Book excerpt: This volume provides a summary of the most current information about stimulant dependence and its treatment. In addition, it sheds light on how the epidemiology of cocaine, amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse and dependence have substantial differences in geographic distribution, and how treatments are evolving to help these complex patients benefit from emerging pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Also, the editors provide literature that discusses, among many topics: the recent shift to more humane responses within the criminal justice system that is useful in obtaining treatment for the estimated 1.6 million cocaine and half-million methamphetamine users who abuse these drugs each day in the U.S., and also key treatment considerations, such as HIV comorbidity and polydrug abuse.