This volume is based on the program of the International Conference on Drugs of Abuse, Immunity and Immunodeficiency held in Clearwater Beach, Florida. It was sponsored by the University of South Florida College of Medicine with the support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. During the past few decades, drugs of abuse, including marijuana, cocaine, opiates and alcohol, have been studied by biomedical scientists in terms of the systemic effects of the drugs as well as alterations in neurophysiology and the psychology. More recently, the scope of such investigations has been broadened to include alterations within the immune system, and the influence of altered immunity on physiological and psychological consequences of drug abuse. In this regard, participants in the Clearwater Beach conference provided new information concern­ ing both basic and clinical aspects of drugs of abuse and immunity, especially immunodeficiency. Advances have been made in recent years in understanding the nature and mechanisms regulating the immune response and the mechanisms by which drugs may influence immune responses. In particular, the emergence of psychoneuroimmunology as a new discipline has heightened interest in immune responses influenced by psychoactive drugs. This has resulted in interdisciplinary investigations involving clinical and basic scientists including microbiologists, immu­ nologists, physiologists, psychiatrists, oncologists and others. The recreational use of the above mentioned drugs by large numbers of individuals has aroused serious concern about the consequences of this activity.

Springer Book Archives

Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology.- Neuroimmunopharmacologic Effects of Drugs of Abuse.- Altered Serum Immunoglobulin Concentration in Chronic Marijuana Smokers.- Advanced Malignancy in the Young Marijuana Smoker.- Effects of Marijuana on Human Natural Killer Cell Activity.- Adverse Effect of ?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Human Neutrophil Function.- Influence of Marijuana Components (THC and CBD) on Human Mononuclear Cells Cytokine Secretion In Vitro.- Effect of Stereospecific Cannabinoids on the Immune System.- Drugs of Abuse and Experimental Autoimmune Diseases.- Effects of Marijuana on Macrophage Function.- Cannabinoid Induced Changes in Eicosanoid Synthesis by Mouse Peritoneal Cells.- Suppression of T Lymphocyte Subpopulations by THC.- Drugs of Abuse and Infections.- Effect of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Mitogenic and Antigenic Stimulation of Lymphoid Cells from Inbred Hamsters Infected with Treponema Pallidum subsp. Pallidum.- Combined Immunosuppressive Activities of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Murine Retrovirus.- Effects of Cocaine and Other Drugs of Abuse on Immune Function.- Cocaine Effects on Cultured Lymphocytes.- In Vivo and In Vitro Studies of Opiates and Cellular Immunity in Narcotic Addicts.- Opiates, Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, and HIV.- In Vitro Effect of High Doses of Morphine on Con A Induced Lymphogne Production.- Opiates as Immunosuppressive and Genotoxic Agents.- The Effect of Morphine and DAGO on the Proliferative Response of Murine Splenocytes.- Endorphin Peptides Enhance in Rat Lymphocytes the Mitogen-induced T Cell Proliferation Which Has Been Suppressed by Prostaglandins.- Biochemical Characterization of Naloxone-Resistant Receptors for ?-Endorphin on a Human Mononuclear Cell Line (U937) and Murine Splenocytes.-Effects of Morphine Addiction on the Pathogenesis of Murine Toxoplasmosis.- Immunodeficiency Associated with Ethanol Abuse.- Effect of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Lymphocyte Populations in Mice.- The Effects of Ethanol, Tumor Necrosis Factor, and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor on Lung Antibacterial Defenses.- Immunosuppressive Effect of Alcohol on Hepatic Parenchymal and Nonparenchymal Cell Functions Following Endotoxin.- Inhaled Isobutyl Nitrite Impairs T Cell Reactivity.- Isoprenoid Formation and Cell-Mediated Immunological Functions.- The Effects of Canthaxanthin on JB/MS Melanoma Growth During Retroviral Pathogenesis Induced by LP-BM5 Murine Leukemia Virus.- Interaction of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol with Herpesviruses and Cultural Conditions Associated with Drug-Induced Anti-Cellular Effects.