Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jan 2004
Source: Link, The (CN QU Edu)
Copyright: 2004 The Link
Contact:  http://thelink.concordia.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2694
Author: Erika Meere

TEST SUBJECTS PAID TO SNORT COCAINE

MONTREAL -- It's not every day that a McGill professor is mentioned on the 
Jay Leno Show.

Then again, it's not every day that a researcher pays people $500 to take 
cocaine.

Dr. Marco Leyton has done just that. Last winter, he placed ads in local 
newspapers asking for men aged 18-40 who had used cocaine in the past year 
to participate in a study that would involve four 24-hour hospital stays, 
an interview, the ingestion of protein drinks and the administration of 
cocaine.

Leyton explained that the primary goal of the study was to identify 
treatments that can reduce cocaine cravings and cocaine-induced highs.

"If we can do this in the laboratory, it might point the way to developing 
effective medicines," he said.

Ten participants were selected for the study from a group of over 100 
respondents based on health and safety considerations and past use of 
cocaine. Each of the men chosen had previously used cocaine, but none were 
addicted to the drug.

One of the participants, a 20-year-old referred to as Daniel, started 
taking cocaine at the age of 14 because "it was around."

A day at the lab, located in an old psychiatric hospital, started at 8 a.m. 
with a urine test to ensure participants were clean of any illicit 
substances. Afterwards, Daniel would be given a protein shake rich or 
deficient in certain amino acids, chemicals that affect the 
neurotransmitters involved in the behavioural and physiological reactions 
to cocaine.

"From there, around two o'clock, I would be moved to a room in the 
psychiatric ward of the mental hospital, and Dr. Leyton would put down a 
mirror and a razor blade and three bags of coke, and he would instruct me 
to take three lines out of the first bag at my own pace," explained Daniel.

"Each time I finished a bag, I would have to fill out a personality 
questionnaire, and every 15 minutes a nurse would come in and measure my 
pulse and blood pressure," said Daniel.

Dosages are roughly equal to what a cocaine user would take, but much 
smaller than an addict would take.

"The dose is based on body weight, and corresponds to roughly 10 to 25 per 
cent of what a cocaine-dependent individual would average each day," said 
Leyton. "All participants in the study have previously taken cocaine in the 
same dose range."

Despite criticism from various organizations, Leyton-whose research has not 
been published yet-insists his study is safe.

"Under the conditions of the study, the health risks are minimal," he said. 
"This is quite different from the situation on the street where people 
don't really know what they are taking, where they are mixing the cocaine 
with other drugs, where they have not had a careful medical screen 
beforehand and where they are not being watched by medical personnel."

Many critics are less than thrilled with Leyton's research, which has 
received media attention ranging from Jay Leno to Internet forums to the 
UK's esteemed Independent newspaper.

Others have criticized the $700,000 cost of the study, which was funded by 
the provincial and federal governments.

"Addicts in this country need funds for medium and long-term treatment 
facilities, for rehabilitation program and centres. That is where the money 
should be spent," said Randy White, Opposition House Leader for the 
Canadian Alliance in a press release.

Leyton stands by his study, claiming that it might help with the treatment 
of cocaine addiction.

"The issue for me as a medical scientist is that there are no treatments. 
We simply do not have medications that are effective. It is my hope that 
the research we are doing here will teach us how to decrease cocaine 
craving and high," he told the Abbotsford News.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman