ADHD Drug Tested As Treatment For Crack Addiction

A recent study may have allowed seven crack cocaine addicts to live out their wildest dreams. Each of them was paid to test the effects of mixing cocaine with the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drug atomoxetine (also known as Strattera).

Many researchers would like to find a drug that can help people kick their cocaine habit. Atomoxetine is a great candidate. It is not addictive, it's already FDA-approved, it's available as a generic, and it may offer a sensation similar to a mild dose of cocaine. However, during rehabilitation, patients often relapse and use their drug of choice.

So scientists wanted to find out whether mixing cocaine with the replacement medication might be dangerous. At the University of Kentucky, a team led by William Stoops and Craig Rush performed an experiment to answer that question.

While hooked up to a heart monitor, volunteers did four lines of blow and then fill out a questionnaire. Over several weeks, each test subject repeated the experiment five times. During three of those sessions, they were also under the influence of atomoxetine.

The ADHD medication enhanced the increase in heart rate brought on by cocaine, but not enough to be a cause for concern. Unfortunately, it also did not consistently block the enjoyable effects of the illicit drug.

Stoops and Rush will publish their findings in an upcoming issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence (it's now available online in pre-print). They concluded that the combination is safe, but that further studies are necessary to learn whether atomoxetine can help junkies give up their addiction.

Wired Science