Detox

“Don’t get caught on the wrong side of the tracks”, was an expression I grew up with that simply meant stay away from the bars, strip joints and other dens of iniquity where “here be monsters”. The problem with my drinking was that I rarely knew what side of the tracks I was actually on let alone how I got there.

Wrong/right side never seemed to sink in with me; I did however learn that in between the tracks was definitely taboo while still a teenager after busting my head open to the tune of about 20 Frankenstein stitches. These were caused by a drunken sprint up the tracks while fleeing the police after a bootleg vodka buy. What a kind old lady was doing selling cheap vodka to kids too young to drive is for another story; by the way, she had us call her grandmother if you can believe that!

Now here’s a news story sent in by TDA reader Anna (thanks Anna) about another drunk falling in between the tracks.

Kalimuthu, who is 5'5" and 180 pounds, added the victim was a "heavy guy, about 180 pounds. But I looked and no train was coming, so we had a little time." After lifting him up in a "fireman's carry," Kalimuthu passed the passed out man (apparently drunk!) to someone on the platform. ~ Gothamist.com

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”It reboots the brain so that it takes them back to the day before they started using drugs…"

Well at least that is what psychologist Jim McDannel says about the latest graduates of a controversial detox program. WYMT News is reporting that authorities in eastern Kentucky are trying an intensive neuroelectric detox program for those with drug addictions. Apparently this type of “therapy” is still experimental and has not been FDA approved.

Now at least for me, this is the shocking part.

I just assumed since this was considered experimental, that is was most likely just developed. Well with a little Googling I quickly found out that NeuroElectric Therapy (NET) has been around for thirty-five years. Developed by Dr. Meg Patterson, NET was first introduced to the public through a Penthouse interview with Pete Townshend of the Who in which he explained his experience with the electrical detox method.

While I am skeptical of the method I am not adverse in trying new pathways to recovery. The way I figure it, even if NET is truly worthless, the placebo effect might help a few lucky souls battle the withdrawal symptoms of detoxing.

For those of you who want to get more scientific info than what has been conveyed by the lead guitarist of a rock band I have linked to a white paper below.

A ‘Common Anti-Addiction Mechanism’:
NeuroElectric Therapy in Drug Treatment
Lorne Patterson, RMN
Sean Patterson PhD (Cam)