Money as a tool to extinguish conditioned responses to cocaine in addicts

Abstract

Classical conditioning principles offer a nondrug way to treat cocaine dependence. Eleven male subjects with the primary diagnosis of cocaine dependence were placed into one of two groups. The experimental group was asked to handle $500 cash in a mock budgetary task. The control group was asked to just imagine handling and budgeting the money. The subjects rated their craving-related feelings before and after each task. The experimental group showed significantly more craving after the money-handling task as compared to the control group, and the scores improved with time and as more tasks were completed. These data show that craving induced by handling cash is powerful and can be attenuated, at least on a short-term basis, using classical extinction procedures.

Do noncontingent vouchers increase drug use?

“…Anecdotally, some drug users report that cash is a cue to use. These reports are supported by empirical studies showing that cues associated with drug use, including cash, increase craving (Childress et al, 1993(Childress et al, , 1999Garavan et al, 2000;Hamilton et al, 1998).…”

“…These results should also reassure treatment providers considering the use of incentives for decreasing a single drug in polydrug users, because receipt of incentives when positive for nontarget drug(s) could inadvertently reinforce their use. As noted in the introduction, it is possible for cash to serve as a drug use cue (e.g., Hamilton et al, 1998), and one cannot simply avoid the issue by requiring abstinence from all drugs. Several recent studies have shown that making delivery of incentives contingent on urine specimens testing negative from all or multiple drugs is not effective in helping patients achieve abstinence (Downey, Helmus, & Schuster, 2000; Schottenfeld, Pantalon, Chawarski, & Pakes, 2000).…”

Do noncontingent vouchers increase drug use?

“…Anecdotally, some drug users report that cash is a cue to use. These reports are supported by empirical studies showing that cues associated with drug use, including cash, increase craving (Childress et al, 1993(Childress et al, , 1999Garavan et al, 2000;Hamilton et al, 1998).…”

“…These results should also reassure treatment providers considering the use of incentives for decreasing a single drug in polydrug users, because receipt of incentives when positive for nontarget drug(s) could inadvertently reinforce their use. As noted in the introduction, it is possible for cash to serve as a drug use cue (e.g., Hamilton et al, 1998), and one cannot simply avoid the issue by requiring abstinence from all drugs. Several recent studies have shown that making delivery of incentives contingent on urine specimens testing negative from all or multiple drugs is not effective in helping patients achieve abstinence (Downey, Helmus, & Schuster, 2000; Schottenfeld, Pantalon, Chawarski, & Pakes, 2000).…”

Immersive Virtual Environments in Cue Exposure

“…Therefore, different kind of physiological and subjective data can be recorded. 26 We refer to Hamilton et al 8 and Verheul et al 25 in our physiological assessments. Craving, physiological activation, and cognitive and emotional coping strategies, 9,13 and finally drug use are consequences of specific stimuli inherent to drugs such as alcohol, 17,22 opioids, 6 cocaine, 5 and nicotine.…”

Money management, mental health, and psychiatric disability: A recovery-oriented model for improving financial skills.

“…A few studies have used contingency management for those with dual psychiatric and substance use disorders to reduce use of money to purchase drugs or alcohol (Bellack, Bennett, Gearon, Brown, & Yang, 2006; Drebing et al, 2005; Hamilton et al, 1998; Ries et al, 2004). However, the idea of distributing money only after one has taken medication is not without criticism (Claassen, Fakhoury, Ford, & Priebe, 2007; Szmukler, 2009), with some studies showing the potential for financial coercion when such money is used to leverage adherence among people with psychiatric disabilities (Elbogen et al, 2003).…”

Do noncontingent vouchers increase drug use?

“…Anecdotally, some drug users report that cash is a cue to use. These reports are supported by empirical studies showing that cues associated with drug use, including cash, increase craving (Childress et al, 1993(Childress et al, , 1999Garavan et al, 2000;Hamilton et al, 1998).…”

“…These results should also reassure treatment providers considering the use of incentives for decreasing a single drug in polydrug users, because receipt of incentives when positive for nontarget drug(s) could inadvertently reinforce their use. As noted in the introduction, it is possible for cash to serve as a drug use cue (e.g., Hamilton et al, 1998), and one cannot simply avoid the issue by requiring abstinence from all drugs. Several recent studies have shown that making delivery of incentives contingent on urine specimens testing negative from all or multiple drugs is not effective in helping patients achieve abstinence (Downey, Helmus, & Schuster, 2000; Schottenfeld, Pantalon, Chawarski, & Pakes, 2000).…”

Immersive Virtual Environments in Cue Exposure

“…Therefore, different kind of physiological and subjective data can be recorded. 26 We refer to Hamilton et al 8 and Verheul et al 25 in our physiological assessments. Craving, physiological activation, and cognitive and emotional coping strategies, 9,13 and finally drug use are consequences of specific stimuli inherent to drugs such as alcohol, 17,22 opioids, 6 cocaine, 5 and nicotine.…”

Money management, mental health, and psychiatric disability: A recovery-oriented model for improving financial skills.

“…A few studies have used contingency management for those with dual psychiatric and substance use disorders to reduce use of money to purchase drugs or alcohol (Bellack, Bennett, Gearon, Brown, & Yang, 2006; Drebing et al, 2005; Hamilton et al, 1998; Ries et al, 2004). However, the idea of distributing money only after one has taken medication is not without criticism (Claassen, Fakhoury, Ford, & Priebe, 2007; Szmukler, 2009), with some studies showing the potential for financial coercion when such money is used to leverage adherence among people with psychiatric disabilities (Elbogen et al, 2003).…”

Do noncontingent vouchers increase drug use?

“…Anecdotally, some drug users report that cash is a cue to use. These reports are supported by empirical studies showing that cues associated with drug use, including cash, increase craving (Childress et al, 1993(Childress et al, , 1999Garavan et al, 2000;Hamilton et al, 1998).…”

“…These results should also reassure treatment providers considering the use of incentives for decreasing a single drug in polydrug users, because receipt of incentives when positive for nontarget drug(s) could inadvertently reinforce their use. As noted in the introduction, it is possible for cash to serve as a drug use cue (e.g., Hamilton et al, 1998), and one cannot simply avoid the issue by requiring abstinence from all drugs. Several recent studies have shown that making delivery of incentives contingent on urine specimens testing negative from all or multiple drugs is not effective in helping patients achieve abstinence (Downey, Helmus, & Schuster, 2000; Schottenfeld, Pantalon, Chawarski, & Pakes, 2000).…”

Immersive Virtual Environments in Cue Exposure

“…Therefore, different kind of physiological and subjective data can be recorded. 26 We refer to Hamilton et al 8 and Verheul et al 25 in our physiological assessments. Craving, physiological activation, and cognitive and emotional coping strategies, 9,13 and finally drug use are consequences of specific stimuli inherent to drugs such as alcohol, 17,22 opioids, 6 cocaine, 5 and nicotine.…”

Money management, mental health, and psychiatric disability: A recovery-oriented model for improving financial skills.

“…A few studies have used contingency management for those with dual psychiatric and substance use disorders to reduce use of money to purchase drugs or alcohol (Bellack, Bennett, Gearon, Brown, & Yang, 2006; Drebing et al, 2005; Hamilton et al, 1998; Ries et al, 2004). However, the idea of distributing money only after one has taken medication is not without criticism (Claassen, Fakhoury, Ford, & Priebe, 2007; Szmukler, 2009), with some studies showing the potential for financial coercion when such money is used to leverage adherence among people with psychiatric disabilities (Elbogen et al, 2003).…”