Doctors prove gambling is best cure for cocaine users

dont usually post these, but this is probably the most bizarre factual news piece we’ve done:

Swiss Docs Prove Blackjack Casino Gambling Best Cure for Cocaine Users

A team of top psychologists in Switzerland have discovered that gambling at a casino blackjack table will significantly lower relapse and decrease usage among cocaine and crack addicts.

There is a new, unconventional treatment method for curtailing cocaine or crack addiction that is much more pleasant, and has a higher success rate, than 28-day-rehab clinics or 12-step meetings.

A strange theory was proposed at a major Swiss hospital, a few years back, when a team of psychologists were experimenting with alternative methods of breaking the cycle of cocaine addiction. At the time Dr. Geneva Francois Crespo and Dr. Sylvie Petit Jean decided to see if it’s possible to refocus the brain’s reward center away from cocaine and into a more constructive activity.

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Dr. Crespo explains why blackjack card games help stop the desire to use cocaine – “After cocaine is used, it activates the reward center inside the brain. The brain released euphoric hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin and adrenaline which act as a mood enhancer. The same occurs with gambling: the brain perceives a reward from winning or the potential of a reward. The reward causes intense moments of happiness, which compensate for the desire to use cocaine.”

i can only wonder what gamblers anonymous would say to this…not sure whether to laugh or cry :laughcry: