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Vaccine for drug addiction could offer hope to users

news.yahoo.com — CHICAGO (AFP) - In a search for what could be the ultimate cure for drug addiction, scientists have developed a vaccine which prevents the body from getting high.

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  • jphicks, on 01/30/2008, -20/+7That would be great if it would work, then get widespread distribution.
    • ThndrShk2k, on 01/30/2008, -3/+1Only problem is, that after a while, people will make SUPERDRUGS, and well... We're all boned then.

      People's immunity wears off after many years as well, but addicts will get more immunity per use of the drug they are vaccinated against. So this isn't really a valid Anti-Drug thing, but a valid Stop-Doing-Drug thing.
      • gregfadein, on 01/30/2008, -2/+3I think you mean that the only problem then is that you're hampering responsible drug users' legitimate rights to get high.
    • NikoKun, on 01/30/2008, -1/+5If they start forcing it on people that don't willingly want it, then we should be pissed.
      • rand0mm0nkey, on 01/30/2008, -2/+3Many "recreational" drugs are illegal currently. That is forced onto people. If you assault someone because you're high on crack, why shouldn't society force treatment on you? At that point your use has violated other people's rights. If you are a problem to society, then society should "force" you to not be. If you don't bother anybody with your escape from reality, then you should be just fine, or at least as fine as you were when you decided to self-medicate instead of facing the world.
        • qwertydvorak, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1they will force you into jail if you are caught with drugs even without attacking someone. up to and until i attack one or rob them for money for my habit there should be no penalty for drugs. that thing called liberty gets forgotten about all too often. just like free speech needs to protect speech you don't like, don't say that drug laws weren't the first step down the road to tasers, teargas and rubber bullets to keep you in line.
    • JITerraza, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0they already "chemically castrate" rapists and child molesters, so why shouldn't this be forced on people who commit crimes because they're on drugs, or to get money to buy drugs...
      • Tilon, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1You are the definition of the slippery slope.

        Enjoy your rest tonight, sweetheart.
        • JITerraza, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0if you see my answer below (inside Foot56's comment-thread) about the possibility of secondary effects, i'm not one to make rushed judgments. and i'm ambivalent about this as a scientific and medical topic.
          about my previous comment and your response: i draw the line in using chemicals in convicted criminals, specifically designed not to punish or to torture them, but for changing some metabolic route in their bodies that made them more prone to commit crimes. or are you challenging the idea that addiction makes some criminals more dangerous? (i know drugs DO NOT equal crime)
          is it bulletproof? don't think so, at least now that they haven't tried this before. how much will it work? if they use it, only time will tell. would I endorse its use in other behavioral changes? not at all.
          you draw the line before that, because you don't like this idea, and from your comment I don't deduce any thought on the topic. if that (disapproving of it before thinking about it) makes YOU sleep better at night, then good for you.
          i enjoy my rest every night, thank you very much.
  • Foot56, on 01/30/2008, -16/+17but what happens if you get an addiction to the vaccine?
    • Zbrah, on 01/30/2008, -2/+11Read the article, the vaccine works by attaching a modified form of the drug to a protein...causing the immune system to regard it as a pathogen which antibodies will then destroy and remember as a foreign substance. This is what happens everyday with pathogens in food, air etc. It's pretty much(read: is) impossible to be addicted to an innate process.
    • makkaveli19, on 01/30/2008, -4/+4well, that would just be sweet irony.
    • kooft, on 01/30/2008, -4/+5I'd be more concerned about the body viewing possibly similar, body-produced, chemicals as foreign and attacking them.
      • jmeskimen, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2If you knew more about this process, you would know that the protein they are using is most likely a virus that has had its 'DNA' removed and then replaced with whatever cocaine enzyme the company has made. The body knows what is foreign and what is not. When it recognizes something foreign, it attacks it. There is no way that the body will begin attacking it's own "possibly similar, body-produced, chemicals."
        • ThndrShk2k, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoimmunity
          You forget autoimmune diseases.

          Also: in before House M.D. Lupus reference.
        • gregfadein, on 01/30/2008, -1/+3I believe kooft is referring to endogenous forms of drugs. For example, would a heroin vaccine cause the body to attack endorphins, resulting in essentially a life-long, case of opioid withdrawal.

