NADA: The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association

Development of the NADA protocol

The use of acupuncture for the treatment of drug and alcohol dependency is a recent development in the history of this ancient art. For centuries, Asian cultures have placed needles in precise locations on the body to relieve pain and treat disease. Only since 1972, when a Hong Kong neurosurgeon, H.L Wen M.D., discovered that acupuncture could alleviate the symptoms of drug withdrawal, has this method been used for detoxification and relapse prevention.

The Lincoln Memorial Hospital

In the USA, the NADA protocol was first introduced on an outpatient basis in 1974 at the Lincoln Memorial Hospital, a city facility in the South Bronx area of New York City.  By the mid 1980’s the success of this unique procedure had become so evident that treatment facilities across the USA began incorporating acupuncture into their treatment programs.

NADA: The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, USA

In 1985, the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) was established to promote education and training of clinicians in the use of the NADA protocol through the NADA five-point ear acupuncture protocol.

In 1987, Bullock, Culliton and Olander published research on its effectiveness in treating people with chronic drug dependency problems. Acupuncture detoxification evolved rapidly and is now used effectively for acute and prolonged withdrawal as well as relapse prevention.  Yale University, school of internal medicine, published a research report in the August 2000 (Archives of Internal Medicine) that showed the effectiveness of the NADA protocol in the treatment of cocaine, heroin and methadone addiction.