Congress Probes NIH for Spending $2.5 Million Injecting Puppies With Cocaine - 'Coke hounds' were either killed or 'recycled' for other experiments, White Coat Waste Project said

[Ubiquitous]

The National Institutes of Health is facing a bipartisan congressional probe
for spending $2.5 million in taxpayer funds on a study that injected beagle
puppies with cocaine, according to a copy of the investigation obtained
exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an NIH offshoot, was recently
found to have conducted a study in which it "spent roughly $2.5 million of
taxpayers' money on cruel tests on six-month-old beagle puppies," according
to the investigation by 15 House lawmakers, led by Reps. Nancy Mace (R.,
S.C.) and Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.). "These tests entailed force-feeding
puppies an experimental drug and injecting them with cocaine to study the
interaction between the two compounds."

The study, first disclosed by the nonpartisan watchdog group White Coat Waste
Project, ignited a media firestorm and put the NIH's agenda in the
congressional crosshairs at a time when the agency was already facing
criticism over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and partnerships with
Chinese scientific institutions. Lawmakers want information on the cost of
the study and similar studies, as well as details about what other tests are
being performed on dogs. The investigation is likely to further erode public
confidence in the NIH, which has been the subject of congressional
investigations into their handling of the COVID pandemic.

The NIDA study was conducted from March 2020 until September 2021, when White
Coat Waste disclosed the project this month following a Freedom of
Information Act request. "At the end of the experiment, the 祖oke hounds'
were either killed or 喪ecycled'洋eaning they were shipped off to be used in
other wasteful, cruel, and unnecessary experiments," according to White Coat
Waste's findings.

Documents related to the study indicate NIDA was working to generate a report
to send to the Food and Drug Administration. After news of the study broke,
however, the FDA said it "does not mandate that human drugs be studied in
dogs"幼asting doubt on the need for such an experiment.

"We are concerned that NIDA is spending tax dollars on dog testing that is
cruel, costly, outdated, and that the FDA has claimed is unnecessary," the
lawmakers write. They want to know if NIDA attempted to explore non-animal
alternatives before deciding to experiment on beagle puppies.

Justin Goodman, senior vice president of advocacy of public policy at White
Coat Waste, said the congressional investigation is vital to generating
public accountability for the NIH's actions.

"Animal lovers and liberty lovers can agree that taxpayers should not be
forced to pay $2 million for beagle puppies to be injected with cocaine just
to fulfill outdated FDA red tape," Goodman said. "We're grateful to Reps.
Boyle, Mace, and their colleagues for sticking up for taxpayers and puppies
and demanding answers from the NIH about its wasteful and cruel spending on
dog experiments. As our 舛oke Hound' investigation has shown, the NIH is
addicted to spending and taxpayers in both parties want it to stop."

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Let's go Brandon!