prescribed to treat cocaine addiction for an extended period of time and that this study will assess the drug’s safety in treating cocaine use disorders.
“We don’t really know if the medication will work,” he said. “We think it will work because there’s good scientific evidence but I don’t want to promise people that this medication is a ‘silver bullet.’ I’d like it to be, that’s why we’re doing the study.”
Devine believes that in about two years, he will have determined if lorcaserin is able to help people reduce their cocaine use or quit altogether.
“I don’t want to oversell it,” he said. “But if people are trying not to use cocaine and there’s a medication that will help reduce some of their desire or dampen some of their rewards, that could be a compelling medication to help people along the pathway to recovery.”
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
