What is barbiturate dependence and who is at risk?

The dependence on drugs today, particularly by young people, must concern many - doctors and nurses, social workers, lawyers and the police, and parents. The writers of the group of papers which follow, although inevitably overlapping in some respects, attempt to examine the questions raised from the particular point of view of each. When does taking a drug (generally a barbiturate) become a state of dependence is the question posed and answered by Dr Connell. He begins by setting out the series of offical definitions of addiction, habituation and dependence formulated by the World Health Organization and in Britain by the Interdepartmental Committee (the Brain Committee). With these definitions as a framework he examines barbiturate dependence and abuse in the setting of current medical practice.