Health and Wellness: Medications and Drugs
This guide will assist you in doing research in the fields of health, nutrition and wellness.
Available in the Library
These books, plus many more, can all be found in the Reference section of our library. Search the Library Online Catalog to find additional resources.

Complete Guide to Prescription & Nonprescription Drugs, 2011 by H. Winter Griffith
Call Number:
REF RM 301.15 .G75 2011

Drug Abuse Sourcebook by Laura Larsen
Call Number:
REF HV 5801 .D724 2014

Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior by Pamela Korsmeyer.
Call Number:
REF HV5804 .E53 2009 v.1-4

Physicians' Desk Reference 2016 70th Edition
Call Number:
REF RS 75 .P5 2016
Library Databases
These databases will be useful to you in your research:
- Ebook CentralContains over 130,000 full-text e-books in a wide variety of subjects and disciplines. There is a powerful user interface that includes highlighting, bookmarking and automatic citations.
- JSTORThis collection contains the complete archived holdings of over 1,100 scholarly, full-text journals. New titles and disciplines are added regularly. The capacity for searching across disciplines opens up vast possibilities for scholarship and research.
- Gale In Context: Opposing ViewpointsContains full-text resources on current issues. This online library investigates current issues and topics from a number of perspectives.
Suggested Websites
Here are some links that may help you when researching medications and drugs.
- Drug Information OnlineProvides free, peer-reviewed, accurate and independent data on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines & natural products.
- Drug Information PortalProduced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, this site provides extensive information on almost 25,000 drugs.
- Drugs of Abuse InformationProduced by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, detaled information is given for commonly abused prescription and illicit drugs. Fact sheets, charts and statistics are also provided.
- Drugs@FDADrugs@FDA allows you to search for official information about FDA approved brand name and generic drugs and therapeutic biological products.
- MedlinePlus: Drugs, Herbs and SupplementsLearn about prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Includes side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more. Browse dietary supplements and herbal remedies to learn about their effectiveness, usual dosage, and drug interactions.
- Partnership for Prescription AssistanceThe Partnership for Prescription Assistance helps qualifying patients without prescription drug coverage get the medicines they need through the program that is right for them. Many will get their medications free or nearly free.
- PDRHealth: DrugsThis is online drug and medication information from the publishers of the Physician’s Desk Reference.
- World Drug Report: Global Illicit Drug TrendsProduced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Reports are provided from 1997 to current day and provides one of the most complete pictures of the international drug problem.
Specialized Search Engines
Many of the Suggested Websites (above) also have embedded search engines on their sites.
Martindale’s Health Science Guide 2019
This site contains a wealth of worldwide medical/health information on virtually every health-related topic. The site features Multimedia Teaching Files, Multimedia Tutorials, Databases, Multimedia Medical Cases, Movies and Multimedia Courses/Textbooks.
Medications and Drugs Blogs, Podcast and RSS Directories
- Centers for Disease Control: Medication Safety ProgramPodcasts, Blogs and Videos available from the CDC’s Medication Safety Program.
- Addiction and Alcoholism Recovery BlogThis blog discusses recovery from addiction and alcoholism.
FDA Drug Safety Podcasts
Associations and Organizations
Here is a listing of organizations that are affiliated with pharmaceuticals.
Descriptions are taken directly from their mission statements.
- Drug Information Association (DIA)DIA is a neutral, nonprofit, global, professional association of nearly 18,000 members who work in every facet of the discovery, development, and life cycle management of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and related products.
- healthfinder.govA directory of health organizations associated with prescription drugs. It is provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is not comprehensive.
- Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and ResearchMayo Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit corporation with a mission to provide the highest quality, compassionate care at a reasonable cost through a physician-led team of diverse people working together in clinical practice, education and research.
- National Families in Action: A Guide to the Drug-Prevention MovementAn index of organizations involved in drug prevention.
- United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs.
- United States Pharmacopeia (USP)The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a non–governmental, official public standards–setting authority for prescription and over–the–counter medicines and other healthcare products manufactured or sold in the United States.