NADA - Key Persons
Lincoln Recovery Centre, formerly Lincoln Hospital Substance Abuse Division, which is housed in a grey painted brick building on a dead end street in the Mott Haven section of New York city's south Bronx, is the grandfather to thousands of programs worldwide now using auricular acupuncture detoxification in some fashion. Originally Lincoln Detox was primarily a methadone programme established in response to strong community action.Most of the pressure for an alternative to methadone came from the clients themselves as well as many of the staff who was discouraged about the use of addictive drugs to treat substance misuse.
In 1973, Dr H L Wen, a neurosurgeon in Hong Kong serendipitously discovered opiate addicted patients had no withdrawal symptoms when he use electroacupuncture on the lung ear point for their post surgical pain. These initial findings were published in "Drugs and Society" and The Asian Journal of Medicine, Subsequently Dr Wen went on to conduct many formalised studies.
Learning of Dr Wen's research and success, dedicated staff including counsellors and physicians both paid and volunteers began experimenting with auricular acupuncture detoxification. After the death of Dr Richard Taft, Dr Michael Smith was hired as director of the Substance Abuse Division. Utilizing the expertise of local acupuncturists, in 1974 Lincoln Detox began applying electro stimulation to the Lung point on the ear.
This new auricular electro-acupuncture treatment was used as an adjunctive treatment for the prolonged methadone withdrawal symptoms after the 10 day detoxification cycle. Patients reported less malaise and better relaxation in symptoms surveyed. Subsequently twice daily acupuncture was used concurrently with tapering methadone doses. Reduction in opiate withdrawal symptoms and prolonged program retention were noted. It was accidentally discovered that when electro acupuncture equipment malfunctioned or broke down and money was not available for repairs, that electro stimulation was not necessary to produce symptomatic relief. In fact simple manual needling produced a more prolonged effect, it was easier to administer and was less expensive. Patients were able to use acupuncture only once a day and still experience a suppression of their withdrawal symptoms.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Cabinet Committee
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Duncan Smith criticises a decision last week by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the Home Office's expert body on drugs, urging ministers not to put a limit on how long addicts can be placed methadone.
Job Titles:
- Retired Oxford University Pharmacologist
Job Titles:
- and NADA Scotland Trainer
- Scotland Trainer
Drugs policy is the remit of the Home Secretary, Theresa May. However, Mr Duncan Smith is the chairman of the Cabinet committee on social justice, whose members include Mrs May.