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If You Give A Mouse Cocaine You Should Probably Give Him A Cigarette First
"Nicotine causes changes in gene regulation that enhance the brain's subsequent response to cocaine. The finding, in mice, provides the first clear evidence for a molecular mechanism supporting the idea of 'gateway drugs'…. In a study published today in Science Translational Medicine, the team shows that, in mice at least, nicotine causes epigenetic changes–long-lasting changes in the control of gene expression–that subsequently boost the response to cocaine."
Wait a second. You can “enhance the brains response to cocaine?” Dan Savage was right! It DOES get better!
I was going to pshaw this, but it's the Kandels, and you can't really fuck with them.
I'm going long on snuff stocks.
So cocaine would be even better if I smoked?
Another example of institutional bias against tobacco. If they'd been objective, they would also have tested whether having cocaine made you (or a mouse) more likely to smoke.