The story below came from a study at

Emory

University that looks at cues that trigger drug use in people addicted to crack cocaine.  Using virtual reality they recreated a crack house complete with people using, selling and clearly under the influence.  The triggers set off the brain circuits that cause craving and lead to using the drug of choice.  The point of the study is for the addict to identify the peak in the craving and when it decreases.  At the moment of decreased craving the researchers sound a tone that will be used in the future to signal the brain to decrease the cravings when the addict is confronted with real life triggers.  The tone can be accessed at any time from the addict’s cell phone after he completes the virtual reality therapy.  This VR therapy can also be used to test the efficacy of pharmacological treatments and psychotherapeutic interventions. 

Eve Bender As with other drug dens, people in the “virtual” crack house buy and use crack cocaine and trade sex for drugs. Occasionally, the police burst through the door and make arrests. But the virtual crack house is safe. Not only that, it’s therapeutic, according to Barbara Rothbaum, Ph.D., who is an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The program built a virtual environment to study the cues that trigger drug use in people addicted to crack cocaine. “With substance use disorders, it’s dangerous and unethical to present patients with real cues—with virtual reality, we can do that in a controlled treatment setting,” Rothbaum told Psychiatric News.

A flight attendant faces charges she was drunk on the job of an

Atlanta bound Delta Air Lines flight.  Atlantic Southeast Airlines says it was operating the Delta flight out of

Lexington Kentucky.  The airline says a 26-year old Sarah Mills was escorted off the plane on a stretcher.  She was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence, alcohol intoxication and terroristic threats.  The flight was canceled for lack of enough crew members.

From Delta to NASA the stories are piling up about ‘on the job’ intoxication and statistics are proving that this is a worsening problem.  The employees with the most problems in this area tend to work in the restaurant and construction businesses.  Now employers are finding the value in random drug and alcohol testing, it tends to cut down on impaired workers and missed work because of abuse.  Some employers are also prepared to offer treatment options to their dependent employees. The above story also goes on to say that she reportedly threatened the pilot as she was being ‘escorted’ off the plane.  If that is not a strong argument for ‘on the job’ drug and alcohol testing I don’t know

Stop smoking and stop drinking with one little pill!  That is the message we may hear in the near future from the makers of Chantix.  The pill that is already on the market to help smokers stop lighting up may have promise to stop alcoholics from picking up.  Chantix or Varenicline has the jump on nicotine patches and gum because it actually blocks nicotine from activating the nicotine receptors in the brain.  If they are not activated when you smoke then you don’t get that reinforcing pleasure sensation from the behavior.  That is supposed to reduce your craving for nicotine but I am sure there are some hardcore smokers that light up anyway.A recent news release tells us that there are some researchers in California got some rats dependent on alcohol by having them binge drink 37 times thus creating a craving for alcohol.  When these partying rats were given chantix they actually cut their drinking amount in half.  The plan is to start human studies and see if this may be another weapon in the anti-craving arsenal.  The good news is Chantix is already an approved FDA medication.http://www.news-medical.net/?id=27317

A recent NIAAA article discusses the average age of onset of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency and the time it takes for these people to seek treatment. It is shocking that there is an average of eight years before a dependent alcoholic can see the necessity of getting treatment for their disease. If I were rushed to the ER because of high blood sugar I would expect a clear diagnosis of diabetes, stabilization, medication, and intensive education for my disease. Why doesn’t the first alcoholic blackout produce the same urgency for the person and their family?
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa56.htm

What is the connection between celebrity and stupidity when it comes to alcohol?
The recent Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and the Nicole Ritchie news explosion covering their bad decisions dealing with cars and alcohol are getting old and predictable. I know that young people have an under formed frontal cortex before the age of twenty-five but these women have agents and assistants that are highly paid to help them think. Even the application of a foolproof alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet did not have any sway over Lohan’s choice to drink/drug and drive dangerously only a few days post rehab. This is proof that the brain can definitely have a disconnect between the frontal cortex (or decision making brain) and the pleasure seeking/behavioral area of the brain. Just like the sensation you get when the doctor hits your knee with a hammer, you see it respond with movement but your brain never got a vote on what the response would be. So if alcohol abuse and dependency worsens the disconnect why would we expect anything but behavior that qualifies as stupid.