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SAFETY OF DEXTROAMPHETAMINE AND COCAINE COMBINATIONS IN COCAINE USERS
Author(s) -
Murff William,
Roache John D.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00689_19.x
Subject(s) - cocaine abuse , dextroamphetamine , amphetamine , placebo , abuse liability , cocaine dependence , mood , psychology , anesthesia , drugs of abuse , cocaine use , pharmacology , asymptomatic , medicine , addiction , psychiatry , drug , dopamine , alternative medicine , pathology
Two studies evaluated the safety and abuse liability of d‐amphetamine in combination with cocaine in twenty cocaine‐using research volunteers maintained in a controlled research laboratory. The first study tested low doses of d‐amphetamine (15 mg) administered orally as a 1.5‐hr pretreatment before low intranasal doses (48 mg) of cocaine. The study was double‐blind, double‐dummy, and placebo‐controlled. A dose run‐up procedure was employed to maximize safety. All drug effects were modest and the main finding of the study was diminished subjective effects of cocaine on a replicate determination of the original cocaine dose. The second study examined higher doses of d‐amphetamine (30 mg, p.o.) and cocaine (96 mg, i.n.), alone and in combination, without a gradual dose run‐up. Cocaine alone increased subjective mood, cocaine craving, and ratings indicating cocaine abuse potential. Again, replicate administration of cocaine produced lesser subjective effects than the first dose. D‐amphetamine alone increased systolic and mean arterial pressures, but produced minimal effects on subjective mood. The combination of d‐amphetamine and cocaine never produced effects greater than cocaine alone except for one subject who had an asymptomatic hypertensive episode. The data are interpreted in light of the possible use of stimulants for the treatment of cocaine dependence.