Cocaine Abuse and Addiction--Part II. (cover story) Essay

Cocaine Abuse and Addiction--Part II. (cover story) - Essay Example The process of treatment is actually quite intricate, with several services being needed, particularly with the addicts exhibiting additional social and psychological disorders. However, the situation is not as disturbing as it seems. It has been found that only 10-15% of people who try cocaine ultimately become addicted, and even if they do, most break the habit successfully. Treatments of various kinds pertaining to the many psychological, social and neurochemical causes of the problem may work for different patients under different circumstances. Some of the drugs which have been under production to counter the addiction are fluoxetine, which prevents the reabsorption of serotonin; antipsychotic drugs and also naltrexone, which neutralizes the gratifying effects of heroin. Researchers have been attempting to develop a compound that blocks cocaine’s access to the dopamine receptor without affecting its function in the absence of cocaine. They have also been observing drugs which raise the level of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the effect of which is believed to diminish the conditioned response to cocaine related cues in animals. Drugs that affect only one or several of the many kinds of dopamine receptors are being scrutinized. Yet another strategy to treatment is an antibody, which breaks down cocaine in the blood, thereby acting like a vaccine. Despite these endeavors, none of these techniques have proved to be really successful in combating the addiction, except for the temporary relief of abstinence symptoms. The only realistic, feasible treatment for cocaine addiction has been the 12-step groups along with different forms of behavioral and psychological therapy. In the 12-step groups, people help themselves by helping others. They meditate, pray, admit their mistakes and beg for forgiveness, share their stories with others, discuss the 12 steps and in the process, learn how to live