Is it Over for Cocaine Addicts?
Nothing says drug addiction more than a needle and syringe. But that's exactly what two Baylor College of Medicine scientists based in Houston believe can help people with a cocaine addiction kick their habit. The researchers have developed a vaccine that creates antibodies that bind to the drug and prevent it from travelling from the bloodstream to the brain. The result? The drug can’t produce a high because it can’t penetrate the brain. This would be quite incredible. Imagine a future where along with vaccinations for typical one time deadly childhood diseases such as measles and mumps, that vaccinations were also given that protected against future drug addiction…… Wow!
It's a very clever idea," says David Eagleman, a Baylor neuroscientist. "Scientists have spent the last few decades figuring out reward pathways in the brain and how drugs like cocaine hijack the system. It turns out those pathways are difficult to rewire once they've seen the drug. But the vaccine just circumvents all that."
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January 20th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
It can take care of the problem for that drug but addiction exist deeper than just bio-chemistry. Its a spiritual malady. No matter what scientist do they cant invent a drug that binds God to our brains to prevent addiction. Thats where free will and the choice to seek recovery is important. If I never got addicted then I wouldnt have had the oppritunities that I have in life today. I am grateful for cocaine and where it put me in my life. I wouldnt want a vaccine. Seems like an easy way out. Typical…heres a drug to treat a drug problem. Maybe we are playing around in an area that not meant to be played in with this issue.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Call me crazy, but I think that a vaccine for people that abuse cocaine is ridiculous. It is just one more med that they will rely on to take their problem away. It is a huge breakthrough when addicts decide to give up a drug/drink/pill that has been there for them. It is also a decision to claim back their lives. I think that instead of giving them a shot and calling them cured have them keep doing what they have been doing which is working a program and changing their lives. I see miracles happen at my job with the kids and they do it because they want to and Gatehouse provides that people that give these kids the tools to not want to use anymore. I can’t stress the joy I have coming to work everyday. I watch the amazing staff here work miracles and motivate these kids to want more for themselves. I just think if you get the addict into a place that knows what they are doing with people that have worked that same program as them you would never need a shot. Give it over to God and let him be that miracle shot that will help you live a sober life.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
In my book, any developments to help drug addicts kick their drugs of choice are positive. My one concern with this “Cocaine Vaccine” is that people would begin to rely fully on this vaccine to recover instead of on the 12 steps and the daily spiritual reprieve which goes along with them. As the Big Book states, my drinking and using were merely symptoms. Even when I am dry, I have so many areas in my life that need to be fixed. Twelve step recovery has allowed me to work on these other areas while refraining from picking up a drug or a drink. A vaccine, if not used along with the 12 steps, would only take away one symptom.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I think that on top of it being an interesting and possibly helpful treatment option, it also isn’t out yet. In the scientific aspect, the article specifically states, “the potent naked drug”, now when I read that I think of pure cocaine. If that is in fact the case, having been a cocaine user myself in the past, I believe that it would be very difficult to calculate and account for all of the components cocaine is cut with or mixed with. There are a variety of drugs and add ons that can be mixed with cocaine, so my question is what about those? Would a drug like this really work? Seems unlikely. Does it take into consideration the purity of the drug? I believe the twelve steps is the way to go, is there is something to help lessen craving, great, but something that eliminates addiction would take a lot more than popping a pill.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
It takes a mentally strong person to break an addiction, however once someone relies that they can overcome a drug addiction; they also relies how much other things they can do.