Researchers Respond To Criticism Of Giving Hard Drugs To Addicts (with References)

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>> Researchers Respond To Criticism Of Giving Hard Drugs To Addicts>>
by Bruce Leshan> 3/27/2009 5:30:52 AM>>>

Federal officials say studies are ethical and potentially life saving.>>>

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- There's new reaction to the report about the government giving hard drugs to drug addicts. Federal researchers are taking serious exception to the report on 9NEWS NOW and the Washington Examiner. The research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda. There are a dozen studies going on right now.

And the director says the whole point is to develop treatments, maybe even a vaccine, to cure addiction.

Researchers are giving small amounts of some of the most addictive drugs to people who are already addicted. John Walters, drug czar in the Bush Administration, says he's been struggling to get them to stop, or at least explain what they're doing.

"We're talking about cocaine, we're talking about crack, we're talking about methaphetamine," says Walters.

The studies have been going on for decades at places like the VA Hospital in DC and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda.

The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse is surprised by the criticism.

"It really upsets me," says Dr. Nora Volkow.

She says the whole point of the studies it to try and cure addiction.

"It is very easy to destroy and to criticize," says Volkow. "What is important is to take the willingness to help those that are very afflicted."

John Walters "doesn't buy it."

"There are some things you don't do to your fellow human beings," says Walters.

But researchers insist the studies are valuable, that the subjects give their informed consent, and that they have already helped develop a medication that can cure addiction to heroin.

"For it to be approved by the FDA, to get an approval for that medication," says Dr. Volkow. "We need to demonstrate that it's not toxic if the person were to take the drug itself."

The institute says all the studies are subject the multiple independent reviews before they even start. And it's guidelines require a "serious and concerted effort" to get the drug abusers treatment to help them stop.>>

Actually.

There have been several studies and reviews that have specifically addressed this question, that is, whether administering drugs of abuse to drug abusing participants in laboratory studies harms participants by exacerbating addiction. All analyses indicate that the answer is no.

One study (Bigelow et al., 1995) has even shown some clinical areas ofimprovement for participants (employment, alcohol use, and drug use).

Here are some relevant references:

Bigelow, G. E., Brooner, R. K., Walsh, S. L., Preston, K. L., & Liebson, I.A. (1995). Community outcomes following research exposure to cocaine oropioids. In L. S. Harris (Ed.), Problems of Drug Dependence 1994 NIDAResearch Monograph Series (Vol. 153, pp. 354). Washington, D.C.: U.S.Government Printing Office.

College on Problems of Drug Dependence. (1995). Human subject issues in drugabuse research. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 37(2), 167-175.

Faillace, L. A., Flamer, R. N., Imber, S. D., & Ward, R. F. (1972). Givingalcohol to alcoholics. An evaluation. Q J Stud Alcohol, 33(1), 85-90.

Kaufman, M. J., Levin, J. M., Kukes, T. J., Villafuerte, R. A., Hennen, J.,Lukas, S. E., et al. (2000). Illicit cocaine use patterns inintravenous-naive cocaine users following investigational intravenouscocaine administration. Drug Alcohol Depend, 58(1-2), 35-42.

Vadhan, N. P., Hart, C. L., Roe, B., Colley, J., Haney, M., & Foltin, R. W.(2006). Substance use and psychosocial outcomes following participation inresidential laboratory studies of marijuana, methamphetamine and zolpidem.Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 32(4), 589-597.