Montgomery County officials this week started offering free acupuncture treatments to the county’s recovering drug addicts.
The treatment, developed by the Vancouver, Wash.-based National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, involves poking needles in specified areas around the ear, resulting in less anxiety and physical pain. It’s intended for use alongside mainstream treatments such as therapy and medication.
“Research shows that when added to a treatment protocol, it may be able to get more people to come to and stay in treatment,” said County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, who sponsored the $20,000 measure in last year’s budget.
The money was used to hire David Wurzel, a licensed acupuncturist, to train around 30 health providers to perform the procedure in the county’s jails and outpatient treatment centers.
Six patients opted for the treatment on Tuesday, according to Wurzel. Ten more came Wednesday.
“A lot of folks in early recovery haven’t developed life skills, so this calms them down,” Wurzel said. “It’s only our fourth day offering it and providers have said they’re already noticing a difference.”
Despite advocates’ accolades, research on acupuncture is inconclusive.
“It’s hotly debated. Not everyone believes it has a place in Western medicine,” said Dr. Joe Frascella, director of clinical neuroscience and behavioral research for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Despite a lack of reliable studies, Frascella supported the county’s effort.
“I’m a little surprised — it’s very forward thinking,” he said.
Trachtenberg, a clinical social worker who worked with adolescent addiction before her election, became an advocate for acupuncture in the early 1990s when she used it to treat her nausea resulting from chemotherapy.
She cited its success in the drug courts of Miami and clinical backing from groups like the National Institute of Health.
And though Trachtenberg keeps a pack of needles in her office, fellow council members have so far declined her therapeutic offers.
“You never know though,” she said. “You might have a colleague who needs a stress-buster!”