          This is a serious concern of mine, too—since opioids all trigger the same receptors, regardless of whether they're endogenous or exogenous, they must have similar structures. I feel its safe to assume that the differences between heroin and heroin + a deactivated virus are greater than the differences between heroin and endogenously-produced morphine.
        • dylanrush, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1There is no endogenous form of cocaine, dumbass
        • JITerraza, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0the concern is not without merit, whether you believe him or think he's crazy. Read about Autoimmunity. If they use a "modified virus" there's no way to predict that it won't act in some weird way (even if its in 1/1000000 people). There are theories about many forms of diabetes caused by the immune system attacking insulin-producing cells, after confusing them with a virus that recently attacked someone's body, thus starting the disease.
          will it happen here? unlikely, specially if its thoroughly tested before mass usage, but not impossible.
          and about "no endogenous form of cocaine": 1) there is an endogenous form of heroin, or opioid in general, its commonly known as endorphin.
          2) if a substance produces an effect inside our body, it means there are receptors for it. and the body doesn't produce receptors only for the drug, it produces them for the endogenous neurotransmitters or hormones. so the drug imitates the endogenous substance. now would it be so crazy to think that there could be some form of confusion if the body starts to mass produce antibodies against the foreign substance?
          again, i'm not saying it will, just that it could.
      • republicker, on 01/30/2008, -5/+1bry
    • GinsuGuy585, on 01/30/2008, -1/+4FAIL
  • neuen, on 01/30/2008, -4/+18ya but what else would this prevent you from doing...?
    • jmeskimen, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1If you read the article, you would not be so worried that you couldn't get high from smoking pot. The way they are making the vaccine makes your body recognize cocaine as a foreign substance and destroy it. Cocaine's high would be the only thing prevented.
      • Gerz1219, on 01/30/2008, -2/+4For now. What happens when they figure out how to vaccinate against any kind of high, and require the vaccine for admission into public schools? It's not that large a step.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 01/30/2008, -2/+7That's the day my sons don't go to school anymore.
        • Cyber_Akuma, on 01/30/2008, -7/+2While I would he HEAVILY AGAINST requiring something like this, are people really THAT conscerned about being able to do crack that they are afraid of an anti-high drug?

          I refuse to even smoke, much less do pot or any other such drug, I am not a fan of the damage these all cause from long-term use.

          Besides, alcohol is enough for me :)
          • SydBarrett420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+3***** Hypocrite, it's all kosher as long as they dont impede on YOUR recreational fun isn't it?
          • Cyber_Akuma, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1@SydBarrett420

            You misunderstood me, I said I am AGAINST being forced to receieve it as Gerz1219 mentioned, but whats wrong with it being used to help people whose addiction is causing them to ruin their life?

            Nearly everyone in my family drinks, though granted not much, but the only family member I know of that started doing illegal drugs is now in a violent gang and just last month repeatedly STABBED his brother.

            I am of course against people that drink so much where it ruins their life/family as well, but from my personal expirence I have met hundreds of people that drink and their life is just fine, yet anyone I have met of who regularly does anything stronger than pot eventually turned their life into trash.
        • Osama, on 01/30/2008, -0/+7@Cyber

          Alcohol causes more damage than marijuana, hypocrite.
          • Cyber_Akuma, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Well, first of all I meant substances stronger than marijuana.

            Second, I meant drinking in moderation, not getting drunk enough to pass out every night.

            I have heard of research that claims about two-three glasses of Wine a week is good for the heart.

            I have also heard of marijuana having positie effects on the brain.

            But I have never heard of anything positive from heroin, cocaine, etc.

            And finally, I am AGAINST it being forced on people. Digg is acting like suddenly government men in black suits are going to be runnign around everywhere jabbing needles full of this stuff into everyone. If somebody made an anti-hangover remedy that actually works I would welcome it...... if I ever get a hangover...
    • kooft, on 01/30/2008, -4/+6Stealing your mom's TV and selling it for a fix?
  • nullcodes, on 01/30/2008, -8/+4This is actually possible .. even naturally .. without this vaccination ..not everyone gets high (and addicted) when they take certain drugs. It's a very rare "condition". Many of you may think that sucks .. but it's better than having a lot of the other rare conditions around.
    • eosp, on 01/30/2008, -3/+2I'm immune to most everything. I've woken up mid-operation before. I seriously thought for a while that Tylenol was a placebo. I consumed two coffees and a NOS and didn't have a heart attack (indeed, I felt no effect whatsoever).
      • Dested, on 01/30/2008, -3/+18Take two tabs of acid and get back to me on what you are immune to.
        • sv650touring, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2I took 2 and a fraction tabs of acid, and all the other people (mostly waiters at the restaurant I worked at) were apparently getting all the standard effects after just one tab. I felt something, like I was wired and a bit paranoid, but I felt pretty ripped off. On the other hand, I'm a lightweight drinker.

          Weed works just right for me though, which is good since iIt would be my first choice for drug use.
          • SydBarrett420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2It's because your ***** was "bunk"
        • kooft, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2"I felt pretty ripped off."

          You were. Err, so I'm told.
          • Tilon, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1He was. First time I did that, I stood in one spot in a darkened room for 8 hours contemplating the nature of my pitch black prison.
    • MichaelGBoyd, on 01/30/2008, -1/+6Caffeine is really relative to the person. Some people I know can barely handle any, I once consumed two double shots, one MDX, two red bulls, one bawls and a nos and while i may have had palpitations, no heart-attack.
      • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1I'd probably be posting from the afterlife if I ever tried that. Wait a sec, that doesn't sound right...
        • SydBarrett420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Your right, it doesnt...BURIED
    • thedude42, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Not really sure where the whole "heart attack" myth is coming from, but caffeine doesn't act like, say, amphetamine or cocaine with regard to you pulmonary system. The primary affect on the body from caffeine is blocking the receptors in your brain that take the chemicals released when your body tries to relax, which does include preventing lowering heart rate, but doesn't guarantee increased heart rate. Increased heart rate during times of high caffeine consumption corresponds with your activities normally raising your heart rate, but your body not being able to bring your heart rate back down like normal.

      This is in stark contrast to amphetamine and cocaine, which kicks off the dopamine and inhibits re-uptake, essentially putting your body in an orgasm state for extended periods of time coupled with constricting blood vessels, increasing heart attack risk significantly.

      Caffeine definitely caries a risk for those with pre-existing heart conditions, but as a stimulant it is not nearly on par with even pseudoephedrine with regard to stimulating the circulatory system and anti-sleep effect drugs.
  • zachriggle, on 01/30/2008, -12/+11Too bad Big Pharma will make it so expensive that it's not available to those who need it most.
    • nullcodes, on 01/30/2008, -2/+18Why didn't you invent it in your garage and provide it free then?
    • Raian, on 01/30/2008, -5/+8Not to worry the government will pay billions of dollars for this and start putting it in the milk, drinking water... wherever-- no joys for the worker bees.
      • nihilite, on 01/30/2008, -3/+4You have misunderstood your own paranoid theories. Big Brother wants you to be numb and listless with your Victory gin.
        • rand0mm0nkey, on 01/30/2008, -1/+3Shh.... don't let them catch you thinking. It would be bad.
    • Jareth86, on 01/30/2008, -6/+1In America maybe. In most other western nations however, drugs are fairly cheap with a flat rate.
    • Jareth86, on 01/30/2008, -4/+2In America maybe. In most other western nations however, drugs are fairly cheap with a flat rate.
    • sv650touring, on 01/30/2008, -3/+2Maybe they'd discount it a bit if it didn't take quite so many years (12 is avg) and *billions* of dollars to get FDA approval.
    • Grok22, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1maybe Big Pharma will charge lots of money for this drug because they have been spending money on this product since '95 and have yet to make any money on it.
  • Raian, on 01/30/2008, -5/+36But can you smoke it?
  • fangulo, on 01/30/2008, -10/+5It looks very promising, hopefully it will succeed.
  • imcostalong, on 01/30/2008, -7/+7but.... why?
    • Nick22, on 01/30/2008, -5/+3to get people off drugs, dumbass
      • psygnisfive, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2People who are heavily addicted to drugs don't use them just because they've got a physical dependency. Every single person I've ever known who's in rehab has had emotional problems in their history and are merely self medicating. The solution to a drug problem is not to make the drugs ineffective, that's like treating a stomach virus with a medicine that prevents you from puking. To solve a drug problem you must treat the underlying cause, which is often depression, anxiety, etc.
  • alien420, on 01/30/2008, -14/+32prevents you from getting high?
    sounds lame as *****.
    • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -2/+21Think longtime meth/heroin addict who life's a sack of ***** because they need bigger and bigger hits to get the same high and they've just mortgaged their house and maxed out their creditcards to buy more drug.

      There are people like that out there, and getting a hit is nolonger for the fun of it, but because they are a slave to the drug. A vaccine that reduces their addiction would be an absolute godsend for them.
    • Gerbil_Juice, on 01/30/2008, -2/+4The funny thing is I'm looking for cocaine right now and I check digg and this is on the front page.
      • ThinkAwake, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2I've never done cocaine. I hear Benjamin Franklin was a coke head though. Makes me want to give it a shot.
      • DBLaise, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Sigmund Freud was also a firm believer in it.... He was a pretty smart guy as well
  • geneusutwerk, on 01/30/2008, -4/+21Vaccine eh?
    "The injections are designed for therapeutic -- not for preventative -- use, and are meant for those already suffering from addiction."
    • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -2/+6Yes, Vaccine
      http://definr.com/vaccine
      immunogen consisting of a suspension of weakened or dead pathogenic cells injected in order to stimulate the production of antibodies

      From the Article:
      "The vaccine works by getting the body's immune system to recognize the drug as foreign and attack it in the blood stream. It does so by injecting an altered version of the drug into the body which has been attached to a protein that the body will recognize as a threat. 'The body then says, 'this is a foreign article. I should start making antibodies to it,'' Kosten said in a telephone interview."


