Cocaine Vaccine?

A colleague forwarded me a story on a possible vaccine to prevent cocaine addiction. I sent the following reply about its possible role:


Limited use by adult addicts acknowledging their craving and desiring to blunt a relapse. Otherwise, this is the sort of well intentioned intervention that results in more attention to the wonders of cocaine (or other drug of choice) which increases the attraction to it. The idea of injecting pregnant women with such a drug is scary – we have no idea whatsoever how such molecules might affect the cell development of the child in making. Doubt that this or any other “quick fix” will have meaningful results since the attention is still on the illness rather than positive desired state of Being. A subtle, but powerful distinction. At the end of the day (love that cliché) the 12 steps nailed the most essential component that is completely missing from such therapeutic interventions – it’s the thinking, i.e., Higher Power and that relationship. Want to change your life? Change your thinking (mind.) Just don’t see any other way.

"Changing Minds. Changing Lives." is the State of Louisiana Office for Addictive Disorders, Region VII logo and mission statement. Simple.

Update: Newsweek recently ran a story by Michell Rosenthal, MD, founder of Phoenix House treatment program, "Sadly, There is No Magic Bullet," that reflects my own observations.