I think understanding how drugs and alcohol affect people is a very important topic and would make an interesting report. First off it is important to know that there are numerous studies on these topics, so narrowing down your interests would be very helpful. Are you more interested in understanding drug effects or alcohol effects?

You may even want to narrow it down further, for example are you interested in a particular type of drug, such as sleeping pills, or a particular type of alcohol, wine for example? Next, you want to make sure you are using reliable sources of information. Many scientists publish results of their studies in magazines we call "scientific journals". These articles are very technical and difficult to read if you are not a scientist yourself. However, there are several science magazines that write about these topics specifically for non-scientists. Some of these magazines include American Scientist, Popular Science, Science News, and Scientific American.

Also, the New York Times newspaper is well known for their science articles. All of these sources are available at the library and on the web. You can also look at webpages of science labs studying these topics.

Examples of labs to look at include the Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov) and the National Institutes of Health (www.nih.gov). Finally, WebMD is a well-respected source of information (www.webmd.org). Some of these webpages might be a bit confusing at first so if you can sit down with your teacher or parent, that might help you find the information you need more quickly.

Good luck on your paper!