More information about the Rat Park drug addiction experiments:
• The making of Rat Park: extra information about the real-life experiments
• Globalization of Addiction: the post-Rat Park research of Bruce Alexander
• My Drug Period: lessons learnt from researching War on Drugs & Rat Park
• 10,000 / 1,500 / 15: my personal experiences with responsible drug use
76.1K 5575reddit74.7K
This website supports three options for navigating through the comic: mouse scroll wheel, left and right keyboard arrows, and touchscreen.
Pingback: Rethinking Addiction
It’s amazing, since those who drink everyday but still go to work and have a social life and are generally positive people ain’t counted as addicts. They can pay for their fix. Or as you mentioned the other addictions like the cellphone/internet addictions or so, when do we call it an addiction? Lovely work Bruce, can’t wait to hear more from you and your research! I also realized when working in Afghanistan that for the first time ever you can see heroin addicts there like never before. Even if the warlords produced the stuff since years one would never seen Afghans use it themselves.. it was nothing for them and it was evil BUT somehow it has been changing since the presence of our Army and the war on drugs! I wonder what’s happening to them. Also since we invested money in war on drugs the poppy growth went 600% higher than before just during my time there. I don’t even dare to check it out now!
Cheers!
Pingback: No, Native Americans aren’t genetically more susceptible to alcoholism – The Verge
Pingback: No, Native Americans aren't genetically more susceptible to alcoholism - How to do everything!
Pingback: No, Native Americans aren’t genetically more susceptible to alcoholism | FoxLightNews
Pingback: Bruce Alexander – War on Drugs and Addiction | americanhotblogs
Pingback: The Failure of the Drug War and Why Drugs Should be Legal | The Bridge Between Dreams
This study was incredible. Cages can be in institutions: home for the elderly, orphanages, displaced people.
I agree with Tiyene….. I suspect the metaphore of a sort of mental cage could be an apt way to descibe the feelings promoting addictions to more than a few…
Interesting read, loved the last bit where they related it to humans and their own cages or parks.
Interesting how the comic strip points out the dangers in overgeneralization, and then proceeds to imply that the results could be overgeneralized to humans
Nevertheless it was a rather interesting comic and the experiment is worth looking further into, but it is risky make grandiose public claims without being more confident. People are much more complex than rats
This makes absolute sense to me
Pingback: ESCAPE THE ORDINARY THOUGHTS: The Drug War Part I – Powders and Plants are scarier than Terrorists and Government Terrorists |
Thank you for this. It was really easy to understand the research study with rats and drugs. I found it interesting! Visual learner I am!
Thanks for this. I’m not good at understanding research, but this format was so clear to me and hopefully others where I live!
This is great!
Awesome!! Please keep more coming!
The one thing that stands out most about Rat Park experiment is how humans and rats are so very different psychologically (however, that is to be expected when comparing animals to humans, it was not an apples-for-apples experiment). The rats basic animal instinct in packs is preservation of the species. In cages the link is broke. The experiment with drugs known to produce physical and psycoative dependencies in humans is a moot point and may as well have used canaries. Rats are good for testing toxicity and potential carcinogenic effects of foods and drugs – but the rest is irrelevant. Rats probably think like rats and are oblivious to how humans think or don’t care. Second, the experiment neglects the global fact of wars in paradises over the past 10 -15,000 or more years regardless of whether or not drugs were/are, or addicts involved – a war has never ceased on behalf of both parties recognizing the beauty of their surroundings…
Pingback: Depressing Quotes On Rain In Comic Strips | Depression Blog
Pingback: Het effect van drugs wordt grotendeels bepaald door wat je ervan verwacht |
Pingback: The Intoxication Cure: Sickness, Sadness, and the Self-Medication Hypothesis | Points: The Blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society
Poses some very deep questions and made me view my drug addiction from a new perspective. Was definitely a inspiration/contributing factor to kicking my drug addiction
Pingback: Drug Addict Comics - Drug Rehabilitation Care
Pingback: ‘The opposite of addiction is connection’ | Phil Ebersole's Blog
Brilliant, comic! Brilliant experiment! Now to get it to a much larger audience… $2 what a bargain! SOLD
love this.
i am currently overcoming an ICE addiction myself, and rehabilitating myself at my parents place rather than going to rehab, as i think that going to a place full of other recovering addicts has always tempted me more into drug use than anything.
i have now been 2 months clean and nothing has ever made more sense to me than this comic.
good work! keep it going!
I believe if a person has a strong support system and great resourses with will and determentation thay can over come addiction. For a person to be trapped in a cage is simply falung for every liquor store on each corner, guns/drugs, fast food resturants.
Its the same thing as putting people in projects and other blighted areas surrounding them with liquor stores, unhealthy food,guns and drugs.
very nice work, love all of it!
Nice Physical Graffiti & LZ4 cameos. Also is that John Bonham as the bartender =)
Pingback: Marcos Fernandes: Haddad acerta no problema do crack | CEPESP
I know Bruce Alexander’s experiment can also apply to humans. I once lived in a self imposed cage of self isolation because I knew no better. That was then, now I’m seeking freedom and trying to help others find it as well.
Hi,
Well done! I’m a psychologist who started work at a prison (many moons ago) – so many offenders landed up there due to their drug addiction. Many died from OD’s not long after their release. Sad stories that I still haven’t quite been able to explain.
Pingback: My Drug Period - Stuart McMillen blog
Pingback: The making of Peak Oil comic #3: snags and delays
I’m so excited about this webcomic! I’m a nursing student preparing a psych presentation, and was looking for a graphic related to Prof. Alexander’s work. I am SO glad to have found your wondrous depictions! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I will be supporting your work, and sharing it on all my social media. <3
Hello:
The investigation seems to me to be very interesting, would they have the comic in Spanish?.
Thank you very much.
From Chile
excellent way to enlighten a friend struggling with addiction, that it’s not all the person’s fault
Loved this. Thank you. and sharing
Great story. Well done
Awesome work!
lovely work,mers,erising artwork,educational theme and a classic ending.u hv it all man!!!!
This should be taught in all high schools exactly in this method. I am 65 and have gained new understanding about others because of this information.
Pingback: Evidence that Cannabis does not inherently harm young people | Vancouver Dispensary Coalition
Pingback: Evidence that Cannabis does not inherently harm young people | VAMCD
I really love this. From the beginning I suspected something similar would happen. I also love the Led Zeppelin symbols at the end. I wish this won’t be unseen. Big up!
Great comic, and great way to present complicated research! Please put a question mark at the very end! It’s a question, and we should be encouraged to think about it!
I love dank maymays!!! Heroin is the dankest maymay of them all!!!!!!
This is fantastic! Thank you for making this.
fantastic! translate in other languages and we could use it here in france against the stupidity in its education about drugs. here they still perscripe subitex against ‘canabis addiction’ and make junkies out of smokers.
My innocence was shattered in grad school, where I discovered that the search for truth was really about getting grants. I’ve been in the addiction treatment field for 35 yrs. How many lives were lost because this information did not make it into the U.S. info mainstream? I have come to similar conclusions but from a different perspective. Glad someone turned me onto this data.
Sure wish I had been taught the ‘rest of the story’ of the rat experiments (ie, Dr. Alexander’s part) back during my AOD studies classes. And isn’t it interesting that I/we were not??
this was very freaky and interesting. I’m glad I read this.
Pingback: 1p – Rat Park – the fundamental flaw in the way we think about addiction – Exploding Ads
great job explain this!
Pingback: Rehab a New Way: How to Rebuild Your Life | Supine Musings…NEW and IMPROVED Tales from OFF the Couch!
Pingback: Rat Park: Why the causes of addiction might just be influenced by the quality of our cages. | Ask the Navigator
Fascinating research. I want to follow this where ever it goes.
Stunning information from this work – though it is plain to see when one looks
Except we live in different worlds. Some of us have enough money and good health to get out of our cages and do things with others in the play park. For others who have bad health, lack of transport or mental health problems, that is just too difficult.
Excellent cartoon, though.
This is great thank you could you do one on project paper clip and mkultra
I’ve been hearing about “rat park” listening to Johan Hari lately and was so pleased to find this comic interpretation! I’ve shared it with my social groups online and hope that they continue to spread it far and wide. This story needs to understood broadly and this medium takes it far in that direction. Thank you!
