EFFECTS OF BACLOFEN AND PHENMETRAZINE ON NEURONAL SIGNALING PATHWAYS IMPLICATED IN PSYCHOSTIMULANT ADDICTION

Abstract

Substance use disorders (SUDs) and addictions are serious mental conditions with profound consequences on both an individual and society. In the United States alone, the total estimated cost of substance abuse, including lost productivity-, crime-, and health- related costs, exceeds $700 billion per year (National Drug Intelligence Center, 2011); yet, funding for research through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism only amounts to $1.02 billion and $446 million of that cost, respectively, in Fiscal Year 2015 (“Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees: Fiscal Year 2015 ,” 2015). Meanwhile, in the face of substantial increases in federal funding for drug-prevention programs and law enforcement, addictive drugs continue to pose a growing threat to our national health.