f6098d8b__and_Use_of_Laboratory_Animals__Comments
[ID] 21 [Entry Date] 03/08/2011 at 05:22:47 PM [Affiliation] Self [Comments] 
Comment 1: The stipulation that pharmaceutical grade drugs should be used in all animal procedures unless there is no alternative would severely hamper research on drugs of abuse. The majority of the drugs we research that are relevant to drug abuse and addiction are available as pharmaceutical grade, but are prohibitively expensive as such. Studies requiring repeated treatment such as those utilizing self-administration, drug discrimination, or other procedures that allow assessment of tolerance or dependence would not be feasible under typical NIH grant budgets. Presently, NIDA provides many of these drugs at no cost to researchers, however they are not pharmaceutical grade as they are typically obtained from seizures of street drugs by law enforcement. Street drugs are rarely pharmaceutical grade. I am not aware of any data suggesting that the use of non-pharmaceutical grade drugs in addiction research has led to any complications or other problems solely because they were no pharmaceutical grade. I sincerely hope that this requirement will be reconsidered.
Listing of Public Comments on Proposed Adoption and Implementation of the Eighth Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals