Researchers stumped by drug addiction paradox

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Data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2004: drug use in the last year. Credit: Sullivan et al. 2008 The Royal Society.
Data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2004: drug use in the last year. Credit: Sullivan, et al. ©2008 The Royal Society.

From chocolate and caffeine to nicotine and cocaine, many of our most addictive foods and drugs come from plant toxins. Considering that plants originally developed these toxins to deter herbivorous predators, it’s ironic that humans and other mammals don’t merely tolerate the toxins, but can crave them and even develop dependencies on them.


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