AUS: New pill hopes to end meth addiction

[Jabberwocky]

Perth researchers are trialling a pill which could help those addicted to methamphetamine.

The world-first trial of N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) being taken by drug addicts aims to reduce the cravings and mood swings.

Researchers believe it could also be used for a range of illegal drugs, including cocaine and cannabis.

Lead researcher and NDRI Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin says it works by restoring the balance of chemicals in the brain.

?When someone first takes ice they experience the desirable effects of intoxication. But if they continue to use, and become dependent, changes occur in the brain that cause cravings, making it hard to stop using ice,? Professor McKetin said.

Trial participants take two NAC tablets a day, once in the morning and once at night for 12 weeks.

In Australia 160,000 people are dependent on ice.

Associate Professor Peter Kelly from the University of Wollongong said there was currently no approved medication to treat ice addiction.

?The main forms of treatment are counselling interventions and residential rehabilitation - for this reason trialling NAC introduces a novel approach to treating ice addiction,? he said.

?The hope is that NAC can help break the addiction cycle and help people stop using ice.?

Western Australia is at the centre of a national ice problem with country towns such as Bunbury and Kalgoorlie being some of the top drug hot spots in the nation.

If successful, the drug could be rolled out nation-wide next year.

Users would be able to approach their local doctor for a prescription of the drug.


Source: https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/07/17/13/19/new-pill-hopes-to-end-meth-addiction

 

[S.J.B.]

Interesting... it looks like this is a compound that is cheap and can be bought over-the-counter as a nutritional supplement. It is most commonly used as a treatment for acetaminophen overdose, but there have been studies that indicate that it is useful for psychiatric indications, including cocaine addiction. It will hardly "end meth addiction" but might be helpful for some. Has anyone here used it as an aid when trying to quit a drug habit?

 

[Ketamania]

Neat. Sounds like Kratom, but for drugs other than opiates. I wonder if it will be effective enough to become popular.

 

[RedHat]

Lead researcher and NDRI Associate Professor Rebecca McKetin says it works by restoring the balance of chemicals in the brain.

In my experience, the tricky part isn't that they restore the balance of chemicals in the brain, but rather how the drug goes about doing that. They usually either: A) introduce more chemicals to replace whats not being produced by your body; or B) Introduce chemicals that help your body learn to produce those chemicals on its own again.

A) is usually always a short term fix and sometimes just leads to cross addiction, kinda like Methadone for example. Option B) is definitely the preferred route, but it usually takes longer and is more painstaking.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

How tf would it work? Asthma drug??

 

[ro4eva]

How tf would it work? Asthma drug??

LOL, my trusty bottle of NAC says on it that it 'Relieves symptoms of Chronic Bronchitis.'

That said, I do find it to be a very useful supplement (e.g: APAP overdose). But Meth addiction? I dunno man.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Did some fucking so-called treatment program (I forget the name, Narconon or something) promote this treatment for all addiction? Or maybe it was niacin. Whatever the case it was BS.

I’d be very surprised if this did much good with methamphetamine use disorder. Other drugs seem much more promising in that regard.

 

[JessFR]

Did some fucking so-called treatment program (I forget the name, Narconon or something) promote this treatment for all addiction? Or maybe it was niacin. Whatever the case it was BS.

I’d be very surprised if this did much good with methamphetamine use disorder. Other drugs seem much more promising in that regard.

I find myself increasingly frustrated how the medical establishment seems to think they can treat all forms of addiction with the same drug. Here in Australia an enormous number of methamphetamine users are becoming dependent on methadone given to them, at tax payer expense, by medical professionals, for their methamphetamine habit.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I find myself increasingly frustrated how the medical establishment seems to think they can treat all forms of addiction with the same drug. Here in Australia an enormous number of methamphetamine users are becoming dependent on methadone given to them, at tax payer expense, by medical professionals, for their methamphetamine habit.

To be fair they're probably sick and tired of all the people going fucking psychotic and raging out and shit, and they just want the addicts to be placid and slowed down again, like they used to be before the dawn of methamphetamine (i.e. alcohol, heroin, benzos/barbs, marijuana etc.)

 

[Jabberwocky]

Did some fucking so-called treatment program (I forget the name, Narconon or something) promote this treatment for all addiction? Or maybe it was niacin. Whatever the case it was BS.

I’d be very surprised if this did much good with methamphetamine use disorder. Other drugs seem much more promising in that regard.

NARCONON is run or affiliated with Scientology hence they would not be promoting medication as a form of treatment.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I find myself increasingly frustrated how the medical establishment seems to think they can treat all forms of addiction with the same drug. Here in Australia an enormous number of methamphetamine users are becoming dependent on methadone given to them, at tax payer expense, by medical professionals, for their methamphetamine habit.

This is sad. The system is so broken, even somewhere like Oz where by comparison to a lot of the US it’s worlds ahead of us.

At the same time, I once knew someone who ended up on buprenorphine to help with their methamp use disorder. They were confident it really helped them. Since it kept them from getting psychotic and was less harmful than street methamp, I can’t argue with them.

It’s just sad what you wrote, because the whole one size fits all thing is so harmful

NARCONON is run or affiliated with Scientology hence they would not be promoting medication as a form of treatment.

Yup, that’s the one. It wasn’t “drugs” in the sense of prescription pharmaceuticals they push, but massive doses of various vitamins and minerals (which, for all practical purposes, are drugs). Stuff like Niacin.

 

[JessFR]

Yeah that's pretty much their MO. Narconon are a dangerous bunch of amatures in desperate need of better regulation.

Unfortunately, all practical purposes really doesn't matter much in this instance. Sure, vitamins are chemical compounds, but they're categorized more as foods than drugs by the regulatory frameworks of most societies.

Personally I'd rather see narconon shut down on grounds that addiction is a medical problem and they are offering unlicensed medical services.

 

[Tubbs]

This is sad. The system is so broken, even somewhere like Oz where by comparison to a lot of the US it’s worlds ahead of us.

At the same time, I once knew someone who ended up on buprenorphine to help with their methamp use disorder. They were confident it really helped them. Since it kept them from getting psychotic and was less harmful than street methamp, I can’t argue with them.

It’s just sad what you wrote, because the whole one size fits all thing is so harmful



Yup, that’s the one. It wasn’t “drugs” in the sense of prescription pharmaceuticals they push, but massive doses of various vitamins and minerals (which, for all practical purposes, are drugs). Stuff like Niacin.

When I was using meth, alot of us used subs as a cheap high when we couldn't afford meth, kept you high all day if you didn't have a tolerance, and they are literally everywhere here. I can say it did help with cravings, but was far from a good answer.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

When I was using meth, alot of us used subs as a cheap high when we couldn't afford meth, kept you high all day if you didn't have a tolerance, and they are literally everywhere here. I can say it did help with cravings, but was far from a good answer.

Heroin, bupe etc get the dopamine flowing. It will help with the cravings as meth is the most dopaminergic intensive drug ever. Unless they tweak it somehow but I can't imagine it getting much better.

Honestly I don't believe in methamphetamine physical addiction. I really don't. It's just an intense psychological addiction. The most intense of any drug next to nicotine from what I can put together about the average/mean of human experience.

I think only Sweet P has said there is a physical addiction to it; she was using it quite heavily, and I think much more so than the average methamphetamine user. I think it might have seemed like a physical addiction due to the intensity of the compulsion to keep using.

 

[Tubbs]

I can attest that there are physical symptoms for heavy users, although nowhere near the level of opiates, benzos, or alcohol. It's really just physical exhaustion accompanied with knowing that you could use and feel normal instead of sleeping 18hrs a day. I know personally I slept at least that daily for about a month after quitting.

 

[cj]

I can attest that there are physical symptoms for heavy users, although nowhere near the level of opiates, benzos, or alcohol. It's really just physical exhaustion accompanied with knowing that you could use and feel normal instead of sleeping 18hrs a day. I know personally I slept at least that daily for about a month after quitting.

As an opiate addict that sounds like heaven not withdrawal. Last time I kicked sub I didn't sleep for 14 days :/

 

[Tubbs]

It's a different kind of hell to be sure, I agree that it wasn't as bad as opiate withdrawal, physically at least.

 

[JessFR]

As an opiate addict that sounds like heaven not withdrawal. Last time I kicked sub I didn't sleep for 14 days :/

As another opiate addict, yeah I gotta agree. Sleeping through withdrawal sounds fkin awesome. Opioid withdrawal is hellish.

Granted I've never used amphetamines repeatedly and long enough to suffer any kind of physical withdrawal even if we assume that it does exist. I have this love hate relationship with amphetamines, meth in particular. I've had some great experiences with it, but at the same time I can't help but feel sick thinking about it. It's weird. I like and hate the high simultaneously.

So I'd use it for maybe a few days then not touch it for months, so I guess I wouldn't know enough to compare.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

They just need to realize methamphetamine is a part of the next step of human evolution. Most people will lose their minds, go insane, and will never contribute to the gene pool. Those who do well with it will go far. We'll become more immune to destructive drug addiction as a species as time goes on.

Why end the addiction? Addiction and withdrawal as a whole has no magical one-dose cure. It does not exist.

Maybe the AUS gov't should synthesize their own meth, provide it to addicts a few times throughout the day in safe use facilities at relatively modest dosages, so they can have some form of maintenance. Mental health care could be just steps away.

Fighting the war on drugs is never going to work for you guys. Take Switzerland's approach. It worked for them with their heroin problem. It will work with your heroin and meth problem. Save your citizen's lives. They're worth it.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

As an opiate addict that sounds like heaven not withdrawal. Last time I kicked sub I didn't sleep for 14 days :/

Except meth users typically don't sleep for 2, 3, 5, 7, to 14 days a time due to the drug.