STICKING IT TO ADDICTION ON THE EASTSIDE

Study Suggests Acupuncture Could Help Patients Quit Their Drug Habits

VANCOUVER - Acupuncture -- the ancient practice of sticking tiny
needles into the skin to cure medical ills -- alleviated the cravings
and withdrawal symptoms of long-time drug addicts in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside, according to a recent study by a researcher at the
University of B.C.

The practice has been used for decades to help people quit smoking,
but this is the first Canadian study that shows the ancient Chinese
treatment can help people quit street drugs and alcohol.

Patricia Janssen, an assistant professor of Health Care and
Epidemiology at UBC, monitored the withdrawal symptoms and level of
drug use among about 60 addicts on the Downtown Eastside for three
months while they underwent weekly acupuncture treatments at five
points in their ears.

The participants reported reduced withdrawal symptoms as the
treatments progressed, and those who received four or more treatments
reported using drugs less frequently.

"Acupuncture is easily accessible, it's safe to give, people like it
and it's cheap," Janssen said.

Janssen said she was surprised to see so many addicts voluntarily
return to the two Downtown Eastside walk-in clinics to participate in
the study because it is often a challenge to establish regular
patterns with addicts.

She said about 60 of the 260 participants attended the clinics on a
weekly basis for four weeks or more.

They reported improvements in withdrawal symptoms that included
stomach cramps, the shakes, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts.

Some participants reported less frequent drug use, while others quit
completely, Janssen said.

"But it's important to realize that acupuncture doesn't cure
addiction," she noted.

"It relieves symptoms associated with withdrawal ... so they can
attend to other things like housing and jobs and other health care problems."

The study was published in June in the Journal of Urban Health.