The Addiction Vaccine

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/health/04vaccine.html?scp=4&sq=addiction&st=cse


    This article talks about the idea of having a vaccine that will prevent people from having addictions. It says that when they get it to work it will help smokers to not feel anything when they light up a cigarette, or for people who are addicted to cocaine to not have any of the pleasant feelings they would normally have without the vaccine.  They say this is working with rats, but do you think it is possible to work on humans? If it does work then what would be the effects on the community? What are some of the positive things that could come out of it? What about the negative effects?

    Do you think it is ethical to be conducting animal testing for something that seems to be extremely doubted and unnecessary? Do you think people with addictions that take this vaccine would then have the ability to get addicted to the vaccine itself? Would addiction then primarily be taken care of in hospitals rather than in therapy like settings?

Addicted to Performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LY5Z6tyrY8

    Dressing and acting like a baby is something that not many people would consider doing. It is very strange, but would you consider it an addiction? If this is an addiction then does that mean that anything that we tend to do on a daily basis can be considered an addiction? Do you think that life experiences, such as Riley deciding to become a women, impact the things that people become addicted to?

    Though the fact that this woman desires to lead her life as a baby do you think it is fair to say she is addicted to acting like one in comparison to other more serious and traumatic addictions? How do you think this "addiction" affects her daily life? Would you ultimately consider this a habit or an addiction? And what do you consider is the difference that separates the two?

Addicted to Music Itself

Is Music a Drug

This article is of the few attempts on the web that tries to connect music itself with addiction.  To explain that music is like a drug and consequently addictive, the article uses the argument that feelings generated from music are, however strong and influential, false.  How does one react to music and are some reactions similar or identical to that of drugs?   If these reactions are similar, does that make music addicting?  What defines a "real" drug and therefore a "real" addiction?

Do you listen to music to purposefully alter your state of mind? If you do, in what situations and do you rely on its effects? This leads to another interesting topic the article discusses--tolerance.  After you listen to your favorite song countless times, does it become "boring" and therefore ineffective?  If one relies on music, are they an addict?

Music and Addiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPVSuq5Kacw

This is the music video to Semi-charmed Life by Third Eye Blind. Lyrics are below the video. I recommend reading the lyrics with the music and then watching the video.

It won't give anything away to say that this song is about being addicted to crystal meth.

The questions, however, are how does this song balance the elation of being high with the despair of being addicted? What does the video itself lend to the topic of addiction? Is it ironic that such a light-hearted pop song is explicitly about amphetamine addiciton, yet blends in to the musical landscape of the late 90s? I bet most of us have heard this songs numerous times and never realized it was about addiction.

We listen to songs with drug references everyday, from Amy Winehouse to Willy Nelson and a plethora of artist between. A lot of us would probably agree that music is a pretty important part of our lives.  Considering the sometimes clandestine nature of song meanings, what are some of your favorite songs about addiction? Does considering the meaning change your mind about that song in any way?

Workaholics

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51425

This article states that there’s a difference between working hard and being a workaholic.

Do you think being a workaholic should be considered an addiction? And if so what qualities

make it so addicting? What makes the difference between working hard and being a workaholic?

Is it as the article says that hard workers generally have some balance in their lives and they

sit at their desks and think about skiing whereas the workaholic is on the ski slopes thinking

about work? Why would someone deem this as a “respectable addiction”? Is there some type of

chemical satisfaction the abuser feels? How

Designer Drugs

http://www.everythingaddiction.com/drugs-addiction/stimulants/bath-salts-growing-drug-abuse-problem/

This article talks about a particular “Designer drug”, but raises some important questions about addiction. One of the things about designer drugs is that they switch formulas so much, and states have a hard time keeping up with law making and enforcement. In your opinion, would it be better to leave certain drugs legal so that they don’t switch formulas very often, allowing us to develop better ways to combat addiction to one specific drug, or is it better to keep outlawing “bath salts” as well as similar designer drugs? Also, what constitutes a drug, and therefore an addiction? Is it a certain chemical component, or is it the way that these products are used?

Food Addiction

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/food-addiction-could-it-e_b_764863.html

The article states that “industrial processed food that is made in a plant rather than grown on a plant is biologically addictive.” What do you think it is about industrial processed food that can be addictive and why don’t people binge eat on the healthy snacks, such as carrots? Does this mean that all obese people are addicted to food? What kinds of things are influencing food addictions, and what are some steps we can take to prevent it?