Get the Dope on Dope: First Response Guide to Street Drugs, Volume One. (Book Review).

Get the Dope on Dope: First Response Guide to Street Drugs, Volume One by Detective Steve C. Walton, Burnand Holding Co. Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2001.

In a compact compendium, Get the Dope on Dope: First Response Guide to Street Drugs, Volume One thoroughly details the most current information available on commonly encountered street drugs. Detective Steve Walton, a 23-year law enforcement veteran and drug expert, has written the 78-page book in an easy-to-use, quick-reference format that allows officers and emergency medical first responders to immediately access the information that they need to stay safe and informed in street drug encounters.

The information presented on each drug ranges from detailed descriptions of the drug's physical and olfactory characteristics and time frames for post-use onset of effects and duration to current methods of use, associated paraphernalia, and dangerous symptoms that users may illustrate that can threaten an officer's safety. The author also includes a listing of the common street names associated with each drug and up-to-date street pricing.

In the introduction, Walton includes a valuable description of the "Rhomberg Internal Clock" method of field testing for possible drug use, a procedure that capitalizes on a user's common inability to accurately determine elapsed time. To ensure that officers can use the method for each drug presented in the book, the author shares the typical test results that can act as indicators of use for each particular substance.

Get the Dope on Dope: First Response Guide to Street Drugs, Volume One also includes an extensive symptom chart that helps officers pair a wide variety of physical and mental characteristics users often illustrate. Ranging from blurred vision, teeth grinding, and dehydration to depression, convulsions, and vomiting, the author lists over 70 symptoms that can help officers discern the substance a subject may have taken.

An extensive glossary of current drug terms indexed in the back of the book proves helpful for keeping officers up-to-date on drug culture jargon and helps in translation, if necessary, during street encounters. Walton also includes fascinating background information throughout, ranging from how many drugs are made clandestinely to common societal settings in which specific drugs often are found.

In addition to its impressive contents, the physical qualities of the book prove equally valuable. Printed on nearly indestructible, waterproof pages and secured with a heavy-duty spiral binding, the book should stand years of rigorous field use. In fact, the author tested the book for physical durability prior to releasing it. Also, with each copy comes a four-color poster, sized for a locker door or departmental bulletin board, that synopsizes useful reference information for each drug covered in the book. Officers can order a copy of this useful guide directly from the publisher by calling the toll-free number 877-255-1166 or through Calibre Press at 800-323-0037.