Star Trek Synthahol in the Works

Researchers in the UK are working on an alcohol substitute that will allow you to easily counteract its effects and be instantly sober again.

If you're a Star Trek aficionado, you've probably heard various crew members refer to synthahol, an alcohol substitute with easily ignorable effects, should some Borg or Romulan related emergency arise and they desperately need to be sober in a hurry.

If you've ever been watching the show and felt intensely jealous, then you'll be pleased to hear that a team at Imperial College London is working on just such a product. The new substance is being developed from chemicals related to valium and while it provides the same feeling of relaxation and wellbeing that regular alcohol provides, but without the parts that cause mood swings and additiction. Best of all, the effects of the new substance can be sloughed off by taking an antidote pill.

Project leader David Nutt envisions a world where people can drink and drink without ever getting past the pleasantly jolly stage: "No one's ever tried targeting this before, possibly because it will be so hard to get it past the regulators ... Most of the benzos are controlled under the Medicines Act. The law gives a privileged position to alcohol, which has been around for 3,000 years. But why not use advances in pharmacology to find something safer and better?"

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97143-Star-Trek-Synthahol-in-the-Works