NCJ Number
160658
Date Published
1994
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Acupuncture is an effective and inexpensive treatment for alcoholism; government officials should consider investing in acupuncture clinics to treat alcoholics and other addicts.
Abstract
Patricia Keenan, clinical director of acupuncture services at Bay View Hunter's Point explains that "Chinese medicine offers a safe, nonaddictive, nonchemical means of detoxification from drugs of all sorts..." For initial detoxification from either drugs or alcohol, most practitioners use an "ear-needling" technique, setting four to six needles in specific acupuncture points in the ear. In most clinics, patients are first "needled" in this point and then encouraged to relax for 30 to 45 minutes. When they are ready, the clients remove the needles themselves. Even practitioners who are enthusiastic about its results, however, admit that they do not know how it works, but it works. "It made me relaxed," one crack addict was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview. "I don't get any cravings." There is a growing body of evidence to support the claims of acupuncture practitioners. The World Health Organization has researched and declared Chinese medicine to be effective for over 150 diseases, including asthma, arthritis, colitis, and ulcers. Widespread acceptance of acupuncture in the United States, however, is hindered by the position of the American Medical Association and Federal agencies, which do not consider the treatment as "real medicine."