Drugs 2.0: The Web Revolution That's Changing How the World Gets High by Mike Power

Book Review by Amy Balloch | 01 May 2013
Book title: Drugs 2.0: The Web Revolution That's Changing How the World Gets High
Author: Mike Power

Like its subject matter - at least as self-confessed popper Mike Power would have us believe - Drugs 2.0 is a stimulating read, providing a timeline of chemical development from the first archaeological drug discovery in Thailand, to the state-of-play in today’s online market.

It is clear Power believes drugs have been, and continue to be, revolutionised by the web - his thorough and informative research providing plenty of proof to support his theories. Drugs 2.0 achieves a middlebrow, none-too-chemically-inconvenienced style of writing which means the less savvy among us can understand everything, right down to the molecular structure of Phenethylamine – which by the by, is a psychedelic.

However, as entertaining at times as the book is to read - Power has positioned it as a stable intellectual investment, looking into the positives and negatives of consumption - it is certainly no tool of seduction for the uninitiated. What the book does ask is if drugs have won the "War on Drugs." With astonishing discoveries and alarming facts, Drugs 2.0 is a must-read for anyone interested in pharmaceuticals, popular culture or the ever-changing face of the web. [Amy Balloch]

Out 2 May, published by Portobello, RRP £14.99 http://www.portobellobooks.com