A shot in the arm

This is frightening. A vaccination to block the receptors that allow someone to experience pleasure from drugs? Who's to say it won't also block pleasure from everything else in life? Or have some other effect on a growing child's metabolism that would cause more harm than the potential use of the drug at some undetermined time in the future might cause? I can see it as a benefit for an adult who is out of control with addiction to white powder drugs but to inoculate children who might be at risk to become addicted when they grow up, crosses the line of acceptability.

For one thing by what criteria would the children be judged as risks? Genetics? Environment? Economic standing? And who would be the judges? No -- enforcing government policy and mandating future behavior with neuropharmaceuticals goes much too far.

Young people sometimes use drugs to fill the void left by absent parents, however, drugs can not be a substitute for parents who are present in their children's lives. If our parenting skills have diminished to the point where we have so little time to give our offspring that we must use drugs to ensure they don't want to use drugs, then we should just stop having children.