Acupuncture Detox In The Golden Triangle

by Les Moncrieff

Thailand-Burma Border Region Community Addiction Recovery & Education Project. (CARE)

Geopolitical history:

Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) have a long history of having to cope with a very entrenched and difficult problem with drugs and alcohol addiction and trafficking. Both countries border on the Golden Triangle which is the source of a large percentage of the worlds heroin, opium and meth-amphetamine.

Since 1962 the Myanmar government has been ruled by a military dictatorship, one of the most brutally oppressive in the world today. Torture, forced relocation, labour camps, murder and rape are commonplace. As a result Thailand has a number of large refugee camps just inside its northern border region filled with over one hundred and fifty thousand Burmese refugees. Most of them are from various hill tribes, and are living under very uncertain and difficult conditions.




The Acu-Detox Training:

I had been asked to provide an acupuncture detox training session for a small group of Burmese (Karen hill tribe) refugees as part of their addiction worker training program.

Addiction Detox Specialist (ADS) training is a limited acupuncture protocol taught to addiction professionals and acupuncturists by member/trainers of the National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA) .

NADA has been established since 1985 providing training, consultation and certification internationally. Acupuncture detoxification, also known as acu-detox is integrated into addiction treatment programs and clinics as an adjunctive therapy in many countries around the world.

Acu-detox has proven to be a useful therapeutic intervention in easing or eliminating many detox withdrawal symptoms and is also excellent for relapse prevention. It is typically used by addiction workers and acupuncturists in all phases of addiction treatment and recovery.

The acupuncture detox training is a small component of the Community Addiction Recovery and Education Project (CARE)which has been operating and providing invaluable services to the refugees for the past 4 years.


Training Conditions:

Training conditions were spartan to say the least. The weather was very hot and humid and the rain season was just beginning. Mosquitoes, flies, ants and other jungle insects and critters formed an intimate part of our daily life.

Our training house facility was a typical village house, with no furniture except for rattan mats, and a corrugated tin roof. I was only later to learn that the tin roof added to the oven like conditions of the classroom (a more traditional thatched roof of leaves or reeds provides insulation from the intense tropical sun). For my desk I used my (small) suitcase and class was conducted as we all sat on the floor. A couple of excellent translators from the refugee camp took care of the logistics of communicating the teaching.


The Refugee Trainees:

As a trainer for the National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA), I teach an auricular acupuncture protocol as an adjunct therapy for drug and alcohol detox and relapse prevention.

The students themselves are trained addiction workers in their community and ranged in age from 19 to 50. They were very hungry for knowledge and tools for their addiction recovery work. The training went very smoothly and I had also taught the students a non-needle pain management technique using Korean Hand Therapy.. During the last week we informed the local community that we were inviting everyone to attend our open clinic and receive treatment with this acupuncture protocol. The purpose of the clinic was to introduce the community to the (CARE) addiction recovery services as well as provide practicum experience for the students.


The Long Neck Clients:

The first day of clinic the students managed the program operations reasonably well. They treated a number of local villagers, including an elder leader of the refugee community.

Also attending was a young Padaung long neck woman and her father. The long neck women are unique and striking in appearance. As part of their historical traditions they have increasing numbers of brass rings placed around their necks since childhood. It is considered a symbol of beauty, status and wealth. (Only the women wear the rings).

Though the women's necks appear to be lengthened by the rings, the reality is that the rings push the clavicle down and also the ribs appear to be forced downwards, from the spine. These physiological changes are clear in ex-rays but the actual potential resulting medical complications are not as evident.

The primary concern of these women was simple pain particularly when new rings are added. The long neck women experience pain across their clavicle and the tissue under the rings is clearly tender and bruised from approximately 20 pounds of brass resting on the skin and bone of the clavicle.

I treated this young Padaung woman for pain using a simple Korean Hand Therapy technique. I also taught her how she could easily treat other women in her community. A very interesting and successful afternoon I thought. The following day during our clinic we were visited by 27 long neck women and their children! The students and I were thrilled. Prior to this training most of the student trainees had never seen the long necks and were as excited and curious as I.

The following and final day of our open community clinic the weather was a pouring torrential rain. We did not expect anyone to walk for miles in this weather to receive our services. But life in Thailand is full of surprises. Even before the clinic was open clients were arriving muddy and wet under bits of plastic and umbrellas. By the end of the day we had received over 60 clients and most were the long neck women. In fact I believe nearly the entire community of Padaung long neck women were attending our clinic that day. The National Geographic article of June 1979 provides more details about this unique hill tribe group.




Self-Esteem & Empowerment:

The student trainees were delighted and kept busy providing the acupuncture detox and simple pain treatments for our famous clientele. It was clear that the students had not expected such a reception for their services. This training experience gave them solid treatment skills and a realization that they would be providing a valuable service to their community.

Their sense of self-esteem and purpose was clearly enhanced. All were certified and I am confident that they will be a great asset in improving the health and well being of their community.

Eventual repatriation to their homeland of Burma is the goal. The CARE project objective is to train and prepare a select group of refugees to provide basic first aid, addiction recovery skills and AIDS prevention education to their community. This is similar to the BARE Foot Doctors concept after the Cultural Revolution in China.

Burma was once the most prosperous of Asian countries and now relies on the international drug trade to fund a war on its own people. Their rural health care system is virtually non-existent except for aid programs such as CARE, which is precariously funded by international NGO.s (non governmental organizations).


Thailand's Northern Drug Rehabilitation Center (Chiang Mai)

Teaching acupuncture detox in Thailand was an extraordinary adventure! I was invited to visit the Thailand government's Northern Drug Rehabilitation Center in Chang Mai. This program is a very impressive and progressive addiction detox and treatment facility. The programs are well funded and patronized by the Thailand Royal Family.

Of particular interest to me was the fact that their detox and treatment programs adopt many inexpensive complementary therapies such as herbal saunas, a special nutritious diet, yoga, meditation and herbal medicine. They are taught massage and reflexology. Clients receive the standard medical services from doctors and nurses and counselors. However receiving and learning natural therapies for mental, emotional and physical health restoration with an emphasis on client empowerment was clearly the intention and foundation of this program.

Complete details about the National Acupuncture Detox Association (NADA) and the Community Addiction Recovery & Education (CARE) Project can be found on the following websites:

1. National Acupuncture Detoxification Association: Web site: www.acudetox.com E-mail: NADAClear@AOL.com
2. Contact information for CARE: pakokku@Yahoo.ca nevermindtherapy@yahoolcom 3. Contact Les Moncrieff, R.Ac, Author and NADA trainer for Western Canada: lesmoncrieff@hotmail.com