This is an amazing, powerful and faithful breakdown of Rat Park that is easy for folks to understand. Fantastic work Stuart. I hope it is distributed widely – it can really help blow up the myths and misunderstandings that are part of the dominant social understanding of drug addiction. It is a great companion piece to Dr Carl Hart’s book “High Times”. Thank you so much for your work on this.
This comic beautifully explains the issue. I’ll be linking it in an article discussing drug decriminalisation if that’s all right. Thank you!
Pingback: Dislocation Theory of Addiction | The Stranded
I study video game addiction, and this comic is just fantastic for bringing into better light the importance of social isolation and other aspects of setting. OK to use clips with citation in my presentations?
well done
Great work, despite my tech quibbles.
Hard to read in Firefox. Top & bottom Banners take 1/3 vertical screen. Can’t see complete vertical frame.
Ctrl – makes it too small to read.
Ctrl + makes it even smaller.
Post Comment button is off screen.
Google Chrome is better.
love it. This is the real deal.
From my experiences, i had seen many addiction people and within my relatives. Some are heroin addicted, some are alcholic, and drugs. Any kind of addiction dangerous for our society. It’s kill our generation and our dignity. Don’t try it.
Pingback: MMJ 101: Are You Worried About Becoming Addicted? | Alex and Ania Splain You a Thing
Oh, the last panel! It made me question myself as well as the drug policies we seem to have in place in different nations.
Thank you for such a brilliant comic on the rat park experiments. Well done.
Pingback: Rat Park | Education by Credo
Excellent, my son !
Great insight! I want to use this information in my Drugs and Behavior classes.
I finally see myself. Truly eye opening…
Pingback: Rottepark eksprimentet | Ruskulturhistorie
Pingback: La causa más probable de la adicción ha sido descubierto, y no es lo que usted piensa | sal de la droga
Great I love it and do you have more about the adiction question?
Love the cartoon! As a family doctor treating addiction, I hear sad stories all the time … Rarely do people get involved with substance abuse when they are happy and well adjusted. A similar “experiment” was conducted on US servicemen who went to Vietnam in the 60’s, where heroin was used freely by many GIs. Upon their return, only a small percent remained addicted. Note to S – naltrexone is the oral version of Nalonone. If the rats were consuming a mixture orally, it would be naltrexone, not Naloxone in the mix.
It’s a brilliant cartoon comic strip – well done.
I’ve donated and I’ll use the pdf in teaching -thank you.
However, I was disappointed with the final two slides, they misleadingly suggest the way we ’see’ the world is what makes the difference. When it’s much more to do with the depravity, alienation and isolation of the world people actually ‘experience’, and not simply the way they perceive world.
So important point – I would suggest you change ‘seeing’ to ‘experiencing’.
Pingback: Online Comics - Rat Park - Just A Platform
It would be fascinating to see this effect also holds for other addictive drugs like amphetamines that cause energetic euphoria. Morphine may deter play among socializing rats, but presumably an amphetamine could boost their enjoyment and have the opposite effect.
Pingback: End of January 2015 | Fiona's School Blog
Being a psychology student I’ve found your comic (and the investigation depicted in it) very interesting and well explained.Thank you very much, anyways, I think it would be even greater if you linked the investigation article to the comic.
Pingback: Rat Park drug experiment cartoon – Stuart McMillen comics | BlueHackers.org
Having mostly felt to be an “outsider” from a very early age (Primary School) where most of the kids came from the opposite end of the village & my being excluded from their games. Late teenage years became those of a heroin addict living in squats and definitely part of the “underclass.” I wanted nothing to do with the trappings of success and had the viewpoint of a cynic. 30 years later I am now free of heroin addiction whilst enjoying very much the effects of the opiate rich pain killers I try not to get physically addicted to them & if I do have to endure a small withdrawal try to find something enjoyable to do for the process like a camping weekend on my motorcycle. I am now married, own my own home & have a fantastic motorcycle! Heroin does still attract me when I feel I need somewhere warm and cosy to curl up & forget my troubles. But it simultaneously appears as a dark forbidding cave that there may be no escape from.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html
mentions Rat Park
People with a strong support system (park) will always fare quite well regardless of traumas they might encounter. They feel supported. People without it, will not, will be depressed or resort to other evasive methods; they are more prone to other not so healthy methods and will fare far worse than their counterparts. I see it daily.
X/ref from Wikipedia.
Impressed by your work.
Pingback: Rat Park Study | Vancouver Mental Health
Pingback: What can a park for rats teach us? | Creative Solutions Counselling
Very well done sir, well done indeed.
Pingback: Finding Rat Park - Mad In America
I love this so much thank you for creating this! Just one caveat, I think you might mean Naloxone instead of Naltrexone. Super easy to confuse. Amazing work!
I loved it, but alas, i dont have the money to donate. Keep it up!
I wan’t to thank you for this fantastic cartoon. It made me realise lots about my life in an truly easy way. I can share this with friends and family and I think they also will have an easier time understanding how my life have been and how it is now. THANKS!
Here’s a shortshortshort (but still a bit long) history of my life.
I’m a boy that just turned 19. I wouldn’t say I’ve been an heavy addict but I have smoked weed for a year now. My life have been truly terrible and most of my life I seriously wanted to eighter die or leave this planet. From i was 4 I lived on a smal island called Herøy. I can remember being shut out of the social groups pretty early and after reading this comic I can say that the island was like an cage for me. We moved from a little city called Vinstra and all the years I lived on Herøy I thought back on my friends and the happy life I had back there. When my life was truly terrible I just wanted to end my life, for some reason I got in contact with an old friend from Vinstra. We talked and played games online with eachother. I and my parents arranged a tripp for me so I could travel down and meet him. He had talked positivly about me and the kids there received me like a hero. I remember being truly addicted to the thought of moving from the island to the city. Unfortunately everyone, the grownups, the political system and so on stood in my way, forcing me to stay on the island and in the social groups over there. Being all alone had an horrible effect on me and when I finally was able to move away from the island I had no idea of how to be a social person. I started smoking weed and I became addicted. Not by the buzz but by the plants ability to make me sleep and not having to think about my life. But I didnt only smoke weed to sleep, I also smoked weed because I liked the buzz and it made me less socially awkward, which led to people wanting to comunicate with me. This became my new addiction. I thought I had to smoke weed to actually become socially accepted. I didnt care if most of society looked at me as a criminal. The few friends I was able to get and keep made me happy.
Nowadays I easily avoid weed because it made me relax and it gave me the opportunity to become an social accepted person. I now have normal friends, I’m confident and the earth smiles to me every day.
I just had to write my story because it’s scary to see how familiar it is to this cartoon.
Pingback: My kid will be voting soon… | NZ Fiendishly Fiends Fabricated Withdrawal Fables
Once again, thanks. Have been bashing my head into brick walls for years to get this out there. Globalization of Addiction: the post-Rat Park research of Bruce Alexander.
Even paid for PDF download! Do it people. Support this guy.
So interesting! Will chew on this for some time…
This is a very informative story. Well done for making it so accessible. If only it would influence the general public and then we might change the status quo of criminalising drug usage.
As a fan both of science, and opiate drugs, this is a very interesting, could-be world-changing experiment. I’ve often said that drug addiction is an intrinsic part of being a mammal. We’re genetically programmed to chase our endorphins (from “endogenous morphine”), since that’s how our eating and mating behaviour is encouraged, which from a genetic point of view is a strong motivation. Then again, so is socialisation.
Perhaps that’s part of the answer. People with enough “genetic rewards”, people who eat well and are loved and socialise and have satisfactory lives, don’t need to artificially increase their endorphin / morphine levels. For a substance that’s so “seductive”, ask most people if they’d like being an addict. It’s only a special few who do.
And I’ve often observed, I never met a junkie who didn’t have problems before the drugs.
Thanks Prof Alexander, and thanks Stuart for putting important science into such an easily understood format. These are the imporant parts of science, the hypothesis, the experiment, and the conclusion (or possible conclusion). Brilliant comic!
Brilliantly explained and illustrated, and great layout too. How did you come up with/ produce the web layout?
Great stuff.
Fantastic stuff! Thanks so much.
Fantastic stuff! Thanks so much
GREAT WORK.
Pingback: A dependência química e sua implicação moral | Libertando Ideias
Great review lending perspective to complexity of addiction. Issue of the possibly uniquely human inherited/early experience brain vulnerability complicates our limited understanding of addiction. I believe addiction in a brain illness. The brain being the organ which creates and sustains or interaction with self, others and the environment.
