It worked on 40% of a study group. Given the costs of addiction in society – everything from healthcare, to the criminal industry that grows around it, to the damage to people and families – the concept of vaccinating against addictions seems profoundly beneficial.
“In clinical practice, you’d probably give people a booster shot every two months,” he said, which, compared with some long-term treatments, is “pretty easy to provide.” [MedPageToday]
How about an annual injection, like some birth control techniques?
Now, consider this: Would you advocate mandatory vaccination for all convicts as part of a return-to-society-productively protocol? I imagine addiction is a big factor in post-release recidivism. What if such a vaccine were available for alcohol? Such a drug would have saved this kid, and undoubtedly countless others.
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“Would you advocate mandatory vaccination for all convicts as part of a return-to-society-productively protocol?”
I would never advocate mandatory shots of anything to anybody, but if it is kept optional or part of thier good behaviour for early release it could be benificial. No one can over come an addiction unless they really want to.
I second Austin’s suggestion – administering forced injections doesn’t sit well with me, including the HPV vaccine.
Include it as an option in sentencing for petty crimes, maybe, like they’re doing with the Community Courts here in Vancouver: jail or treatment. Add a proviso that statutory release (at 2/3 of sentence) or any parole requires such a vaccination if there was any evidence of drug abuse. You could also include it as a precondition for the return of children that have been apprehended due to the parent’s drug problem.
Now they need to come up with the same thing for heroin, crystal meth, etc. Good luck with alcohol, though, since it always exists at low levels in the body it’s impossible to generate an immune response to it without causing autoimmune disorders.