Confirmed: Oreos are as addictive as crack

Oreo cookies
Wikicommons
Wikicommons

Have you got Oreos stashed in every room of your house? Did ever need a hit so badly you stole an Oreo right out of your 5yr-old nephew's hands? You've got a (delicious) problem, but it's not your fault. It's science! According to a study from Connecticut College, America's favorite cookie is just as addictive as cocaine and morphine

Professor Joseph Schroeder and a team of students designed an experiment with lab rats to test the power of Oreos. In one maze, they set up two different rewards for the hungry rodents: Oreos and rice cakes. After devouring their chosen snack, the rats could opt to hang out on whichever side of the maze they had picked, presumably waiting for more treats that never came. Obviously the Oreos kicked the crap out of the rice cakes, but here's where it gets interesting: the researchers compared that maze with an identical one they set up, only this time the two options were an injection of saline or morphine/cocaine. Don't ask questions about how the researchers scored cocaine! Focus on the fact that the druggie rats spent just as much time lingering for seconds as the Oreo rats did, so yeah, those cookies are serious business

Also serious business? The fact that the Oreos activated MORE neurons in the brain's "pleasure center" than the drugs. So not only are Oreos as addictive as crack, they make you happier than crack. We D.A.R.E. you to think otherwise.