Definitely.
Fantastic portrayal of an enlightening study. I loved your ending.
As someone with friends and family members who are and have struggled with opiate addiction, this sheds new light on what might be going on in their lives.
lovely comic, makes one think!
I loved this . very persuasive and beautifully drawn. thx.
Pingback: Letter to Health and Disability Commission | NZ Fiendishly Fiends Fabricated Withdrawal Fables
I think the concept of human contentedness and feeling a genuine connection to family and friends is absolutely tantamount to a successful human being and a pointer as to why so many adolescents fall into addictions; they are so vulnerable to isolation, not fitting in etc.
Very good analogy. It gave me a broader perspective on drug addiction.
This is awesome, and it raises a lot of questions for me being a drug addiction researcher. Great job!
Really insightful comic. I’m loving the Led Zeppelin references!
Very interesting comic!!!!! fun to read too. It is a great insight to the world of drug addiction.
Great Comic! I truly believe that your surroundings effect drug addiction! Real.
The research was cruel. The research was approached with good intentions. The results conclude that being isolated in the midst of drugs can be deadly. Humans are as vulnerable to drug addiction as rats, because, they both have a sense of belonging somewhere, and when that is taken away each of them can become a victim of drug usage. The experiment shows that humans and rats can both be destroyed from being isolated in a drug infested society.
I thought the research approach in “Rat Park” seemed a bit cruel, but was approached with decent intentions.The conclusions that can be drawn from the results of the experiment are that when an animal is cut off from it’s natural habitat, the animal becomes lost and vulnerable. Also the access to a source of drugs to numb the feeling of depression and sadness is more likely to attract the victim of isolation from their normal social atmosphere to indulge in hope of finding peace . I do believe that the results of “Rat Park” can be generalized to humans as well as rats, because regardless if it is a rat or a human, being caged and separated from one’s familiar surrounding can bring on some challenging events. I think that even in today’s society, it is as the experiment showed, that those who are fortunate enough to be part of a good and sound society has a much better chance for survival than those who do not.
I thought the message was going to be political: Arguing the case to legalise drug use. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by the ending. My experience with drugs bears out this idea that the attraction of drugs drops away with that change of consciousness: Victim to one who loves the adventure of life. A change of physical and social environment results but isn’t the cause!
Definitely using this a teaching tool in psychology classes. Thank you!
This comic was awesome! Surprisingly enough, my Bio professor had us read this for a quiz. Great choice, Professor Bull.
really good comic
It was a good comic
Comming from someone who experimented on rats and to see what they do is alot of work to do, I really liked the story, I love comics its easier for me to read, if there was more even for homework or class assignments i would do it.
Thats life!!!
this comic was bad idunt liekd it
Coming from a history of addiction myself, I’ve definitely viewed the world as a cage or a prison for most of my life, since long before I took any drugs.
Awesome!!!!
best way to present science , ever!!!
Absolutely beautiful. Great job.
Wonderful illustration.
For those interested in a well-researched paper on the social factors in addiction, see http://www.cfdp.ca/roots.pdf
interesting comic, thank you. the problem here is that addiction might not occur when times are good, but if confronted with aversive conditions (e.g. cages), would the rat park rats resort to opiate addiction? i bet they would, and at a faster rate than opiate naive rats. conversely, after being addicted, what pattern of use would be seen in rats who had been in cages and subsequently returned to the rat park? i think they could never return to normal “rat life” and would resort to addiction at even the slightest drug cue or aversive situation. i think addiction is far more subtle and insidious than people think, but once it occurs, your brain, hedonic response to “natural” pleasures and how you deal with negative situations is never the same again.
Being a past alcoholic I understand it. I was reminded of the distasteful taste of beer before I became a full fledged alcoholic. And the comparison to humans is like looking in a mirror. Shouldn’t this be taught in schools sometime before they are turned loose on the world? How else will the world ever wake up?
absolutely amazingly told story
I use this all the time in my drug classes!
Viewing intoxication as a biological inevitability gives us a better understanding of how drug use differs from drug abuse. Such use is not necessarily immoral or pathological but natural. Much like sex, drug use for humans is a natural drive. Everyone has a need to alter their consciousness and they will do so even at their own peril… from sky diving to smoking “crack” cocaine. The challenge for society is to address this biologically based need to “alter consciousness” in safe, non-abusive ways that will provide people with the “peak experiences” they universally crave. Furthermore, there is a non-abusive code for “getting high” that can be learned so that people who drink or take other drugs do not end-up embarrassed , sick, dependent or dead.
Why is intoxication coaching necessary? Getting ‘high’ in our culture has been taboo since puritan pilgrim times and so very rarely is it a topic in polite conversation. It’s not discussed. It’s no wonder people call themselves Addicts as they strive for the high they seldom attain. But it’s not their fault. It’s cultural. They have not been educated in anything else but prohibition and total abstinence.
Fantastic experiment. Provides strong evidence that addiction is a biopsychosocial process…
Pingback: If I were in charge… - Shane's Soapbox
Great comic. I feel really sad for the rats, I strongly mean it. Kind of animal lover, do not like to know they suffer in this kind of experiments, specially when they are so nice looked-faces in this comic. Hope time and thinkig can teach that animal experimentation should be finished, not even for the sake of medicine should we torture animals. They feel far more than we imagine, and suffer a lot with human behaviour. Just my point of view.-
Great comic, Stuart. Again I say I like it, your drawing is awesome.-
Pingback: Rat Park: A Comic About Drug Addiction
That was something to think about. Thanks
(btw may I suggest turning arrow page navigation off when focus is on the text field? It’s not very comfortable to edit your comment when page scrolls instead of moving the cursor in the field)
I love this comic so much. It completely rendered my thoughts of what addiction was useless, very inquisitive! I wish I wasn’t a minor so i could have an easier time donating to the author!
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my
own weblog and was curious what all is required to get setup?
I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a
pretty penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100%
certain. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many
thanks
Honour to these scientists!
Pingback: We can’t ignore the social aspects of substance use, addiction and treatment | IRETA Blog
I wanted to leave $4.00 but couldn’t change the amount.
Is it true? I hope so, but a shame that little has come of it or that the research is so little known.
Nicely done.
I think you just changed my life. Thank you.
Pingback: What Is Skepticism For? The Case for Skeptic Activism against The War on Drugs. - Shane's Soapbox
Ah, such a good depiction of such an interesting research!
Thanks a lot for this!
Very informative, and haunting conclusion.
Thank you for creating this visual!
This is great – informative, so well explained. And great drawing too! This is going to be really useful in my (Human Givens) therapeutic work. Very many thanks.
Wonderful.
Thanks Stuart for creating this brilliant representation of a really important bit of research. This story is used often to illustrate the human givens hypothesis about addiction, which is that people only become vulnerable to addictions (to substances and activities) when their innate emotional (bio-psycho-social) needs are not met in the course of leading their lives. The human givens organising ideas provide a very powerful & useful way of answering the question posed at the end of this excellent cartoon: http://www.hgi.org.uk/archive/addiction.htm.
This was simply amazing.
Great comic, thank you.
Maybe someone mentioned him allready, but do you know of the work Dr. Gabor Maté has done and is doing? His website is here; http://drgabormate.com
Really good. Made me think allot!
Every city is a cage.
Richard Manning on the Psychosis of Civilization
youtube.com/watch?v=d5iBOXcoP_8
Fabulous!!!! Is this why they shut down all social programs in the 1980s and drop crack in poor neighborhoods? Kind of like what we did to the native Americans before that.
Sorry, Paypal is a criminal enterprise. Got to support otherways.
Pingback: Rats, Drugs and Free-Range Kids : Free Range Kids
wow!
that is so revealing. Nacotics Anonymous is like rat park…lots of socialising, sex and cedar-scented floorboards in church halls.
Very very interesting comic but to use it with french student, I need a french version. Does it exist ?
A great comic, really gives a different and informative light towards drug addiction world.
Awesome… extremely good..!!
Superb ..and moving, interesting to see that given the chance (when the choice is there) in positive environment, rats and i believe it extends to people, will strive for life. Also we see the vital need of our brains to be stimulated adequately and adequately = living exchange and communication and therefore the need for social exchange and connection to nature (our roots).
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it
is truly informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels.
