Students at the prestigious King’s College in London were offered the chance to take part in a scientific study on how cocaine affects the human body. An email was sent on Thursday, February 21, 2013 to hundreds of undergraduates and postgraduates. According to the email, a class A drug is to be trialed via nasal administration, under the supervision of researchers.
The study, which will last for 120 days, will involve seven visits to the hospital and will require a few volunteers. Enrollment options were only available for men in good physical shape. They were also required to be between 25 and 40 years of age.. Except for students from the field of medicine and dentistry, all others can apply and get financial compensation for their time and effort. The volunteers should not be regular users of recreational drugs either.
The trial will begin with a test, to check the participants’ suitability they will be given the drug on their second visit. During the next five visits, scientists will take blood, urine, sweat, hair and oral fluids samples, in order to check how the drug spreads through the human body. During the course of the trial, the volunteers would not be allowed to cur or dye their hair either.
The project will be supervised by the clinical toxicology department at St Thomas’ Hospital, which has reportedly received all the required ethical approvals.