      • geneusutwerk, on 01/30/2008, -2/+6Well then I guess I should just remove my foot from my mouth and acknowledge that I always thought vaccine's were preventative measures.
        • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -2/+3I can easily understand it. In fact I thought the same thing until I looked up the definition in response to your post!
          What you were thinking of was probably *Inoculation* and *Vaccination* which are exact synonyms. This is horribly confusing but true:
          http://definr.com/vaccination
          taking a vaccine as a precaution against contracting a disease

          http://definr.com/inoculation
          taking a vaccine as a precaution against contracting a disease

          Isn't english just great?
    • heartcoldfusion, on 01/30/2008, -3/+5You're both right (and wrong):

      Vaccines can be prophylactic (e.g. to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen), or therapeutic (e.g. vaccines against cancer are also being investigated; see cancer vaccine).

      Prophylaxis (Greek "προφύλαξις" to guard or prevent beforehand) is any medical or public health procedure whose purpose is to prevent, rather than treat or cure, disease. Roughly, prophylactic measures are divided between primary prophylaxis (to prevent the development of a disease) and secondary prophylaxis (whereby the disease has already developed and the patient is protected against worsening of this process).

      Pharmacotherapy is the practice of treating diseases with medication. Also known as Pharmacotherapeutics; Therapeutics; Clinical Pharmacology.
  • guccibabes, on 01/30/2008, -8/+4i think it would be great
  • Spero, on 01/30/2008, -5/+7Let's just put a bandaid on my crack addiction.
  • ep2007, on 01/30/2008, -8/+14"scientists have developed a vaccine which prevents the body from getting high."

    that sucks
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 01/30/2008, -0/+1So we have started using drugs to cure problems other drugs cause now...

      I am worried by 2020 most people's bodies will be a giant cocktail of different drugs all fighting each other to try to stop problems that the others are causing.
  • DDION, on 01/30/2008, -4/+23What do they mean it will prevent you from 'getting high'? Seems to me there are alot of different ways to do that.

    EDIT: Alright, my dumb ass didn't see this was just about coke. Thank ***** they haven't found a cure for weed yet.
    • SentientFlan, on 01/30/2008, -0/+5There actually is a "THC vaccine" called Rimonabant. Its side effects include psychosis, depression, suicidal thoughts, and an increased chance of developing Parkinson's and MS. Lovely... what exactly are we curing again? Oh, that's right, it's marketed it as a weight loss drug. At least the FDA decided to block it, for the moment.
      • DDION, on 01/30/2008, -0/+3Wow, if those side effects aren't enough to get you to smoke, I don't know what is!
    • GinsuGuy585, on 01/30/2008, -1/+6The only cure for weed is...
      ...more weed?
      • Kurlumbenus, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0The cure for weed is getting a goddamn life you useless hippy.
    • Hotrod89, on 01/30/2008, -0/+3This isn't just about coke. It's heroin and nicotine too. But you're right, no weed yet.
  • wildfire, on 01/30/2008, -3/+36"You ever suck some dick for addiction vaccine?"
  • TH3W1R3D, on 01/30/2008, -4/+7Oh boy..
  • guccibabes, on 01/30/2008, -7/+3i support it
    • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2I don't know why you're being dugg down, the vaccine will help a lot of people get their lives back. The hardcore drug addictions this vaccine is primarily targeted for are not fun and are more indentured servitude than a pleasureful activity.
    • dylanrush, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1Let's face it: such a vaccine is dangerous. Well, not really dangerous to society, but dangerous to freedom of thought.

      Quitting isn't that hard.
      • dhollister, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Oh ***** you, clearly you have not met anyone who's been truly addicted for years. These things are not easy to do. And cut the high and mighty "let's face it" *****, because you are neither correct, nor in the majority, so therefore the fact that you think your opinion is obvious to us all is downright laughable.

        Good lord man, feel any way you want about this vaccine, but don't go along pretending like addictions aren't real, they're all easy to quit, and that your opinion is the only valid one on this page. Jesus.
  • Hixz, on 01/30/2008, -6/+12Why would someone create such a thing?
    • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -3/+6People's lives have turned to a ***** nightmare because of hardcore drug addictions. They have no money to get a hit and they are in a living hell until they can get one.
      The lucky ones find a drug rehab somewheres and get free of their drug slavery. They unfortunate ones end up in jail for robbing some dude to get cash for another hit.