I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Lots of people will be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
Pingback: 2014-031 – Rat park :et si les causes profondes de l’addiction étaient volontairement ignorées ? | Un jour Une idée
Great comic! Really makes you think how powerful outlook is in living a healthy lifestyle.
Pingback: Altered States and the Brain | Sarah Hillenbrand
great work. it shows how sequential art can actually be a powerfull medium to tackle communicate important issues.
Great cartoon. Do you take bitcoin donations?
is that background Vancouver and are you in Van City or is Van your home ?
Great comic! Very interesting…easy to read and understand!! Accessible to everyone
Great job! I was unaware of the Rat Park experiment. Unaware of how the poor science of the sixties rat experiments became evidence for prohibition and the ‘war on drugs’. I’d love to see the experiment redone with what we now know about genetics and addiction. Thank you!!!Wow, I had never heard of this experiment, or thought much about how the earlier sixties rat experiments were used as evidence for prohibition and the war on drugs. I’d love to see them done again, but with the added controls of what we now know about genetics and addiction. Thank you!! http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genetics/
Fascinating experiment. I know many people who put themselves into cages of their own making. I can see how the implications of these tests could change the world’s outlook about addiction however I do believe there is a true predisposition to addiction that runs in many families. Still, this can help many people think differently and, hopefully, will help addicts.
Now I’m not a fan of animal experiments. We’ve discussed them heavily in the lab and I always have two questions: 1) is there no other way? and 2) is the answer we hope to find worth the suffering of sentient beings? In other words: is it necessary and justifiable? I don’t care to find out if we can teach a mouse to juggle with little grains of rice by shocking it. That knowledge is pointless, it serves nothing, it gets us nowhere, it helps nobody.
Rat Park, on the other hand, is a worthwhile experiment for a number of reasons: 1) it helps us to better understand the nature of addiction and devise better methods of treatment. Leaving the speciesism aside, It can salvage far more lives than it marred. 64 lives for a million, two million, ten? 2) it helps undo much of the harm done by prior rat experiments, both to addicts themselves and to our understanding of addiction. The faulty thinking, the false authority that the older rats suffered for was undermined by Rat Park, meaning that some of the vanity was removed from the suffering of those older rats.
For all that, it doesn’t make it right. Harming, killing, inflicting suffering, none of these things can ever be pushed over the line into being right, but their context can make them – for lack of a better term – less wrong. Forgive me, I haven’t had enough caffeine to get any deeper than this before the Dawn.
Pingback: This could explain why addiction rates in Portugal have decreased. » A Token Conservative
Very informative and the message is clear and simple
Pingback: Addiction | Caustic Soda
Brilliant summary of an interesting study. Its a disapointment that the funding was cut and they couldnt push further into the mental reasoning behind this. I do however do have some thoughts on this topic. Looking at the situation of dependant users in human society, even though there are welfare groups and people to help them move into ‘a park’ situation where they can kick the habit and ignore the withdraw symptoms, socialise with other peoplem, why do they not stick to it and ultimately return back to that lifestyle? As Stuart McMillen states at the end, is it the ‘difference between seeing the world as your park or the world as your cage’ or do they find that even though they are in this drug induce stupour they gain enough social interaction with other users and dependants that they dont want or need to give up the habit?
Are the socialisations of humans and rats similar but ultimately different? Do rats place a larger role every one being included and not turning a blind eye on anyone in Rat Park?
And finally, what would happen if the control group of rats was increased, while 22 rats is a good number to start with when we are trying to relate back to society and cities, we are talking hundred of thousands, if not millions or people. I understand trying to control millions of rats on Morphene isnt a smart idea but what if we used 1000 rats, would the results be the same or would we find out that some rats on the periphy get left out and ultimately become the extremely dependant user, who doesn’t want and rejects help even if it is offered freely?
My thoughts and comments, sorry if i offend anyone just wanted discussion.
Why is Alexander not a household name? This should be on every student sociology/psychology/anthropology/medicine/planning/ architecture/ politics/younameit syllabus. Or is it too dangerous for the ‘just say no’ lobby to contemplate? Think of the damage it would do to the gun lobby, the prisons lobby, the lawyers, everyone else with a stake in the status quo.
So, what did Dr Alexander do next?
To know more about what Prof Bruce Alexander did next, read this blog post: The Post-Rat Park research of Bruce Alexander.
I highly recommend reading his book The Globalization of Addiction. One of the best things I’ve read in recent years.
Pingback: Weekend Reading 12/6/13 | Sightline Daily
Loved it, Thank-you.
Thank you, this is great. That last panel will haunt me.
What happened to dr. Alexander and his crew?
Pingback: Is an impoverished social and physical environment the root cause of addiction? | Exopermaculture
absolutely fantastic!
This is such an awesome comic! And based on awesome research. I’m a psychology junkie, so I really like this kind of thing. T
he little details of Vancouver are wonderful; the Rio Theatre and the DOA poster in the background just take it over the edge. Keep up the amazing work Stuart!
I agree with Taylor, putting research data into an engaging visual form like this is awesome from a communication standpoint. The results are weird and interesting, and though I read that replications of this had mixed results, it’s cool (and scary) to consider how your environment shapes your behavior. Reminds me of studies that show how a heroin dose given in a familiar environment can affect one less strongly than in a new environment, to the point where someone could OD in one place but not another off the same dosage and strength.
This is a great graphic. We need more artistic representations of science like this! It is hard communicating science to the general public, and this has taken a paper and put it in a format that anyone would be able to understand. Thank you for doing this! It was very enlightening.
Pingback: Rat Park Cartoon explores a classic experiment into drug addiction science | Demand Quality. Ask for Ing
Love this work and its presentation in graphic form. Agree with Qui who says it should be considered a teaching aid. Beyond that though, it gives us pause to think about the cities, dwellings and environments we construct.
Pingback: Choices, addictions and vulnerability. | Dream Or Dare
It’s invaluable the work that our fellow human beings dedicate their lives to, especially when it deals with the betterment of their fellow humans. The presentation of this study alone is a breakthrough and should be considered as a teaching aid everywhere.
I’m an addictions counsellor/Psychologist and I’ve been blown away by this study I’d never heard of before. It fits so well with my understanding of addiction, and questions so much of the policy and approach to the problem. Thanks for putting it in such an easily digestible form!
Also, I loved the Led Zep references!
Thanks for your work in making this important research so pleasant to read about and understand. No government will welcome the findings, however… a ‘war against drugs’ is much cheaper, indeed profitable, than a war against poverty, which reduces human life to a ‘cage’ of overcrowding, stress, poor diet/education/heathcare, lack of options.
Pingback: 薬物中毒の原因を生活環境にあると考えた「ラットパーク」実験とは? | 合法パウダー専門店「ゼウスジャパン」
First of all – nicely done! But what I especially wanted to point out is that I absolutely adore all the Led Zeppelin-referrals!
Thank you so much for making this. I wish I could explain it (in words) to friends as eloquently as you put it with this comic.
Pingback: Rat Park Experiment | abeautifulandcrazymind
Loved it! Fascinating and very useful provocative story, well told. Great use of cartoonery and enjoyed the new-to-me presentation via internet.
Thanks, this made think about my own situation.
Thanks for a great read and use of the comic medium. Love real science that illuminates the dark! Love to read comics that are this useful and real. Happy to pay my $2. Looking forward to passing this on to my 33year old daughter who works as an art therapist to get the kids of addicts to not repeat the pattern in their lives.
I’m a loner and this makes me sad, because it’s true.
Pingback: It’s not the morphine, it’s the size of the cage: Rat Park experiment upturns conventional wisdom about addiction | Big Thoughts- In Few Words
great story. can we change our society now?
Really enjoyed that. Thanks!
Thank you
thanks for the journey. I wonder if we need to focus on the isolated to help create a mindset of feeling socially included, or if it would be more effective to work on creating a more inclusive society for everyone, a culture where everyone is kinder and more positively playful, and more willing to include people that in the past were marginalised or teased.
Pingback: Prostitution in Norwegen, sexuelle Unterdrückung & Menstruationsgebiete « Reality Rags
This is cool, the comic and the formatting both. I’ve seen a bunch of sites that use infinite canvass, but most of them leave the navigation to the reader (which is generally okay for purely vertical strips, but a pain in the tuscus for anything that bulges elsewhere). Are you using html5 for the navigation? Have you ever thought about using vertical movement as well (would it be possible with the current setup?)
thanks, sorry if i’m bugging you but I find this stuff interesting.
