PAY TO TAKE COCAINE IN STUDY PROVOKES BROUHAHA

McGill Psychiatrist Defends $700,000 Governments Spent On Study

MONTREAL ­ What's all the fuss? asks the McGill University psychiatry
professor who garnered international attention for paying research subject
$500 each to take cocaine.

"The media response to the initial report (about what the study is about)
has been as varied as you can imagine, from interesting to silly to
irresponsible," said Dr. Marco Leyton (PhD).

"I find it striking that some people seem to believe that those with
addiction problems should not have medicines to help them. I appreciate
having the opportunity to respond to this prejudice, but overall I'd be
just as happy to do my research quietly," Dr. Leyton is quoted in the
McGill Daily, the student newspaper.

The controversy flared up late last month when it was reported the federal
and provincial government contributed close to $700,000 to Dr. Leyton's study.

"To be able to sit down and snort coke with a McGill prof is so cool," said
one of the study subjects is quoted in an interview with the student
newspaper. "It was kind of like a sleep-over, and that's the way Dr. Leyton
wanted me to look at it."

However, there are many critics who aren't so thrilled with Dr. Leyton's
research, which has received media attention across Canada and
internationally from the Jay Leno Show, Internet forums and U.K.'s
Independent newspaper. One of the most common concerns is the fact
participants were paid to take a potentially harmful drug.

"Do we really need to pay them $500? Are Canadians that naive?" Leno asked.

Gerry Sidel, director of Montreal's Addington House treatment centre
rejected Dr. Leyton's study regardless of whether or not participants were
paid. "The problem is not the drug. . . . (Dr.Leyton) is treating the
symptoms, not the underlying problems."

Ads in local newspapers

It was last December when the psychiatry professor placed ads in local
newspapers asking for men ages 18 to 40 years who have used cocaine in the
past year to participate in a study that required four 24-hour hospital
stays, an interview, the administration of cocaine, and the ingestion of a
different protein shake (treatment) on each visit.

Dr. Leyton explained the goal of the study is to identify treatments that
can reduce cocaine craving and cocaine-induced highs by regulating the
intake of amino acids that make the neurotransmitters involved in causing
the behavioural and physiological reactions to cocaine. Three years of
research preceded the human trials.

"If we can do this in the laboratory, it might point the way to developing
effective medicines," he said.

Ten participants were selected for the study from a group of more than 100
respondents based on health and safety considerations, and past use of
cocaine. Each of the men chosen had previously used cocaine, but none were
described as addicted to the drug.

Dr. Simon Young, another researcher in McGill's psychiatry department, said
it is common practice to compensate study participants at minimum wage for
their time and expenses.

"I don't think cocaine users should be discriminated against for taking
cocaine," he said. At $500 for close to 100 hours, the study pays about $5
per hour.

Ethical concerns

Dr. Margaret Somerville, acting director of the McGill Centre for Medicine,
Ethics and Law, thought the compensation was too much.

"The general rule in drug addiction research is you don't pay people to
participate because you don't want money to be the only reason they
participate," she said, adding participants can, however, be compensated
for their time and expenses.

Although Dr. Leyton's study may seem unconventional, the practice of paying
people to take cocaine for research is not exceptional. A quick Internet
search revealed five other studies inviting cocaine users to take the drug.
Participants are promised up to $1,080 US in compensation.

Harvard University's Dr. John Halpern has also paid study participants to
take cocaine. He said the hesitance among researchers who work with drugs
like cocaine and alcohol to discuss their research has led to confusion
about the rationale behind their experiments.

"Some (people) are out for a witch hunt," he said. "It's better to talk
about this sort of research than to have the public be shocked later when
they hear about it."

Dr. Leyton stands by his study. "The issue for me as a medical scientist is
that there are no treatments. We simply do not have medications that are
effective. It is my hope the research we are doing here will teach us how
to decrease cocaine craving," he is quoted as telling a British Columbia
newspaper.

Dr. Leyton's study was approved by the McGill University Health Centre's
Research Ethics Board.