  • dcsears, on 01/30/2008, -5/+38if addicts can't get high, wouldn't it make it easy for them to accidentally OD?
    • tophu, on 01/30/2008, -3/+3Absolutely, since you'd probably still feel something if you put more in your body than your immune system could kill. But on the upside (for the government)-- more dead crack whores.
    • saltatory, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2yes, that's why this is going to end in a collosal failure. watch ER visits spike as "treated" addicts use more and more cocaine to feel the same effects as before they took the vaccine. this does not prevent heart failure, the leading cause of stimulant-related death.
    • psygnisfive, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1It doesn't help that people with drug problems usually don't have the drug problem because of a physical dependency. Cocaine and heroin, arguably the most common heavy drugs that people are addicted to, have relatively short (week-at-most) detox periods. The reason people use drugs is because of underlying psychological issues, e.g. depression, anxiety, having been abused as a child, etc. This drug can't cure them of that, and so it won't cure their problems. They'll just seek something else to ease their minds.
      • Delta-9, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Actually Heroin is VERY VERY physically addictive. The withdrawals from it are intense. You get very sick and it's possible to die from it.
    • Delta-9, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin#Withdrawal
  • whateverHeSaid, on 01/30/2008, -6/+11Do not want!
  • stephenpjc, on 01/30/2008, -3/+13Got a vaccine for Digg addiction?
  • LemonChicken, on 01/30/2008, -7/+15DO NOT WANT.
  • stutimandal, on 01/30/2008, -4/+3What are the side effects?
    • oldhick, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2Autism of course. /s
    • moontime, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2It dulls the receptors in your brain so that you cannot feel pleasure of any kind- and then they get to sell you anti-depressants.
  • reaper527, on 01/30/2008, -3/+18i'm not sure i agree with this. i have no objections to this being available on a volunteer basis, but i definitely see people pushing for legislation requiring it to attend school and such in the future.
    • clearzen, on 01/30/2008, -1/+5and under court order, for those convicted of drug crimes
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 01/30/2008, -0/+1They said it's to treat people who are already addicted, not to prevent future addiction for someone who is just fine.
      • SydBarrett420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Ever been arrested for any kind of drug related crime before? Most likely part of your sentence will be some kind of drug rehabilitation. Under the current system, anyone who is arrested for any kind of signifigant drug related crime is treated as an addict, whether it be your first offense or fifth, some type of addiction related program will be in your future
    • dhollister, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1We shouldn't try to stop kids from doing cocaine while attending school? Are you serious?
    • Suricou, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Wouldn't work - Little Angel Effect, just like with the HPV vaccine. While most parents would want the *other* children vaccinated, they would strongly oppose vaccinating their own - because that would be an admission that their child is less than perfectly behaved. Because *their* child would *never* do drugs, and they would find it very insulting that the school would even suggest they might by asking for vaccination.
  • sykotik, on 01/30/2008, -2/+7I don't think it's possible to get addicted to the vaccine the way they described it, to the earlier post. My attention was called immediately to the line "Gradually, antibody levels would rise. If you kept using (cocaine), you'd get less and less of an effect."
    My concern is as follows, isn't this basically what happens with normal usage in the first place? I can see it being useful for someone who is still early in their addiction, but what about the longtime abusers who ingest large amounts to offset the years of addiction and the resultant "resistance?" Would they then ingest even MORE to offset the lack of chemical effects, or does the vaccine also act in such a way as to decrease the "want" as well as the effect, the high?
    • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2I do not believe the mechanism responsible for increased tolerance is the same as using antibodies to attack the substance in the bloodstream. It does seem that the user might be in danger of overdose if they are compelled to take more, but making a decision between cardiac arrest from overdose or allowing the vaccine to take its course is one that even an addict should be able to make competently. (And one would hope we are talking about an addict that has opted to receive the vaccine himself.)
    • saltatory, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2you're right, it does nothing for the want, just prevents (gradually) cocaine's access to the brain. addicts may kill their hearts even faster with this supposed cure.
    • GinsuGuy585, on 01/30/2008, -1/+3They switch drugs because the addiction is to the high, not the drug. I've seen people start using cocaine when they get probation for marijuana; cocaine leaves the bloodstream completely in 2-4 days so it is easier to pass urine tests.
    • psygnisfive, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2You can't decrease the want if the want is psychological, from something like depression. And that's the biggest reason for serious drug problems. Ask any addict with a real problem if why they started using, what motivated them, etc. and you invariably get the same answer: it made them happy/feel better/forget what happened to them/etc.
    • Grok22, on 01/31/2008, -0/+2normal usage of drugs does not cause antibody's to attack the drug( this is not how tolerance works), People become more tolerant of drugs because there are fewer and fewer receptor sites on the cell membranes
  • Zbrah, on 01/30/2008, -2/+7Many people would just try a different drug when they got the urge to get high and couldn't anymore with whatever use to do it for them. This sounds like a very expensive vaccine and to really kick something, you have to kick the desire,not just any single drug. So be prepared to fish out some $$.
    • dylanrush, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1I could see one going straight from cocaine to meth or something similar.
  • guccibabes, on 01/30/2008, -4/+0yeah
  • Awspire, on 01/30/2008, -6/+3"The vaccine works by getting the body's immune system to recognize the drug as foreign and attack it in the blood stream."

