The Use of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Drug Addiction

by Mutulu Shakur, D.Ac., and Michael Smith, M.D.

American Journal of Acupuncture 1979

Abstract: A practical approach is presented in the use of acupuncture to treat drug addiction, allowing heroin or methadone addicts to detoxify more comfortably, more quickly, and with far less narcotic intake than with the standard method of methadone detoxification. Brief case histories are presented, illustrating the various patterns of involvement with acupuncture in a drug abuse program. It was also seen that patients addicted to alcohol, barbiturates, Valium, and similar compounds have received equally effective relief with acupuncture treatments than those using narcotics.