Pubdate: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: M05
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback:
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Susan Saulny, Washington Post Staff Writer

ANCIENT TREATMENT HELPS FIGHT ADDICTIONS

Sleep finally came for Kendra in a narrow, wood-paneled room on Silver Hill
Road in Suitland, where she lay motionless, five tiny needles sticking out
of her right ear.

Desperation, she said, drove her to this place, a small storefront office
next to Strictly Business Beepers and across the street from the
neighborhood bowling alley. Insomnia had her sitting awake in bed most
nights, victim of a sleepy daze that brought her both nightmares and
fantasies about getting high, then feeling low. "Drug dreams" she called them.

Kendra, 34, who asked that her real name not be used, is trying to kick a
10-year-old drug addiction that escalated from an experiment with marijuana
in junior high school to crack cocaine. Recently, she had been feeling
hyperactive and had "the sweats." She had no desire to eat anything. Not a
good situation for someone who has two children depending on her.

In and out of prison and jail, Kendra tried countless treatment programs,
but they failed her.This time, she said, she was willing "to do anything it
takes." So when her parole officer recommended an ancient Chinese healing
method to combat her addiction, she agreed to try it, even though it meant
sticking dozens of needles under her skin.

It's acupuncture for addicts, and to her delight, "it works," Kendra said.
The sweats have stopped. Her appetite has returned. Cravings for drugs have
disappeared. "It's the first time I've had a sense of relief," she said last
week after her third treatment.

Kendra is one of a very few local, recovering drug users who have warmed to
the idea of receiving acupuncture detox at the only place in Prince George's
County that offers it, the Underground Railroad, a private "community center
for wellness and recovery" that opened two months ago in Suitland.

The clinic has 12 clients, but Alaine Duncan of Hyattsville, a licensed
acupuncturist who started the clinic hopes to reach many more people
suffering from addictions as she goes about the community dispelling fears
and myths about acupuncture. She also hopes to expand the center into a
state-supported operation, similar to acupuncture detox programs in
Baltimore and Portland, Ore.

She chose Suitland because it is a state-designated "hot spot" for crime and
drugs and because it is the focus of a community-wide revitalization.

"I see drug use as the kingpin of so many other problems. ... It unglues
families, and makes communities unsafe," Duncan, 46 said. "If we can take
care of drug addiction, we can erase so many other problems. Really, the
'hot spot' and revitalization efforts can't be successful without this."

Exactly how acupuncture works to combat drug addiction, in many ways, is
still a mystery, but it is becoming more popular because of clinical
evidence and patient testimonies that show it to be effective. In general,
acupuncture is based on the theory that energy flows though the human body
on specific pathways connected to specific organs, said Duncan, who studied
the theory and practice at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia.

Acupuncture points have been located on the ear that, when pierced by tiny
needles, produce immediate calm and reduce the cravings and symptoms of
withdrawal from alcohol, nicotine, opiate drugs and cocaine.

The needles somehow stimulate the nervous system and tissues that control
involuntary yet fundamental bodily functions, such as circulation and tissue
repair. It operates "on the border of what is tangible and intangible,"
Duncan said. "It's all about balance and harmony."

Duncan concedes that talk about acupuncture can sound a lot like
"hocus-pocus." That's why she is happy that U.S. medical authorities have
recently given it their blessing. The 1997 National Institutes of Health
Consensus Conference on Acupuncture approved it for the treatment of various
pains and ailments, including such things as
tennis elbow, vomiting and dental pain.

Last Wednesday, at the Underground Railroad, acupuncturist Lolita Smith
carefully drew the thin, stainless steel needles from a sterile container
and one by one, placed five of them on strategic spots on Kendra's right
ear. The needles aren't inserted deeply, just under the skin. Kendra hardly
flinched.

"I didn't feel it," she said. "I just mellowed out, totally relaxed."

Her head slowly tilted to her left shoulder and she fell asleep. The needles
were in her ear for about 20 minutes, until she woke up and stretched after
her deep rest. The needles are only used once, then they are thrown away in
a hazardous waste container. There is no blood involved, so the risk of
infection is virtually nil, said Duncan.

Once Kendra woke up, Underground Railroad Board Member Elsie Jacobs, a
community activist who also heads an anti-drug program at Suitland High
School, reminded her about weekly "rap sessions" for patients and said she
could help Kendra train for a new job. 

"Call me any time, day or night, if you need to talk," Jacobs said.

The staffers at the Underground Railroad shower their patients with
attention, in part because there are so few. Last Wednesday, Kendra was the
only person who came in for treatment. Appointments aren't necessary, and
fees slide according to a patient's ability to pay.

So far, funding has come from private sources totaling about $105,000, but
Underground Railroad's operating budget is $175,000. Duncan is applying for
grants and soliciting donations.

Duncan hopes one day to secure government support. She says Underground
Railroad has a good relationship with the Prince George's County Department
of Health, but repeated calls for comment from officials there went unanswered.

Duncan, Jacobs and Smith thought about posting fliers, going door-to-door,
having educational workshops to raise money. Anything to get the word out.

Duncan, so passionate about acupuncture, is an ambassador, too. Fifteen
years ago, in a former career as a kidney dialysis technician, Duncan was
sick for almost a decade from a dangerous form of hepatitis C, contracted
from an accidental needle stick. She said nothing helped her until she
turned to acupuncture.

Today, she said, there is not a trace of the disease in her body.

Duncan, a Quaker, named the center the Underground Railroad because of her
community's historical tie to social justice and the real Underground
Railroad that helped slaves escape to freedom more than 100 years ago.
"Today, addiction is a new form of slavery," she said. "We want to be allies
in that struggle, but we're not the heroes."

Jacobs added, "People like Kendra--she's the hero."

- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D