Alternative Medicine Pharmacology

Abstract

To many systems of thinking, pharmacology is, by definition, not alternative medicine. However, many alternative treatments, such as the use of herbal compounds or illicit drugs to help PTSD, are outside the scope of standard medicine yet rely on pharmacological mechanisms to support their use. In this chapter, concepts for non-traditional uses of chemical compounds are reviewed. Alternative uses of specific compounds are described. This includes: atypical uses of allopathic compounds, the use of synthetically imitated or isolated natural compounds, the pharmacology of plant-based and herbal medications, and the use of illicit substances which are normally banned in the United States.