Caffeine and other drugs

Reader Anna found this interesting article about caffeine and drugs.
In February 1936, in order to pep herself up for a party, she took several of the grain-and-a-half caffeine citrate tablets. "Shortly afterward she became silly, elated, and euphoric. As hours passed she consumed more and more of the tablets until before the party started she had taken the contents of the box-forty tablets, sixty grains," equivalent to 1,800 milligrams of pure caffeine. "She became confused, disoriented, excited, restless and violent, shouted and screamed and began to throw things about her room." Despite her deep religious feelings, "she became exceedingly profane.

There is a widespread tendency to see strong and illegal drugs as "drugs", and legal and common drugs as "not drugs". Yet caffeine and alcohol are about as dangerous in large dozes as other drugs (a lethal doze of alcohol is less than twice that of a strong drunken effect). Education and relaxed control would be much more constructive than hysteria and heavy-handed control of selected (by lord knows what criteria) drugs.

Two sites with lots of info on a wide range of drugs: Druglibrary.org and Erowid (user experiences, first-hand).