Pingback: Do you live in a cage or a park? | tyblu
Pingback: Kampen mot missbruk | Här står jag.
Ok for heroin, it’s known to dull your perception and make you feel good, but what about popular social drugs such as cocain how does it work?
Great comic! I found this on BBC News; good study; and good drawing too!
Pingback: It’s not the morphine, it’s the size of the cage: Rat Park experiment upturns conventional wisdom about addiction | Health News Site
Pingback: It’s not the morphine, it’s the size of the cage: Rat Park experiment upturns conventional wisdom about addiction
Pingback: Challenging ideas? Try communicating visually. | Fourfoldway
I love how everything goes into detail and fully explains the differences between people who have a great social life and people who live lonely.
i agree, its like rats were being potrayed as us, the more we surround ourselves with other human beings the better off we are. The “loners” are more addicted because they have nobody to go to.
wonderful when research supports intuitive ideas: those without hope overuse drugs. The rest of us use our caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, in moderation as an ancillary pleasure.
I love how comic frames make a rather dry text intriguing and keeps me hitting > to read to the very last frame.
Same thought, this was a very nice story!
Pingback: Imprisoning Addiction | Unruly Bodies
Very nice story. Are there citations supporting the research in any journals? I will happily share this with colleagues working in addiction fields if I am given indication that it is a true story.
The story was informational I agree even though the last researcher was left puzzled
Yes, even though I have no clue why the researcher was puzzled
i agree i dont really understand why he was puzzled but i think its because he compares the rats to humans and if humans are in the same situation they become addicted and start using drugs too.
It was awesome. Artistically and the content are of the best I’ve ever read.
Thank you
Drugs are a choice whether your isolated or not …not saying it’s easy but it’s a choice
Yes, but some people might feel the need to “try” things, if they have no social life. Because they feel like since they have no life , why not just try something that could get my mind off of that…
Pingback: Addiction Rehab Centers Blog » Blog Archive » The Causes of Drug Addiction are Complex
I enjoyed this comic very much. When I first saw it I was thinking: This is going to be very boring. Then I started getting into it. It made perfect sense. The rats that were isolated, chose the drugs. The ones in Rat Park had other rats to socialize with and play with. The ending had an excellent message. Are you going see the world as your park, or your cage?
I agree completely. When my professor told us to read this I was hesitant. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t think it would be interesting at all, but it really surprised me . This comic makes perfect sense
i agree this comic was very intresting it made me wonder how different humans see the world and what may cause them to turn to drugs today…i personally see my world as a park
great post i was the same way! i really in joyed the reading
I Agree with with Tony B.
i agree i too thought this story would be boring and pointless but i actually got into it. i love how you made that connection of do u see the world as your park or cage that is so true and thats why the scientist was so shook up cause everyone should see the world as their park.
Pingback: Understanding Addiction: Rat Park | Life in Balance
Thank you for illustrating this so beautifully, and helping to educate people about this important work.
The illustrating was beautiful and brilliant, it gave an insight into addiction and what it can actually do to ppl.
I totally agree. It gave me greater knowledge of what to think the problem may be if I were to run into someone who is an addict.
Thank you for this. It was beautifully done.
It’s a shame that these experiments were discontinued.
its actually not a shame, the experiment was an inhuman! the experiment killed 100s of rats. although i don’t like them i wouldn’t wish any living breathing creature death for scientific research.
I totally understand where you are coming from but I believe that, that works for when there is a new drug that could be a cure for something and to see if it is safe for humans, they definitely need a test first.
I actually agree the exp. should have never been dis. But the actual findings were enough to say that drug addiction is a choice .
Pingback: Is addiction a rational choice? | Recovery Continuum
liked this much.. as an artist (yeah;did comics back in art school, early ’70’s; the underground sort) and as an addict who is always going to be in recovery. I say this as I know that I cannot ever allow myself to take anything bringing ‘instant gratification.’ I can only ‘take’ drugs prescribed. no; I do not take pain meds.. I’m for one not in that much pain (I can tolerate my level fortunately).two years ago, however,I broke my shoulder in 2 places; I was prescribed that oxy stuff. it was a disgusting feeling although it did help with the pain.. however I did wind up going back to the ER to get a different drug (forgot which) as I could not tolerate how yucky oxy was.. although I’d snorted heroin before, it was not a drug of choice; that would be pot. and as for the rat experiment? yes; there is validity to it, but one thing is missing…
this would be using rats who have a genetic predisposition to being addicts. my parents were both alcoholics; I also drank a great deal; had to stop that of course as for me it is no different than any drug..
most all I’ve met within the 12 step community (how I got clean) seem to share that same factor.. although it isn’t everyone.
I still feel that there is something more to the study. of course social
and other miseries come into play with addiction!! I see this all the time whereI live; in a ghetto area which happens to be a huge drug area. (I haven’t $$ to move). there’s been a marked rise as well in addicts since the economy has gotten worse; I notice this from how damn many people there are ‘around’ coming to buy here.
Do you happen to know if the experiments carried out by Professor Alexander and his team have ever been replicated by others ?…
Henri
Thank you so much. I actually cried reading this. As someone who has had family and friends affected by addiction it’s refreshing to read something that doesn’t demonize them for being prone to the allure of drugs. It’s so much more than chemical; it’s societal.
Pingback: Bait and switch. | Memo Of The Air
Pingback: What We’re Up Against Dept.: Let The Real Education Begin | SUPERVERSITY
Pingback: webcomic interesante, para pensar | Alfil Negro
Pingback: Links 7 – 21/9/13 | Alastair's Adversaria
Thank you,
Pingback: Denying Global Warming: The Definition Of Evil | Ferrett Steinmetz
This is an excellent way to share the ‘story’ of research and the very important findings of this study. Our policy makers and society as a whole should strive to make the rat park realities transferred to human society to respect everyone’s right to live a happy/peaceful life.
I agree with you. This is an excellent way to show people how easily you can become addicted. But if you are isolated alone all the time, then you have more free time to have these drugs. If you socialize with friends and family, then why would you even want to think about doing it? Very well put together
i agree but i dont think drugs will make everyone happy / peace
It is my personal feelings & experiences that lead me to believe conclusively with Bruce Alexander’s hypothesis & conclusions; the low points of my life always coincided with my use of opiates, alcohol & benzos… times when I was depressed, detached, isolated, angry & lonely were the times I heavily immersed myself in these substances. Conversely, periods when I was socially connected & highly functional in family & society were mostly abstemious. A priori, the Rat Park experiment appears compelling.
I think the drugs and addiction it is different in way because this hard to teak out from the addiction and teak long time to be better and not easy
but alcohol ,lonely and impressed these society problem and not teak long time to be better
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Rat Park, and it was a great introduction. Well done, sir.
ME to this first time read Rat Park but i like it very much because help all people haw every one protect himself from drug and addiction
This was my 1st time reading this comic also i really enjoyed it
This is my first time ever hearing of Rat Park as well. And I enjoyed it.
Awesome. Great storytelling, very focused script and fucking right theme. Love it dude.
i agree the script was very focused and made its point great its the shit
Very good – as a former opiate addict (first illegally then legally) the Rat Park graphics are fabulous. They hit right to the heart of the inadequacy of modern pharmacological science. Pharmaceuticals are, as we all know, a very, very big lucrative business – get the masses addicted. For any opiate addicts reading this, get a grip. No one dies from opiate withdrawal by itself! Alcohol withdrawal, absolutely! So you have a few very uncomfortable days…you are not ‘sick’ you are getting well and it’s just so much better on this side of that dark wall.
Fabulous! As a scientist and a clinician, I really appreciate the clear way you outlined what they did and the questions they were asking (and the careful way they did not jump to conclusions). The politics of research are clearly on display here to. Thanks!!
Excellent comic!!
(As a person who takes as-needed morphine for an extremely painful degenerative lifelong condition, I can testify that having pain relief available does not, in fact, result in addiction and destructive behavior — it’s actually the opposite. Having pain relief means that I can *live* my life, fully participate as a member of my family and my friends group, and while my physical abilities are going to continue to gradually decline, I am mentally fully present and I’m doing everything possible to keep my life from getting any smaller in scope.)
Give people something to live for, and they won’t try to escape into drug-induced oblivion.
But, in addition to that — our Prohibition mindset about pain medication causes real and serious harm to genuine pain patients, who are faced with Puritan attitudes that basically can be summed up as a fear that we might enjoy the medication that we need to control our pain.
I don’t get “high” — I just am able to re-focus and allow *me* to dominate, rather than my pain. And I’m very grateful to have pain relief, after five years of increasing disability without it.
I am fearful of the changes to state law and the FDA that have been/are being made, however, because the differentiation of “chronic non-cancer pain” from “cancer pain,” as if non-cancer pain was somehow less severe or disabling, is troubling.
I couldn’t bear the thought of a future which held nothing but increasing pain — that was my cage. Morphine, oddly enough, is what opened the door and allowed me back into my own Life Park.
It seems that nearly everyone is addicted to something or another these days, at least in the US. I see this as a symptom of the creeping cultural malaise of the present era. Many people are finding it increasingly difficult to connect with each other in deep, lasting, meaningful, and rewarding ways. This growing disconnection would appear to be fueled in part by the various technologies we increasingly depend upon, from constant mainstream media feeds, to facebook and twitter, to the the steel cages within which we drive to and fro each day. We are conditioned to fear and hate one another by a media that focuses overwhelmingly on the negaitive. We no longer teach our children the practical and interpersonal skills that have allowed many cultures throughout history to thrive in relative harmony with the earth and with each other. We increasingly see the world through the bars of these self imposed prison cells, insulating ourselves from a world we believe to be cold, harsh, and dangerous. Rather than stepping out of the cell to explore on our own, we sit alone and wonder at the emptiness we feel, indulging uncontrollably in whatever we can find that will fill the void for just a few fleeting moments.
I assume that the problems stem not from the technologies themselves, but from the ways in which they are largely being used- to control, manipulate, isolate, and indoctrinate.
But don’t worry- there are no conspiracies. Ever. Now get back in that steel plastic, and aluminum cage and go get yourself some more ice-cream. I promise you’ll be feeling much better soon.
Reversing the situation, move the social rats to the cages and vice-versa after a period. Then lets begin creating a People Park utopia for the miserable addicted persons near-destroyed by the People Cage.
I do agree the experiment couldve been drawn out a little more before it was discontinue to see if the how the park rats handle being isolated from others
i think that would be great to see what happens to!
I think it would be pointless because if you take the rat park rats and put them in cages then the results will be the same they then would turn to the morphine because they have nothing to do and they once had friends and a place to play around now their in cages alone so it would be worse
you totally right charlie Farlie,it would be pointless,but if they take the cage’s rats and put them together with the rats in the plywood..which of the rats group will affect the other?
Rats are not people, people are not rats (usually). The world is neither park nor cage, but feeling makes it so. The world is not so intelligently designed, and nether are its inhabitants. Nevertheless, the chief drive to drug use is loneliness and emotional pain, this in an overpopulated world. There is some madness at work when so many feel alone and cannot feel the simple creature comfort of company among so many modern humans. A clue might be intimated in the resort to animal companions where humans cannot do. But madness is inevitably complex and not resolvable by simple means. Else the “cat-ladies” and animal hoarders would be awash in ecstasy instead of still deeper in anguished isolation.
Good comic. Good ideas, unfinished. Keep thinking, there’s more.
I really enjoyed your comic!
Addiction can be a perception of personal limitation.
The world is your sea. Limitless.
as an addict this speaks true to my experiences.
early in life it was fun.
then it wasn’t
a great deal of the ’cause’ is societal. the need of recovery comes to each user when it does.
Recovery is not easy, but it can be done, with help from one’s community.
Serious pain, and control of same with a variety of methods, including pharmaceuticals, when stressed, i turn to aroma therapy, visualization, and progressive stretching exercises.
With great thanks to WCB and the Vancouver Pain Clinic.
]
Oh WELL DONE. Such a scientific study that included an alternative, how much it showed me of my own circumstances,the influence from unknown emotional time bombs. Heart breaking that this information was not available as soon as it was discovered. Perhaps there would have been a rational,reasoned,and realistic approach to ‘detox and recovery’.
A creative way to present a scientific study–so many more of these are needed!
The future comes out of thinking like this.
A creative breakthrough in addiction research.
I agree every day have new technology and give more deatiles information and new result more researches .
Loved the depiction of Barry Beyerstein! (I’d recognize the mustache anywhere.)
Informative—-and very interesting. It seems to suggest that the Catholic (and others) teaching that we are made for relationship is true.
This is lovely. Thank you.
Pingback: Nature of Addiction | KIA Illuminated Adepts
Very useful, very interesting, very informative. Thank you.
‘If you can’t explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough.’ – AE
I agree with you this story very useful and very interesting and explain it simply and give enough information
Pingback: It’s not the addiction, it’s the size of the cage | slothed
Incredible, thank you very much.
…awesome.
Very unique and informative story. I am glad that someone has made this information available.
Pingback: La globalización de la adicción y el experimento del Parque de las Ratas | Observatorio Cannábico
Amazing retelling of the event, very informativ:)
There are more experiments that is left told, hope that you’ll keep up the good work!
speaking as a heroin addict-
very insightful and inspiring.
Lots of overt/subtle Led Zeppelin inspired/borrowed images in this – liked the not-so-obvious reference to the Physical Graffiti cover in the one panel. The study certainly helps to explain addiction in celebrities who have money, mansions, and media attention, yet still “self medicate”, in contradiction to what one would expect once stress over money, shelter, food, clothing, etc. had been eliminated. So is it really a matter a whether one perceives themselves as being caged or relatively free that makes the difference? Which makes me wonder about the implications for the current model of prisons and incarceration – do they exacerbate the problem or contain it?
Great presentation of the nuanced way the studies were done. After reading the BBC coverage, I was still wondering what the experiments REALLY showed. Now I get it. Great work!
I totally agree. This was a very great presentation, and very simple, but super informative
yup.. actually it is amazing..and its told us how is Brule Alexander care because he repeat the classical rat drugs when he felt they the researchers did do it in the right way..
this was great! insightful!
Excellent! Thanks
Awesome comic taking a complex subject matter and making it easy to digest. Nice work
Pingback: Drug addiction: The complex truth « Mind Hacks
I got addicted to weed, at the time I didn’t have any friends and was extremely shy. Then I stopped when things got better, then a few years later life was hard, I felt isolated from friends/family and got addicted to MDMA & Speed. Each time when I came out of those depressing phases, I was able to stop. And my diairy entries from those times specifically mentioned feeling cage/trapped etc.
Your story is very similar to a friend of mine’s. Through lots of intervention and care, we were able to help him come out of his shell and show him that he had people who cared for him. I’m glad this comic exists to help show that addiction is not a sign of weakness, but a culmination of very nuanced factors that include socialization and isolation. Then, maybe, the general public would get rid of the dismissive stereotype that people like Golflin Gortenats hold onto, further stigmatizing your experience.
Brilliantly drawn, important information.
The experiment should be done with humans, though – Rats are intelligent, social creatures who don’t deserve to suffer for our experiments.
I understand where you are coming from–I hate seeing animals suffer for tests. But saying that we should do that to humans instead is the same kind of deal. Furthermore, conducting experiments on humans would result in a less controlled environment which can skew results. At least what we can do is to minimize animal suffering and follow a strict code of ethics.
I agree with you. The people out walking the streets are looking for drugs, so why not test on them? They are probably already messed up.This is such a sad thing, but it is true
yeah at long last we are getting AWAY from the disease/medical model of addiction
the outer give a lot information about addiction because help all people keep their heath away from addiction
beautifully told thank you
As a guy who’s used..I can say for a fact that the effect of drugs is amplified (positively & negatively) by the users personal and social environment.
yes i agree, Ive never done heavy drugs. but i have family who has and i definitely noticed that the more we supported my mom staying away from drugs the less she wanted it.
Funny, the only thing the Park Rats got addicted to was sugar.
Fantastic experiment, i will share The Rat Park story with all my friends. Thank you.
Great work, as a scientist who works with genetic mouse models of disease, I completely agree how an enriched environment results in dramatic changes at the epigenetic and behavioral levels…in fact, I have recently discovered how voluntary running can rescue the ataxia-like symptoms in one of my mouse models…clearly, addiction is directly related to the social environment and we should be very careful in how we interpret our animal studies and extrapolate them to humans…I really enjoyed your art work, hope to see more!!