    Hope it wont recognize anti-biotics as foreign.
    • dylanrush, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Do you even know how vaccines work?
  • AAjax, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2Unfortunately many drugs work as an agent (affecting the body to release its own chemicals that effect your perception) I could imagine a situation when people who cannot get high become almost robotic and rather non-human.
    Not to mention many advancements (DNA double helix ect. ) owe their inspration to altered states.

    Give it five years, they will require you to do this to your kids for them to enter school.
    • saltatory, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1read the article. this vaccine works specifically on cocaine, not the anatomical targets. it will have zero effect on any other drugs.
  • ikcilabd, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1One less reason for addicts to get sucked into CoS's Narconon... WooT!WooT! for anti-drug-drugs
  • designer, on 01/30/2008, -0/+23I got so ***** sober last night.
  • vx69, on 01/30/2008, -2/+3Anyone else think of Neuromancer when they read that?
  • BigLLamasHouse, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1ah yes, Yahoo news hopping all over this story just as it develops. Oh wait, I read about this a month ago in Wired.
  • bkedelen, on 01/30/2008, -4/+6This is not nearly as useful as it seems. Addiction is a genetic disorder which presents with a specific subset of proclivities that include drug abuse. In essence, drug abuse and other inappropriate behaviors elicit an feeling which has been described by addicts as "mother's love". This proclivity, combined with any form of abusive or chaotic childhood, results in a chronic condition where the addict is constantly seeking out the mother's love state. If their drug of choice stops producing that state, they will simply experiment and port their patterns to another inappropriate behavior. At this point in time a process similar to a 12 step program is the best and probably only way to begin to abstain from ALL behaviors that harm the addict and those close to the addict, and allows the addict to begin an active role in managing their own behavior and relationships. I suggest anyone interested in this issue STOP listening to Dr. Phil and Oprah, and begin listening to an actual expert in this field, such as Dr. Pinsky.
    • catalysis, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2Pharmacological extinction therapy (where the reward or high is withheld when the drug is used) is a well known method and has been used successfully on opioid and alcohol addicts. It doesn't work all the time, but is certainly good to have as an option. Addiction is not as cut and dry as many "experts" make it out to be, there are many flavors and many variables involved so no one approach is going to cure all.
      • zip000, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2With the alcohol treatment drug - if I understand it correctly - the user gets extremely nauseous if they drink, but the opiate drug (and I think the one from this article) just inhibit the feelings of intoxication. That can be very dangerous because hardcore users may just take more and more of the drug until they OD even if they are not ever intoxicated.
      • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1This does seem to be a danger but somebody who has opted to receive such a vaccination should also have the faculties to make a decision between possible death and submitting to the failure to get high. I think it's also important to remember that people who are not high are capable of making much better decisions than people who are, addiction or not. What's really scary though is the possibility of administering this to someone without their full consent or desire. That's where it could get messy.
    • funkyjunk3, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2As with any similar thing, a "combo therapy" is often more effective than medication or programs alone.
    • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1The notion that anyone addicted to a substance is only explainable by a vast conspiracy of genetic and emotional problems is not consistent with reality. While it is widespread and well-publicized, legions of people wean themselves off substances without eradicating every possible substitute or joining the sobriety cult. This would be almost a godsend for those who still have an ability to moderate themselves and would at least be a powerful tool in the arsenal of those with more systemic issues that nonetheless desire release from the grip of a powerful addiction. That addiction needs to be treated narrowly in some cases and broadly in others does not undermine the vaccine's usefulness...unless you have some kind of agenda which is less about science and more about something else.
      • gregfadein, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1If by "vast conspiracy," you mean all modern research, sure.
        • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/31/2008, -1/+1All modern research does not point singularly to genetics and childhood. In fact, much modern research on cocaine suggests that the substance itself changes the human brain: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/04/99042 ...
          • gregfadein, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1"ScienceDaily
            Updated: Thursday, January 31, 2008
            Print Email Bookmark
            Help Page
            The page you are looking for may have moved or is currently under construction. You can start at our home page or use our search engine to look for a recent science news story. Just type in a keyword in the field below and press the Search button."

            What helpful, modern research you have.
  • jb0nd38372, on 01/30/2008, -3/+3OK great, they have found a vaccine that cures the addiction to cocaine possibly. Now what if someone who took this vaccine needed another antistetic that was a derivative of cocaine, lanocaine, Novocaine or any other derivative? Can you imagine the vaccine causing the human body to become immune to any pain killing substance, both oral, or intravenous? I'd hate to go under the knife, only to wake up because my body was immune to the antistetic
    • norman619, on 01/30/2008, -1/+3It doesn't cure the addiction since the addiction is usually psychological. The physical addiction part is easy. It's the psych part that keeps them coming back. Unless this shot makes addicts love life more and deals with the REAL reason they are using it's just another money maker for the pharmaceutical companies and not a real solution. Addicts need to learn a better way to deal with stress other than running away.
      • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1Stripping a substance of its "magic" seems a pretty potent approach to psychological addiction, does it not? In fact, I'm not sure cocaine even has a physical aspect to addiction. And if tobacco and other physically-addictive substances were treated this way, the users would still suffer the withdrawal because destroying the substance in the bloodstream would not deliver it to the body for any purpose. I think this is aimed pretty squarely at psychological addiction.
    • johnfritz, on 01/30/2008, -0/+1I was thinking the same exact thing except for opiates. You get caught with some heroin. So some *****-head judge tells you "Go to jail for five years or take the vaccine". Well, you don't want to lose your wife, kids, house, job etc. So you take the vaccine. And you break both legs and your back in a car wreck a year later. Do prescription pain killers work for you anymore or are you destined to a life of debilitating pain? Not that anyone would care about THAT. Not like they cared when you got caught with a hundred bucks of heroin. The vast majority of the people this drug will be administered to will be done so against their will. This is pure evil disguised as compassion.
  • Pneub, on 01/30/2008, -4/+5"Gradually, antibody levels would rise. If you kept using (cocaine), you'd get less and less of an effect."

    Science has created the perfect way to make sure every addict OD's

    • Gabberwok, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1They actually wouldn't OD - the antibodies would protect them from that effect as well. This is not necessarily the reason for tolerance (I believe it is usually due to down-regulation of receptors), but drug addicts build up tolerance to their drug of choice to the point where a lethal dose for anyone else will sometimes barely get them high.
  • freakmonk, on 01/30/2008, -3/+2Has anyone mentioned Ibogaine yet? If not well check into it. I have heard that Ibogaine which is a natural substance, a root I believe, has been very effective in helping people become free from addiction. Ibogaine! God invented it. He also invented Cannabis, another wonderfully useful plant.
    • onionoino, on 01/30/2008, -0/+1isn't it some kind of fruit?
    • Laminarcissus, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0...and opium poppies, and psilocybin mushrooms, and peyote -- all fantastic ways to get off drugs and all natural too!

      Go God go!
      • Halsfield, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0god's son jesus has the greatest @#$! down by the docks.
    • SydBarrett420, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Freak, go do some Ibogaine and tell me how it worked for you. After that smoke a little Gimsum weed
    • RationalXubrnce, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1Ibogaine is an intense trip that totally breaks down your personality, it's a life changing event and after the trip many people report no desire to get high again.
  • pdoyley, on 01/30/2008, -6/+0I want to know what you drug of choice is! http://www.ieg.com/?f=forum&sf=topic&fp=9&mp=o,245 ...
  • ligyron, on 01/30/2008, -2/+4What's with all the discoveries lately? Have scientists finally figured out 42?
  • papastout, on 01/30/2008, -2/+3Once upon a time Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) was going to smash apart addiction, until some well meaning legislators decided there was too much fun to be had.
    • RationalXubrnce, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1 Not to mention it does ***** all to treat addiction in any way.
      • dylanrush, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1LSD has been shown to be the most effective form of treatment for alcoholics, with recovery rates pushing 50%.

        http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and ...
      • Suricou, on 01/31/2008, -0/+1It has some potentially very usful effects for treating various conditions, including addictions. Unfortunatly, now its been classified as a 'getting high' drug rather than a 'getting well' drug, there are difficulties in studying how effective it is. Besides which, even if there was clear evidence that it is quite a wonder drug, its still going to face a huge amount of political opposition - just look at medical marijuana programs. Any drug that can get someone high will be treated as highly suspicious, no matter how usful it is for medical purposes.
  • suzywang3000, on 01/30/2008, -6/+2if someone injected me with that *****, I'd kill them dead.
    • wattersm, on 01/30/2008, -4/+2As opposed to killing them to life?
  • Cusith, on 01/30/2008, -1/+4To me this this is a question about our rights. Do we have the right to get loaded? To put whatever substance we want into our bodies for whatever our reasons are for doing so? Is this an inalienable right? Or do the societal consequences of the abuse of this right require action to suppress ones ability to get bent?
    If society had the ability to curtail the rampant abuses and the long list of problems promulgated by the use of illegal drugs would we be better off? Along with the right to get loaded don't we also have the responsibility to not create greater problems for everyone else by our choices?
  • Gryffydd, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1The first thing I thought of when I saw this was the old Onion article:
    http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28975
  • jonmon6691, on 01/30/2008, -2/+5"That's going to be the moneymaker," - from the article
    That right there is the problem with America. They make a drug that could save the lives of millions of addicts, but the first think of is how much money they could make from it.
    • RabbiMarsChen, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1This is one case where I would say they are entitled. We're not exactly talking about leukemia here.
      • captainchris, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1yeah it's not like lung cancer is serious.
    • rand0mm0nkey, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1Yup. Greed over compassion. But in this particular case, the vaccine still leans to the good side, at least IMHO.
    • captainchris, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1i wish i could digg you +10
    • Halsfield, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0i wonder how many people would still be ok with this if it were alcohol they were making a vaccine for.

