Can a Target Gift Card Help You Stay Off Meth?

YES. MONEY TALKS NOBODY WALKS –

July 4, 2022 – Behind the table, a program assistant hastened to clarify that it was a chance at a gift card — just a chance. But a chance was enough for Mark, who began filling out paperwork to sign up for the 12-week program, hoping the incentive could help him break from his addiction.

“I’ve lost everything. My family. My kids. My grandkids. My wife. My housing. Just everything,” said the 56-year-old, who declined to give his last name. He has been living in a van in South Los Angeles. “It’s really affecting me bad. But it’s hard not to do it.”

It is a simple idea at first glance: Giving people rewards, week by week, can encourage them to keep doing difficult things. Researchers say such “contingency management” programs use the reward systems in the brain to nudge people away from drug use.

“This isn’t just paying people to do what they should do,” said Steve Shoptaw, a UCLA professor of family medicine who has researched treatments for stimulant use disorder. “This is an intervention that actually stimulates the brain to work in different ways so that their goals are met.”