Hey
@the_void.
I just went off at a little tangent to read up on this Esterene treatment. Cannot find anything on the drug itself other than its chemical formula and a patent. Everything else is a regurgitation of the news when the clinic in California was closed down. But all other roads (links) lead to your friend there i.e. Bruce Alexander.
I'm not going to pollute your thread with a dissertation on this because that wasn't the purpose of your thread. But in short: even although I was almost convinced by this type of thing during our lovely discussion on your other thread the other day I cannot say that it sits right with me and this after some much thought after said discussion and then reading some of this information today. I put it to you that when you read this stuff one could be excused for believing that there is no drug problem at all anywhere in the world, drug users are a mere fringe group on the outer edges of society, and addicts are a mere fraction of said fringe group. I cannot get my head around that. And if all of this be the case: then we've all just been subjected to the greatest con. and media disinformation stunt of all time i.e. for at least a decade if not longer.
I do urge to note the dates of this information though i.e. seems to me it's like really really dated especially the citations and references. The book itself was first published in 1989 (and I can only assume either updated or reprinted in 2005). We're talking anywhere between 15 and 30 years ago (and as noted the citations and references date back even further). And maybe therein lies the disconnect between this information and what I perceive to be present day use and addiction problems.
This article explores the prospects for stimulant maintenance by (1) reviewing the actual dangers and benefits arising from use of cocaine and other stimulants, (2) describing small scale stimulant maintenance programs that already exist in various countries, and (3) drawing from Vancouver's...
www.brucekalexander.com
This appears to be a summary of the above but as presented to the Canadian Government (but as I say: seems to be dated although I cannot verify that as no dates are shown):
Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs
sencanada.ca