(Integrative Medicine) - Although many people in the United States and Europe use acupuncture to reduce their craving for cocaine, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that this alternative technique is no more effective than other methods in treating cocaine addiction. Researchers randomly assigned 620 cocaine-addicted adults to one of three treatment groups: (1) auricular (ear) acupuncture; (2) insertion of needles into non-therapeutic points in the ear; or (3) a relaxation technique. Treatments were offered every weekday for 8 weeks. Additional drug counseling was also offered to all patients. Researchers conducted weekly interviews and obtained urine samples to assess cocaine use throughout the 8-week treatment period and at the 3- and 6-month follow-up sessions. Cocaine use modestly but significantly declined among people in all three groups over the 6-month study period. Notably, however, there were no differences in cocaine use between the acupuncture group and the two other groups. In other words, people in the acupuncture group craved cocaine as much as those in the other two groups. "Our study therefore does not support the use of acupuncture as a stand-alone treatment for cocaine addiction or when patients receive only minimal concurrent [drug counseling]," Margolin et al conclude.

References

Margolin A, Kleber HD, Avants SK, et al. Acupuncture for the treatment of cocaine addiction: a randomized led trial. JAMA. 2002;287(1):55-63.