Alcohol, marijuana, cannabis, siddhi, opium, charas are prehistoric-herbal drugs. Tobacco use has been around for almost 500 years. Drugs were prevalent in the society of the past. But the ubiquitous form of the drug we see now called 'drugs' - alcohol, heroin, morphine, pethidine, the Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), speed or amphetamines has been around for almost 50 years. And now, with the spread and breadth of all this, the country, race, class, religion, caste has fallen into a vicious cycle of self-destruction. Thousands of potential lives are being exhausted prematurely. In all the social systems of the world, the conscience, intellect, judgment, morality, values, personality, ideals of the individual are all disappearing.

The question is -why in this age of the ultimate excellence of knowledge and science do people become addicted to this self-destructive death? What are the reasons? The mystery is that in the present neo-liberal economic, social and political system, which is discriminated by money-capital, people gradually become lonely and chase after money. People are an outcast entity by breaking all the bonds of social solidarity and reciprocity. At one-point cruel loneliness is making personal life helpless, and to relieve from this, they are getting lost in the realm of intoxication.

America, the root cause of capitalism, understands nothing but war and profit and is now doomed to the sting of drugs. The expanding capitalism led by this country has played a crucial role in spreading drugs worldwide in pursuit of its own interests. The British-American trade group has planted all the horrible drugs, including tobacco, poppy and opium, in the Indian subcontinent. They are the ones who have created the drug dictatorship like Escobar and Noriega to defeat the humanitarian governments of different countries. Again, they have killed them without any hesitation for their own sake.

It did not take long for these countries to snatch the people's fundamental human rights due to the boundless lust for money and capital. In the end, however, they are now trapped in their own trap, obsessed with 'the most unequal society in the world' and 'intoxicating - drugs'. Many families are being destroyed every moment through inequality-decay-instability and drugs. The capitalist economy and the consumerist society, with their excessive and abusive use of goods, with the poison of drugs, have brought the whole world to the brink of a catastrophe from which it is not possible to return. If people want to survive, they have to break this capitalist society. And to do that, among other things, we need to know the pharmacology of drugs and related social sins, the source and cause of degradation.

A book based on scientific and in-depth analysis unveiling the above issues has been published recently. The book's title is "Madok-Drugs: Vesojbiggan o Samajik Obokhoy' ("Narcotics-Drugs: Herbal Science and Social Degradation"). The author of the book, Dr M.A. Quasem, was one of the leading medical practitioners having a keen interest in public health and a legendary personality of his time. Dr Quasem actively participated in the 1971 War of Liberation and subsequently became one of the signatories of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1972. The book's publisher mentioned that it was written around 30 to 40 years ago. The 604-page book is divided into five chapters. Under each chapter, there are multiple numerical sub-chapters.

At the outset of this book, the author's five sons have written a research-based, thought-provoking article about their parents (Mother Begum Nurun Nahar and Father Dr M.A. Quasem). The curious readers can learn about the author's rich and diverse life by reading the article. The book contains acknowledgement, bibliography, content, table and illustrations. In addition, several footnotes on various essential topics have been added to the text.

The first chapter begins with a context: a letter. This chapter discusses the importance of the Bangla language. At the same time, the behaviour and words of an intoxicated man seen on the street in front of Bethune College during the writer's trip to Kolkata in childhood came up. The author has revealed to the reader some unknown history about the importance of the Bangla language.

The second chapter discusses drugs' pharmacology and social degradation. Tobacco, the first ingredient in the drug, is discussed at the beginning of this chapter. Origin and history of tobacco, botanical classification of tobacco, history of tobacco consumption, description of tobacco chemicals' main stream' 'side stream'; history of nicotine withdrawal from tobacco; tobacco poisoning and effects on different parts of the body; passive smoking; difficulties of quitting smoking; suffering and death from smoking; smoking in the third world countries, donors and the United States; international organizations and expert opinions on smoking; tobacco in a pious gaze; self-contradictory behaviour; tobacco cultivation in Bangladesh; advertising; alcohol: metabolism and oxidation; alcohol extraction; problems with drinking; effects of alcohol on the digestive system; effects on the heart and blood circulation; effects of alcohol on the brain; impact on the epicentre; alcoholic behaviour; wine longevity; feminine features; sex; the pregnancy of an alcoholic woman and the future of the unborn child; alcohol and crime; alcoholic orators and speeches; drinks vs. democracy; drinking and driving; wine and fat; drinking is a social norm; the social and moral decay of alcohol; image of the village of present day Bangladesh; urban and industrial areas of West Bengal; United States and United Kingdom; within Soviet Russia; the alcoholic, his family and his honour; alcoholism syndrome; exploring the heredity of alcoholics; alcohol poisoning psychosis disorder; determining hereditary traits; opium: morphine: heroin, etc.

The third chapter provides an indepth analysis of the Golden Triangle, the Golden Wage, the Golden Crescent, and Asia's drug epidemic. Drugs and US imperialism are discussed in the fourth chapter of the book. The sub-chapter of this chapter deals with a mafia baron in Colombia who is a mastermind of the drug empire. The chapter also discusses the CIA and Noriega trials for the spread of drugs. The fifth and final chapter deals with the nature of international drug-resistant organizations. Sub-chapters of this chapter provide an overview of the nature of international organizations; 'Mafia-Money' or 'Drug-Money' and the Economy of Bangladesh; drug politics and the US government; and related other issues.

Through scientific analysis and research, the book has been written based on a lot of rare information and data, which is one of the vital aspects of this book. However, the author has presented many complex issues in the unambiguous and straightforward language despite being a researcher. In the storytelling style, the author has highlighted the various stories, history, culture, economy, politics of the country and abroad related to drugs and drug-related business. In a word, it is not just a scientific analysis of narcotics-drugs; this book deals with the politics and economics behind narcotics-drugs, the politics of Bangladesh and the world, culture, international relations, history, psychology, sociology.

The author has introduced his profound erudition in this book by quoting from various local, foreign books, journals, and periodicals. The author quotes eminent poets and writers from home and abroad to make the subject easier to understand whenever necessary. In a word, this is a beautiful book about drugs, which I think is a must-read for people of all walks of life, including physicians, medical students, scientists, psychologists, politicians, economists, historians, sociologists and development workers. The book should be included in the syllabus of universities, medical universities, and medical colleges to acquire knowledge in the subject.

At the same time, I firmly believe that the wise reader will be able to glean a detailed body of knowledge about the inside and outside of narcotics and drugs and their effects on individuals, families, communities, and society. Thirty or forty years ago, when the flow of information was not so easy, staying in the remote town of Kushtia, collecting rare books and information, the author wrote a substantive book about drugs. It is not easy to comprehend how the author- a conscious and socially responsive medical practitioner of the 1970s- could predict the future social-cultural-economic consequences of drugs and narcotics in Bangladesh. The author skillfully described the spread of drugs that we see today from urban to rural areas. It is a must-read for those who dream of a promising future for the whole of humankind.

The book was published by the third son of the author, the people's economist Professor Dr Abul Barkat from MuktoBuddhi Prokasana in Dhaka. Sabyasachi Hazra has designed the cover of the book. The price of the book is BDT1,000.

Dr Matiur Rahman, Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), Dhaka