Thank you for this enjoyable and information story of Rat Park. I had only a basic understanding of it before, from talking with Bruce and reading some of his work, and your comic presents the story in a clear sequence. I will share it with others.
Very interesting drug experiment. Society needs to decriminalize all illegal drugs. All drugs, legal and illegal need to be put under the control of local doctors, health clinic and dispensaries, and dispensed as needed. If people want to use drugs, they should be able too without fear of becoming a criminal and if they do not want to use drugs fine. Accordingly, education. counseling, and drug rehabilitation should also be available to everyone. Needless experiments on innocent animals is cruel and morally wrong.
Knowing we humans think it’s O.K to experiment on living animals (that are destroyed after we they are no longer of any use to us) to try and understand ourselves; makes me want to use drugs. Shame on us.
I was really captivated by this comic. I’ll keep the link somewhere safe for when I’m not broke anymore. I’d be glad to support your art.
wonder if we couldn’t have figured this out by studying real humans with drug problems and those without. Then we would get the subtle contextual information they were looking for. I wonder if the “rat paradise” really was a rats’ paradise, or simply better than the conditions faced by the isolated rats? How many other variables may have affected their drug addiction (or lack thereof) but were not considered given the researchers’ ignorance of rats and their differences from us. I feel very sad for the rats who were forced to live in isolation.How many rats were used in these experiments?
I knew those rats personally.
Pingback: Rat Park: Addiction Research You May Not Know | Recovery in Oklahoma
Pingback: Rat Park and the More Beautiful World | Connection Action Project
Thank you for laying this all out in pictures. I had read and heard about the experiments before but this is makes the important nuances clearer.
Do you have all these addiction comics in book form? Or downloadable as a group? These would be awesome for my University level drug class – students sometimes need visuals to really comprehend a message.
Who says comics are addictive:)? These comics should be mandatory reading at all levels of education, especially kindergarten.
What a beautiful, inspiring story. I didn’t know Bruce did such brilliant work!
Pingback: Povinná popularizace vědy formou komiksu? - BROZKEFF
Pingback: [INTP] Best comic ever.
Well done!
20: “the researchers were confident the rats had been avoiding the effects of the drug, not the taste”. I’d change that if I were you. Making an assumption like that completely nullifies the whole project (scientifically speaking).
Hi Mattie. That statement is not something I pulled out of thin air. The following page of the comic explains how Robert Coambs did a side-experiment with Naltrexone which tested whether the rats were avoiding the taste or the effects of the drug solution.
I use this in my class on psychedelics all the time!
Bruce
Interesting, but I do wonder if part of the problem is insight? The Rats, I guess made a decision to chose the environment over addiction. Perhaps humans aren’t so intelligent, or their preference is to ‘avoid’ other life experiences/interactions. I sometimes wonder if a part of the drug use, is to ‘make a statement’ to people they either don’t like, or wish to be like, but haven’t achieved! Always a difficult question. It is absolutely shameful that the Government doesn’t acknowledge and offer treatment to ths ongoing dilemma of substance use, addiction and treatment.
I have known about these experiments for a while. Just yesterday , I was taking an online continuing education class regarding this very topic. OF COURSE the rat park experiments where not brought up. The classic rat experiments scream confounding variables.
I really enjoyed reading your comic. It intuitively makes perfect sense, and as a now sober outlier, to me still appears completely rational and reasonable. I wonder what the incidence of use would be in a “rat factory” or some other super sized analog. Your comic is shear brilliance, and I wish I could have the entire thing, spiraling around a t-shirt.
your right this does make perfect sense but i think your taking it to far with the t-shirt maybe a blanket thoe lmao
Pingback: Tikkunista: Week Ending June 7th « Tikkunista!
Pingback: Webcomic alert: Rat Park
This is an excellent way to introduce underrepresented psych theory to the general public. Reminds me of a quote from street people brought to the intentional community of Rajneeshpuram in Oregon in the 80s. They said “they had a purpose, and felt needed there”. In many ways what people need more than food and necessities of life, is a constantly evolving sense of comprehensive social meaning. In short they need the mental stimulation of interaction, gossip, and intrigue that results from social interaction. This is like a drug to humans which is why we’re so intelligent and successful as a species.
Marvelous!!
This is SO GOOD!!! This is what it is all about!! I can relate so much to the “Rat Park” experiment and I am not a rat!!! (well physically anyway!!) This is what addiction is all about – HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THIS WORLD! SO IMPORTANT !! This is great! People react to the availability of morphine (heroin on the street most of the time) and the way they withdraw ALL DIFFERENTLY ACCORDING TO THEIR ENVIROMENTS (THE WORLD THEY SEE). Finally the truth is coming out there!
hmmm. So head for Shangri la? This pessimist sees us going the opposite way- fast.
Pingback: Reviews June 2013 week one « Escape Pod Comics Escape Pod Comics
Pingback: Reviews June 2013 week one – Page 45 | Comics & Graphic Novels | Independent Bookshop | Nottingham Page 45 | Comics & Graphic Novels | Independent Bookshop | Nottingham
Pingback: Kreisverband Neu-Ulm
Hels to open the mind’s about the subject.
Very insightful and easy to understand, and also thought provoking. Hope it becomes widely read.
Very informative and very nice ending. I would like to be able to support you on Flattr.
Thanks! That was really well done and thought provoking.
Very interesting comic delving into pretty unique themes. At least for comics.
What’s with all the Led Zeppelin references though?
Very well done- and important for sharing the world of research in ways more people can comprehend and appreciate. We all benefit from getting research out of the lab and into the World’s classrooms.
michael
http://www.preventingcrime.ca/Rx
Very interesting and accessible. It would be a worthwhile piece of research to study the correlation between Towns/communities that measure low on the availability of meaningful social and cultural activities and related capital, and the prevalence of drug and alcohol problems.
Regards
Neil
Pingback: Lessons Learned, Reviewing the 22nd Week of 2013 | Cyper
This is a terrific piece of work. I’m speaking both as a psychiatrist and as a cartoonist and drawer of comics. (I know how much hard work it is). Are you involved in the Comics in Medicine group? If not, the best way to make contact is via Ian Williams’ site at
http://www.graphicmedicine.org/
I’ll send Ian your link.
Cheers,
Neil
I moderate Occupy Economics on facebook and one of teh topics we have been looking at is the nature of poverty and why inequality is harmful. I wrote an essay in which I postulatd thatthere were 3 basic forms of poverty.
One form/effect of povert it posit is exerpted below. I think it directly dovetails with this research.
Social poverty:
Humans are obligate social creatures. Though there are a few exceptions, most humans adapt very poorly to isolation and exclusion. Further we very much depend on our inclusion in our culture to receive benefits available to all citizens generally. Poverty is ugly and poverty stinks, literally. Poverty lives on the margins of society and poverty shuts you out of access to the media and culture you need to be versed in to be part of society. The amount of material goods you have access to directly affects your ability to relate to other people. For kids, not having the same toys, comparable clothes, comparable exposure to music and entertainment labels you as an outsider and shuts down your social relations. If you look like a destitute person you have little chance of getting a job, no matter your ability. You have trouble living in areas that give you access to things like groceries and banking and are instead trapped with more expensive check cashing and convenience store fare. Clubs, churches and various social events exclude you. This has vicious effects on a persons ability to function or be happy.
There are many communities and people from around the world that are quite poor by western standards, but have a culture in which inequality is minimal and people are not ostracized from their community and commerce by their poverty. On the other hand societies with extreme wealth inequality develope a host of pathologies; I think that are a direct result of the isolation of the poor and classism. There are many studies on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LzE3u7Bw
Great comic, good info told in a captivating way. I love the Zep IV imagery, too!
I like it but I think that in the end, whether you see it that way or not is only half the truth, how it actually is.
For instance, the economic conditions that exist for someone aren’t just making them see the world as their prison, it is their prison because they’re poor. It’s going to take more than seeing it differently
to stop being poor and experiencing the cage of marginalization.
Otherwise I think this is really great, I admit my point it perhaps seemingly minor but some people might not realize that just changing the way someone sees things isn’t going to always be that magical panacea and allow them to enjoy poverty and see how wonderfully free they are.
If your intent is to show that poverty is the root of depression, drug addiction, etc., I’d agree with you.
Thank you for sharing this, you break it down in a way that people can understand. I spent 6 days in jail this last year and met some women that have drug problems and I totally felt that putting these women in jail was doing nothing except to damage them even further, so pointless.
