Prison punctures addiction

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by Change | 23 Mar 2009

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A prison in Baltimore is helping drug-addicted inmates to tackle their problem with an unusual form of addiction treatment.

Drug-addicted prisoners at Baltimore jail are being given acupuncture as a way to help beat their problem, it has been reported.

According to the Baltimore Sun, inmates at the prison are receiving acupuncture as part of their addiction treatment programme.

"I've done buprenorphine and methadone, but neither one of them could compare to those needles," one inmate told the newspaper.

He claims the approach "put you in touch with stuff that's within you that no pill or nothing else could do".

Despite no evidence from modern scientific studies that the ancient Chinese therapy works any better than a placebo, acupuncture has become a central part of an addiction treatment programme that is helping around 700 inmates every year.

Running since 1993, the programme has been a success for many inmates, helping them to beat their addiction problems.

"All we are doing in addiction treatment is lowering the risk factor that this person will die today of his or her addiction," said Dave Wurzel, a certified acupuncturist.

Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Wurzel explained that the project did not claim to cure addiction, but had helped people to tackle the problem.

Many rehab clinics today focus on helping individuals beat their addictions through tailored addiction treatment programmes that are designed specifically for the individual.

Such an approach can help people with addiction problems to consider the reasons within their own lives that have caused their addiction and work out ways to deal with the issue that is specific to them.

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