DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW

Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone. Both males and females have testosterone produced in their bodies: males in the testes, and females in the ovaries and other tissues. The full name for this class of drugs is androgenic (promoting masculine characteristics) anabolic (tissue building) steroids (the class of drugs). Some of the common street (slang) names for anabolic steroids include arnolds, gym candy, pumpers, roids, stackers, weight trainers, and juice.

Currently, there are more than 100 different types of anabolic steroids that have been developed, and each requires a prescription to be used legally in the United States.

Anabolic steroids can be taken orally, injected intramuscularly, or rubbed on the skin when in the form of gels or creams. These drugs are often used in patterns called cycling, which involves taking multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. Users also frequently combine several different types of steroids in a process known as stacking. By doing this, users believe that the different steroids will interact to produce an effect on muscle size that is greater than the effects of using each drug individually.

Another mode of steroid use is called "pyramiding." With this method users slowly escalate steroid use (increasing the number of drugs used at one time and/or the dose and frequency of one or more steroids), reach a peak amount at mid-cycle and gradually taper the dose toward the end of the cycle. The escalation of steroid use can vary with different types of training. Body builders and weight lifters tend to escalate their dose to a much higher level than do long distance runners or swimmers.

CONTROL STATUS

Federal law placed anabolic steroids in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as of February 27, 1991.

STREET NAMES

Arnolds, gym candy, pumpers, roids, stackers, weight trainers, gear, and juice.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS

Anabolic steroid abuse has been associated with a wide range of adverse side effects ranging from some that are physically unattractive, such as acne and breast development in men, to others that are life threatening. Most of the effects are reversible if the abuser stops taking the drug, but some can be permanent. In addition to the physical effects, anabolic steroids can also cause increased irritability and aggression.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Most data on the long-term effects of anabolic steroids on humans come from case reports rather than formal epidemiological studies. From the case reports, the incidence of life-threatening effects appears to be low, but serious adverse effects may be under-recognized or under-reported. Data from animal studies seem to support this possibility. One study found that exposing male mice for one-fifth of their lifespan to steroid doses comparable to those taken by human athletes caused a high percentage of premature deaths.

Steroid abuse has been associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart attacks and strokes, even in athletes younger than 30. Steroids contribute to the development of CVD, partly by changing the levels of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol in the blood. Steroids, particularly the oral types, increase the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and decrease the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). High LDL and low HDL levels increase the risk of atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty substances are deposited inside arteries and disrupt blood flow. If blood is prevented from reaching the heart, the result can be a heart attack. If blood is prevented from reaching the brain, the result can be a stroke.

Steroids also increase the risk that blood clots will form in blood vessels, potentially disrupting blood flow and damaging the heart muscle so that it does not pump blood effectively.

