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Cocaine E-Cigarette Could Help People Struggling with Addiction

A so-called “crack pen” could reduce the many harms of smoking cocaine. But will it work, and will people actually use it?

Credit: Reshetnikov/Shutterstock

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Vaping cocaine might sound like something no scientist would recommend — but a pair of European researchers want to make it reality, and it could actually help people who struggle with stimulant addiction.

In a paper recently published in the journal Drug Science, Policy and Law, toxicologist Fabian Steinmetz and addiction research professor Heino Stöver conceptualized a cocaine e-cigarette. The authors say such a device could mitigate the harms of smoking cocaine by reducing the risk of overdose and death, and may help people eventually find treatment when and if they’re ready. The design is similar to what a normal e-cigarette contains: a battery, an atomizer for heating the drug, and a cartridge for the e-liquid — only in this case the cartridge wouldn’t contain nicotine, but cocaine.

Vaping certain drugs is obviously popular and is generally seen as a less dangerous — but by no means risk-free — activity ...

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