Sucrose (C12H22O11) is the common chemical name for table sugar. Sucrose is a disaccharide; each molecule of sucrose consists of two "simple sugars" (monosaccharides): alpha glucose and fructose.
In biochemistry, a sugar is the simplest molecule that can be identified as a carbohydrate.
Wikipedia:Sugar,Wikipedia:Sucrose
Terence McKenna classified it as a drug, for its addictive qualities and negative health effects, then pointed out the effect of this worldwide addiction on human history. "Numerous wars have been fought over sugar, and entire generations were condemned to slavery in the service of its cultivation, he noted, as opposed to the innocent mushroom which only ever wanted to make people happy."
McKenna was continually frustrated by the bans on hallucinogens, which he saw as devastating hypocrisy in a society that legalized big-money mind-numbing drugs such as alcohol. "If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."
Pieper, Werner (2005): Das ZUCKER-Buch: Süße Sucht und bittere Folgen. [Book] (Der Grüner Zweig, 248.) MedienXperimente, Löhrbach. 164 pages. ISBN 392270851X. Purchase at: http://www.gruenekraft.com/permalink:gz248.html
Different Types of Sugar (including 'Sugar In The Raw')
An Anti-Sugar site (but notice they sell sugar replacements, who knows..)
Related: Aspartame