Stuart, I just loved this! It’s brilliant, thank you!
Pingback: Rats Choose Social Life over Drugs | Mad In America
If Barry was alive, this would be posted on his door. What a wonderful comic. Thanks for this.
As an aside, my office was we’re the rat park was when I was at SFU…!
@Patrick Librarian
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Amazing piece of work.
A thousand times yes. This really has depicted the experiment and the consequences with accuracy and feeling.
I presume you’re familiar with the Portuguese experience with decriminalisation?
Pingback: Is your life a park or is it a cage? | The Community of Dallas Bay
The last panel made me cry
Fantastic depiction of Alexander’s “rat park” research. I will be assigning this to my University students for courses I teach on illegal drugs. Thanks so much for creating this.
Pingback: Is your life a park or is it a cage? » Larry's Log
A tremendous piece of art that makes the scientific process simple and thrilling -while answering a philosophical question with political and intellectual context. All without with the commonplace low attempts at humor, irony, or heavy-handedness that cloud drug use and drug abuse debates.
Very nice description of some fascinating experiments. Goes along with Sigmund Freud’s comment that we all need Lieben und Arbeiten, Love and Work, or, to put in Skinnerian terms, there would be less addiction to drugs if we all had alternative reinforcers.
Pingback: What Causes Addiction? | The Penn Ave Post
Pingback: Conspiracy Theories! | Rat Park – Drug WarRant
Loved this and War on Drugs a lot. Bought multiple copies so you could have $10 (and repeated this comment in both places to let people know how good your other work is too!).
I’m starting a clinical psych PhD in the fall….this is really wonderful.
Good one…..Our environment impacts our humanity.
Great comic – makes me want to go and read the original research!
Great comic and interesting information. I studied to be an addiction counselor in college and never heard about this. Most everything I was taught was geared toward the 12-step, Alcoholics Anonymous, disease model of addiction which claims that people are either born with genetic predisposition, or their brain chemistry is altered so that they cannot avoid their drug taking behaviors. I think the information presented in this comic raises important questions about the role our policy plays in perpetuating addiction. We stigmatize and alienate individuals for using substances, individuals who probably turned to drugs because of alienation in the first place, and we wonder why we continue to see a rise in drug use despite 40 years and over a trillion dollars spent on prohibition. Great stuff!
Pingback: A 1970s Canadian science experiment made drugs freely… | Crazy Facts
This was just, amazing I’m already trying to find more of this ‘Rat Park’ I never knew this kind of research had ever been done. Moreover the art and dipiction of the whole story was incredible, thank you.
This was fantastic. Really enjoyed it Am going to show my teenage son – maybe his drawings will one day expand others knowledge as yours have done for me today.
I agree it is have good information for teenager specially because this age love try every thing this story too simple and easy they are know every thing about drugs
Me likey. Great insight. And I do agree. I feel the system we’re putting up for ourselves nowadays is becoming more of a prison; more of a reason to want to escape. Keep spreading the good word buddy
yes i would agree as well, nowadays people think being caged away would help solve problems when it is the other way around.
Very disappointed that this is the first I have heard of the Rat Park experiments and I am a 3rd year psychology student.
Very nice and informative; shows the utter failure of mainstream media and the “education” system that this is not better known.
Educators could never teach this, this illustration was beautiful, and great for teens like meee.
beutifull
This needs to be more viral for the common public.
That last panel hit me right in the feels…
Some great insights, a very well done comic. Kudos to the author!
Booo,
seeng the world as your cage? that was so anticlimatic. Clearly was a poor interpretation of the data and the problematic of drug addiction. Even worst, now this misconception has been transmitted in a very didactic way.
way to go.
Joseph Alebrije
A false conclusion. Alexander presupposes the control of the individual over the environment in which he is born, the gender which he possesses, and the family and upbringing to which he is subjected. While the individual may have some control over his life, he does not have TOTAL control, since there are factors that one cannot control. For example, the system of economic exchange is a given that cannot be altered by any individual unless a crisis warrants the alteration of the economic system. Hence, perception in itself is not the main indicator of drug addiction. What is the key to understanding addiction is perception of something. The rats living in rat park could perceive their social life have this perception imprinted as a memory. Those that did not, those who did not have a perception of rat park, only of isolation (the absence of a social where others exist) did not have this memory, yet they sought it. That is, there exists no equality of opportunity. The drug addiction problem is a political problem, yet the war on drugs only goes after the epiphenomena of addiction qua addiction. It does not address the underlying social factors that induce drug addiction. Moreover, it has nothing to do with wealth (rich people do drugs as well) and more to do with recognition from others. They want acceptance.
Mammals are not solitary beings, they are social; human beings are no exception. But the conditions of society for humans requires more than the mere presence of others, but a certain type of interaction that can only be fulfilled in a certain type of social system (which is hierarchical, as politically incorrect as it may sound). The truth is conditioned by what we deem as “acceptable” to us, and which does not hurt our feelings. This is absolutely absurd.
I’m not exactly sure what you’re arguing here…
What you are saying seems to line up with the essence of Bruce Alexander’s book The Globalization of Addiction.
To me it seems that you, I and Bruce Alexander are all on the same page.
I had a completely different response to the comic. I didn’t see the last panel as drawing a conclusion as to the total cause of addiction, but rather more literally as it was written, “What if…”
I certainly agree with you that addiction is multi-factorial and cannot be explained simply by perception. One certainly is not in control of the environment they are born into, much like the rats in the experiment. The idea that perception alone dictates addiction vs non-addiction is a bit simplistic but changing perception is a major part of recovering from addiction. As a recovering addict and alcoholic and avid member of AA and NA what I drew from it was the importance of becoming a part of a community and changing my attitude. Less self-pity, more gratitude and outreach. Granted, I say this now after having been through a ridiculously expensive rehab and having a family and social structure that actively support my recovery. There are far too many who do not have the advantages that I do and don’t manage to sustain recovery.
Getting off soapbox, I really enjoyed the comic and will be sharing the positive message in the rooms.
Thanks for this great comic. I have sent it along to Bruce – still living in East Van and periodically doing talks on capitalism and addiction. So great to see his work developed graphically. Thanks for introducing a new wave of people to this very important work.
Hmm, interesting. The last panel especially. People who are happy with their life, wouldnt dare ruin it with drugs (Rat park). People who are depressed dont care to ruin their lives, they believe it cant get better anyway. (Caged rats)
I agree that people with a good life wouldnt usually ruin it with drugs, and lonely people dont care.
i have to disagree with you on that note..just because a person is happy with their life doesnt exactly mean they wouldnt do drugs cause drugs will consume anybody rather your happy or not..true more people who are depressed does seem to do it more but just because a person is happy with their life doesnt mean that they wont try it either and become addicted..because they are happy that alone will make them try it because they have it all so why not..so i feel what your saying is wrong just my opinion
So good. loved the comic. it was very insightful.
Me too this comic it is nice , clear and explain the story clearly without need reading the story
Good Read, makes you think of all other other scientific experiments that people take as fact and use it to corrupt the truth.
this is very nice to know fact experiment and fact information and fact professional and how can work professional and how can try many times to get fact information
As someone who has known all of these researchers, I think that this is a creative and interesting description of the work of Rat Park. Too bad that the Canadian government isn’t interested in this research.
It was a cool comic, but I felt that the actual story could have been told with just a paragraph of text. Is it worth the time to make such an extensive comic, when in the end all it does is extend a point aimlessly?
Umm, do you even… art? Your comment was cool and all, but was it worth the time to write two whole sentences, when in the end all you did was say nothing?
How come you can say that the author said nothing in the end ? For me it was very deep and profound, yet I can understand why some people may find the comic not fulfilling enough. I did find it fulfilling, maybe because I have similar opinions regarding this issue, stemming from experience… Anyway, the last panel was really a bomb. Keep up the good job !
This comic is a great explanation of drug use and how users get into drugs. Thank you to the author! I will share this with many people.
This was amazing. Really informative and provided in an interesting way.
I stands up from chair at work, begins slow clap. Amazing. Donates $5
Great work.
This was great Thankyou!
This was and interesting read i totally agree with you.
That was amazing! Wow. Impressive.
Another series of well-produced, profound illustrations. The ending was similar to, but not the exact one, I had assumed. Amazing work.