Tuesday, May 05, 2009
For at the least the past 25 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has used taxpayer money to inject drug-addicted veterans with cocaine and morphine for research purposes. One study recruited nearly 40 cocaine addicts and injected them with varying doses of the drug in studies aimed at searching for medicines that would block cocaine absorption in the body. A similar study spent roughly $7.8 million and involved 69 heroin addicts who were given morphine in decreasing doses to record the effects.
The VA’s acting director of research and development, Timothy O’Leary, maintains that current studies in San Antonio and Kansas City only recruit participants who are already addicted to drugs, and that veterans make up the majority of study subjects. He added that subjects’ safety was of the utmost importance and all experiments occurred in highly controlled environments.
However, detailed documentations of the 1994-1995 morphine-related experiments revealed that subjects suffered 787 “adverse events” ranging from constipation to heart tremors. Researchers classified 38 of these events as “severe, study drug related.” The documents fail to mention whether participants received any follow-up care or treatment for their addictions.
O’Leary says that these studies provided important insight into drug addiction and could aid in finding cures for the nearly 140,000 veterans who suffer from addiction. Critics argue that experimenting on drug-addicts is a violation of the ethical code of “informed consent.” Despite the fact that laboratory subjects are volunteers and must sign paperwork recognizing that they understand the risks involved, opponents contend that for almost 20 years the medical community has labeled addiction as a disease. Therefore, addicts are not in the right state of mind to fully comprehend the dangers of the studies and cannot simply decline the offer of free drugs.
-Adrine Akopyan
Government Injecting Veterans with Cocaine for Drug Addiction Research (by Bill Myers, Washington Examiner)
Study Gave Addicts Morphine, Then Cut Them Off to See Effects (by Bill Myers, Washington Examiner)
Department of Veterans Affairs (AllGov)
Drug Enforcement Administration (AllGov)
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