      did you know alcohol related deaths are in the hundreds of thousands a year? how about cocaine? very very few. having a person addicted to cocaine and having to go through rehab is a lot different than killing someone.

      The problem with this vaccine is where does it stop? will it be enforced to combat "the war on drugs" ? if it remains optional it could be a great option for addicts that just dont want to be addicted anymore and dont want their poor self control to keep them from stopping, but it has such high oppourtunity for misuse by government that i dont think it should ever be put into production.
      • captainchris, on 02/01/2008, -0/+1i've read that in the u.s. a bill passed some time ago that allows the government to create laws that make it mandatory to take a vaccine against your will
  • defektiv, on 01/30/2008, -2/+2uh no thanks. yet again, they're missing the whole point. and think about it. a drug that inhibits your ability to produce chemicals for certain feelings. most drugs just enhance a natural ability of the body, this would inhibit it altogether.

    this has never ended well in theory. plus there is plenty of books and movies that depict what would happen when emotions of the general population start getting controlled.

    no way. throw that crap away.
    • Hatious, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1The article doesn't say anything about inhibiting you brains ability to produce chemicals naturally. Stopping cocaine from reaching your CNS isn't going to prohibit your brain from being able to produce those chemicals naturally. Your brain will still have the ability to produce and use dopamine.
      • Halsfield, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0and yet, if you get your arm cut off, you will want to probably take some morphine instead of going mad from the pain, as your body has no natural way of producing chemicals to mask that pain. Whoops, we made you immune to opiates with a vaccine so you wouldnt get high, good luck with that.

        Its all about how it is used, if its mandatory at some point, i think there will be a revolt. Where does it stop, would you be ok with this if it were alcohol that a vaccine was being made for? It would help stop drunk driving that kills hundreds of thousands a year. No , it would end like prohibtion, violently and at huge cost.

        what about caffiene? aspirin? we dont want people being angry anymore, vaccine time .
  • The_Dude, on 01/30/2008, -1/+2How about a far superior vaccine that would let you get high as hell, but then have no cravings whatsoever. You could just take it or leave it. Kinda like those freaks out there who get addicted to nothing because of how their brains work.
    • gurudrew, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1I am not a freak!!! "Screw you guys, I'm going home."
  • depro9, on 01/30/2008, -4/+3Good tool for our friendly government to oppress even more.
    • IAmLegend24, on 01/30/2008, -2/+1Yeah those poor crack heads that would kill you for $5 or break into your house and steal your stuff to buy a crack rock.
      • Halsfield, on 01/31/2008, -0/+0yea, because thats where this will stop, try to have an imagination and see where this could possibly lead to more dark and dangerous research. like control of emotions, control of anger, what would be better than millions of emotionless, tireless, zombies to build palaces for the people in power. No permanent solution like this should ever be used for things that control pain, pleasure, or any emotion. There are non-permanent means to do this exact thing that work just as well as this vaccine.


        also , cocaine =/= crack.

        One last thing, if cocaine was legal , it would be dirt cheap, and there would be no reason for them to break into your house, or kill you, even for a little bit of money. You can make this stuff by the pounds for very little, its enormously lucrative because of its illegality, and because of how much money we are spending to combat the ridiculously dangerous "war on drugs" that does nothing but increase drug violence and make drug dealers and 3rd world drug czars rich and powerful, and make the users poor, violent, and incarcerated.
  • SentientFlan, on 01/30/2008, -1/+7No worries, an antidote is in the works. In fact, it doubles the effectiveness of cocaine so you can make up for lost time.
  • WheelchairDude, on 01/30/2008, -1/+1What about the people who depend on pain killers to deal with the misery of chronic pain? It's always a constant struggle. You need the opiates for the pain, yet you don't necessarily want to get addicted. But in the long run--you do need it.

    I KNOW what it's like. I live with chronic pain every single day. 98% of the people around me constantly b**** that their 'wrist' hurtttss, or their 'arm' hurtttsss.
  • zuzardigg, on 01/30/2008, -0/+0sounds good
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