Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in Chinese Traditional Medicine. In 1973, a specific protocol was found by Hong Kong neurosurgeon, H. L. Wen, to have calming effects on persons trying to recover from drug addiction. The protocol was developed further by Dr. Michael Smith, Director of the Lincoln Recovery Centre in New York, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Dr. Smith started the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) in 1985 to provide training and certification in use of the 5-needle protocol (5NP). The method, the training, and the certification have spread worldwide. Just the U.K. organization alone, NADA-GB, has over 1,700 certified practitioners.

The NADA protocol, or 5NP, involves five needles inserted into one ear. These five positions in the ear map to the kidneys, the liver, the lungs, the Shen Men (“spirit gate”), and the sympathetic nervous system. After the five needles are placed, the patient rests with them in the ear for 15 to 45 minutes.

People experiencing cravings and pains from withdrawal appear to calm down within minutes. Dolores Jimerson, who practices 5NP at the Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center in Washington State, writes that 5NP was effective “with patients who were on hospice, experiencing chronic pain, trying to stop smoking, maintain recovery as well as those trying to get clean.” She is just one of dozens of care providers submitting testimony in support of Oregon House Bill HB2143, which would allow non-licensed acupuncturists who completed NADA training to administer 5NP.

The Oregon bill is the subject of a lengthy article by Jake Thomas who covers health and legislation for The Lund Report. Oregon has struggled with a rise in opioid addiction and a lack of treatment facilities. Training in the 5NP method provides a simple, inexpensive intervention with no significant side effects.

A recent systematic review of auriculotherapy (acupuncture of the ear) as an addiction treatment found:

Out of 36 studies, 23 (64%) reported that auriculotherapy was effective for treating addiction such as opioids, cocaine, alcohol, heroin, nicotine, and gambling.

It’s very unusual to have any treatment that is effective for both cocaine and opioids. Most of the therapies used with nicotine, alcohol, and opioid addictions are not effective for methamphetamine and cocaine addictions. Promoters of NADA are quick to point out that it does not “cure” addiction; rather, 5NP moderates the withdrawal symptoms, the cravings, and the pain.

The association says 5NP has “proven successful when integrated as part of an holistic health plan.” Practitioners claim 5NP makes patients more cooperative with entering treatment and more likely to stay in treatment. This is similar to recent findings for buprenorphine that show it calms patients, makes them more willing to engage in practices such as motivational interviewing, makes them more likely to enter therapy, and more likely to stay in therapy.

Jake Thomas, the journalist for The Lund Report, underwent 5NP during his reporting on the Oregon bill. Here is his description of how it felt:

Each needle causes a brief pinching sensation, followed by the tingling of nerves and the burst of a calming sensation. There was also the lingering uncertainty that it was all a placebo, even though stress over a coming deadline was lessened.

In an interesting parallel to GLP-1 drugs, which may lessen cravings by making people feel full, practitioners describe 5NP as switching the body from a fight-or-flight mode of anxiety to a “relax-and-digest” mode of calmness. The use of pressure points impacting the kidneys, lungs, and liver seem to corroborate a focus on the gut in relieving withdrawal symptoms.

Some advantages of 5NP as a therapy for drug addiction, besides its low cost, is that it can be used simultaneously with other therapies and it can be performed in a group setting. Patients most often receive treatment when getting medication in an addiction recovery treatment program. The Cleveland Clinic says there’s evidence it helps with gambling addiction and eating addiction. 5NP has been shown to be particularly effective dealing with trauma-induced stress, leading to the formation of Acupuncturists Without Borders, who are currently providing relief after the Los Angeles fires earlier this year.

It would be wonderful to see more scientific research tracking the path of 5NP through the brain’s reward system and the gut’s reward system. We’ll keep following that lead here at AddictionNews.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published March 4, 2025.

Sources:

“Acupuncture in Addiction Medicine: Its History, Evidence, and Possibilities,” Medical Acupuncture, June 15, 2023.

“Effects of auriculotherapy on addiction: a systematic review,” Journal of Addictive Diseases, July 2022.

“Oregon lawmakers look to acupuncture to ease addiction crisis,” The Lund Report, February 18, 2025.

“Can NADA Acupuncture Help With Addiction and Trauma?” The Cleveland Clinic, October 14, 2021.

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