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To the Editor: Dr Margolin and colleagues¹ concluded that "acupuncture was not more effective than a needle insertion or relaxation control in reducing cocaine use." However, because the authors used only the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) Auricular Acupuncture Protocol, their conclusion may not apply to acupuncture in general. Inserting needles in "sympathetic," "lung," "liver," and "shen men" points without making a diagnosis according to traditional chinese medicine² is similar to inserting needles into control "non-NADA–specified points."

Vladimir Ginzburg, MD; Carl L. Hart, PhD
Division of Substance Abuse
Columbia University
New York, NY

1. Margolin A, Kleber HD, Avants SK, et al. Acupuncture for the treatment of cocaine addiction: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002;287:55-63. FREE FULL TEXT 2. Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Essentials of Chinese Acupuncture. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Press; 1980.

To the Editor: Dr Margolin and colleagues¹ report that "acupuncture was not more effective than a needle insertion or relaxation control in reducing cocaine use." In a previous report of these data,² however, these authors concluded that "findings from the current study suggest that acupuncture shows promises for the treatment of cocaine dependence." The designs . . . [Full Text of this Article]