List of pharmacists

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:20:00 +0000

This is a list of notable pharmacists.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dora Akunyili, Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control of Nigeria
Charles Alderton (1857 - 1941), American inventor the soft drink Dr Pepper
George F. Archambault (1910–2001), Considered to be the "father" of consultant pharmacy
Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet (1720–1778), French botanists and explorer
George H. Bartell, Sr. (1868-1956), American Founder of Bartell Drugs, the oldest family-owned drug store chain in the United States
Paul Carl Beiersdorf (1836-1896), German founder of Beiersdorf AG
David Bernauer, American, former CEO of Walgreens drug store chain
Jesse Boot (1850 – 1931), British businessman and transformer of the Boots Pharmacy/Drug Company into a national retailer
John Boot (1815 - 1860), British founder of Boots the Chemists
Caleb Bradham (1867-1934), American inventor of the soft drink Pepsi-cola
Lawrence Brock (1906-1968), Nebraskan politician
Philo Carpenter (1805 -1886), first pharmacist in Chicago, IL
Michel Casseux(1794-1869), French developer of Savate
Jean Coutu (pharmacist) (1927-), French Canadian founder of the Jean Coutu Group
Stanley Stewart Davis (1942 - ), Winner of Eurand Award for Outstanding Research in Oral Drug Delivery
Theodor Fontane (1819 - 1898), German novelist and poet
Charles Elmer Hires (1851 - 1937), American inventor of the soft drink Hires Root Beer
Herbert Haft (1920-2004), American corporate raider
Hubert Humphrey (1911 - 1978), Pharmacist and 38th Vice President of the United States
Cornelius Comegys Jadwin (1835-1913), Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Georg Joseph Kamel (1661-1706), Czech Jesuit missionary and botanist
Murray Koffler (1924-), founder of Canadian drug store chain Shoppers Drug Mart
John Uri Lloyd (1849-1936), influential American pharmacist
Andrew Lowey (1977-), British research pharmaist
Antonio Luna (1866-1899), Philippine General
Charles Mohr (1824-1901), German botanist
Sivagurunathan Nagarethinam, Treasurer of Association of Community Pharmacists of India
Tadeusz Pankiewicz (1908-1993), Polish pharmacist in the Kraków Ghetto
Alton J. Parker (1879-1927), English chemist and creator of the amyl nitrite capsule
Ruiz and Pavón (1850 – 1931), Ruiz and Pavón Spanish famous Pharmacists
John Pemberton (1831 - 1888), American inventor of the soft drink Coca-Cola
Jean-Claude Pressac (1944-2003), French chemist and authority on the Holocaust of World War II
William Proctor, Jr. (1817-1872), regarded as the "Father of American Pharmacy", was instrumental in the founding of the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1852.
Jeff Rein (1953-) Current CEO of Walgreens drug store chain.
George H. Ryan (1934-), Illinois Governor
Wilbur Scoville (1865 - 1942), American developer of the The Scoville Organoleptic Test
Friedrich Sertürner (1783-1841), German chemist and discover of morphine
Daniel B Smith (1792–1883), American educator
Eugène Soubeiran (1797-1859), French discover of chloroform
Harve Tibbott (1885–1969), Republican politician and U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Oscar Troplowitz (1863-1918), German entrepreneur and owner of Beiersdorf AG
James Vernor (1843–1927), American inventor of Vernor's ginger ale
Charles Rudolph Walgreen (1873 - 1939), Founder of Walgreens Drugstore
R. Tim Webster (1946-2003), Founder and long-time executive director of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
Gerry Weiner (1933-), Canadian politician; former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MP and cabinet minister, president of the Equality Party and mayor of Dollard, Quebec
Harvey A. K. Whitney (1894 - 1957), Founder and first president of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists in 1942.

History of Apothecary / Pharmacy

noreply@blogger.com (APOTHECARY) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist (or, especially in British English, a chemist or dispensing chemist).
In addition to pharmacy responsibilities, the apothecary offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. Apothecaries often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines. The apothecaries also used many other herbs not listed.
In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the apothecary may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.
According to Sharif Kaf al-Ghazal, the first apothecary shops were founded during the Middle Ages in Baghdad. By the end of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer (1342-1400) was mentioning an English apothecary in the Canterbury Tales, specifically "The Nun's Priest's Tale" as Pertelote speaks to Chauntecleer (lines 181-184):
. . . for ye shal nat tarie,
Though in this toun is noon apothecarie,
I shal myself to herbes techen yow,
That shul been for youre hele and for youre prow.
. . . since you shouldn't tarry,
And in this town there's no apothecary,
I will myself go find some herbs for you
That will be good for health and pecker too.
By the 15th century, the apothecary gained the status of a skilled practitioner, but by the end of the 19th century, the medical professions had taken on their current institutional form, with defined roles for physicians and surgeons, and the role of the apothecary was more narrowly conceived as that of pharmacist (dispensing chemist in British English).
In England, the apothecaries merited their own livery company, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, founded in 1617. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain when she passed the Society's examination in 1865.
Apothecaries used their own measurement system, the apothecaries' system, to provide precise weighing of small quantities. Apothecaries also were known to accept special requests for viles and poisons. This meaning of the term "apothecary" has not passed into archaic oblivion, as in William Faulkner's still widely read 1930 story "A Rose for Emily" the main character, Miss Emily Grierson, goes to an "apothecary" and buys arsenic, ostensibly to kill a rat (which turns out later to have been her Yankee boyfriend who had apparently become bent on jilting her).
Words which are cognate to apothecary have the meaning of "pharmacist" or "dispensing chemist" in certain modern languages. In Swedish, for example, a pharmacy is ett apotek. The pharmacist (dispensing chemist) is called en apotekare, In indonesian Apothecary/pharmacist is called apoteker.

Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον 'pharmakon' = drug) is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences, and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of medication. The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to patient care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize medication use to provide patients with positive health outcomes. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. The first pharmacy in Europe (still working) was opened in 1241 in Trier, Germany.

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma which was a term used since the 1400–1600's. In addition to pharma responsibilities, the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma (as it was referred to) often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines. The pharmas also used many other herbs not listed.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.

Paleopharmacological studies attest to the use of medicinal plants in pre-history.

The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances was the Sushruta Samhita, an Indian Ayurvedic treatise attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BC. However, the earliest text as preserved dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD.

Many Sumerian (late 6th millennium BC - early 2nd millennium BC) cuneiform clay tablets record prescriptions for medicine.

Ancient Egyptian pharmacological knowledge was recorded in various papyri such as the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC, and the Edwin Smith Papyrus of the 16th century BC.

The earliest known Chinese manual on materia medica is the Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic), dating back to the 1st century AD. It was compiled during the Han dynasty and was attributed to the mythical Shennong. Earlier literature included lists of prescriptions for specific ailments, exemplified by a manuscript "Recipes for 52 Ailments", found in the Mawangdui tomb, sealed in 168 BC. Further details on Chinese pharmacy can be found in the Pharmacy in China article.

The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides is famous for writing a five volume book in his native Greek Περί ύλης ιατρικής in the 1st century AD. The Latin translation De Materia Medica (Concerning medical substances) was used a basis for many medieval texts, and was built upon by many middle eastern scientists during the Islamic Golden Age. The title coined the term materia medica.

In Japan, at the end of the Asuka period (538-710) and the early Nara period (710-794), the men who fulfilled roles similar to those of modern pharamacists were highly respected. The place of pharmacists in society was expressly defined in the Taihō Code (701) and re-stated in the Yōrō Code (718). Ranked positions in the pre-Heian Imperial court were established; and this organizational structure remained largely intact until the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this highly stable hierarchy, the pharmacists -- and even pharmacist assistants -- were assigned status superior to all others in health-related fields such as physicians and acupuncturists. In the Imperial household, the pharmacist was even ranked above the two personal physicians of the Emperor.

In Baghdad the first pharmacies were established in 754 under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age. By the 9th century, these pharmacies were state-regulated.

The advances in made in the Middle East in botany and chemistry led medicine in medieval Islam substantially to develop pharmacology. Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865-915), for instance, acted to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936-1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, as it provides the reader with recipes and explains how to prepare the `simples’ from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used. Sabur Ibn Sahl (d 869), was, however, the first physician to initiate pharmacopoedia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (973-1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist. Ibn Sina (Avicenna), too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, mode of action and their indications. He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in The Canon of Medicine. Of great impact were also the works by al-Maridini of Baghdad and Cairo, and Ibn al-Wafid (1008-1074), both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by `Mesue' the younger, and the Medicamentis simplicibus by `Abenguefit'. Peter of Abano (1250-1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Maridini under the title De Veneris. Al-Muwaffaq’s contributions in the field are also pioneering. Living in the 10th century, he wrote The foundations of the true properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being acquainted with silicic acid. He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds. He also describes the distillation of sea-water for drinking.

In Europe pharmacy-like shops began to appear during the 12th century. In 1240 emperor Frederic II issued a decree by which the physician´s and the apothecary´s professions were separated.