Drugs: researchers shouldn't just focus on the harms
newsare.net
Most drug research focuses on the harms they cause, but studying the pleasure they provide will improve our understanding of why people use them. Among other things, this knowledge could be used to help people who develop drug problems, such as dependency. ThDrugs: researchers shouldn't just focus on the harms
Most drug research focuses on the harms they cause, but studying the pleasure they provide will improve our understanding of why people use them. Among other things, this knowledge could be used to help people who develop drug problems, such as dependency. These people have often experienced significant trauma in their lives and use drugs to self-medicate. If we knew more about how this self-medication worked, we could radically transform our approach to treatment. We have a lot to gain by conducting research that takes a more balanced view of drug use. For example, research could provide information about the range of pleasures people experience, how many people use drugs for each type of pleasure, and how they manage their drug use to ensure it remains problem free. This basic information would help us understand how and when people move from drug-induced pleasure to drug-induced harms. This seems simple and it would be relatively easy for researchers to explore, but as the recent Home Office announcement of a review into drug use demonstrates, politicians continue to be in denial about the pleasure people experience when using drugs. Most research is also preoccupied with... Read more