One of the differences between Congress 60’s method of addiction treatment and other methods is the concept of detoxification. The concept of detoxification is discussed thoroughly in an article named “Non-Detoxification” written by Mr. Dezhakam. This article is submitted and published in the national seminar of addiction: challenges and treatment methods held at Zanjan University of medical sciences in 2003.
Since the universal recognition of addiction as a disease, different models offered to describe addiction. One of these models describes addiction as a chronic and long term poisoning. As a result of this perspective, any drug of abuse is considered as a toxic substance. Given, an addict is considered as a poisoned person. According to this model, a drug abuser should be detoxified in order to start a recovery program.
Based on this model, different methods of detoxification were developed and have been offered to drug abusers for more than two decades. URD (Ultra Rapid Detoxification) and UROD (Ultra Rapid Opiate Detoxification) are two of newest methods. URD is developed in 1985 and have been used around the world ever since. This method was used in 1996 for the first time in Iran.
According to this method the patient is applied with high doses of an opiate antagonist (such as Naloxone) while being under general anesthesia in a two-hour period. After the rapid detoxification session the treatment is followed by oral administration of an opiate antagonist (such as Naltrexone) for the following weeks up to one year.
To discuss this method here we ask some questions.
· What is poison? Is a drug of abuse a poison?
· Does purging from the body of drugs of abuse lead to a long term treatment?
· Is detoxification safe and what are the risks?
Congress 60 believes that considering addiction as a chronic poisoning is basically wrong and misleading. It is obvious that using high doses of illicit drugs, in some cases such as overdose and especially for non-addicts, can be considered as poisoning. But for an addict who uses a daily dose of a drug, that daily dose cannot be considered as a poison. That daily dose works for the addict as a medication which without it the addict would get extremely uncomfortable and sick. As a result, many addicts who tried rapid detox, endured several weeks of severe withdrawal. Also lots of them get back to addiction after some time.
Fortunately, rapid detoxification has been criticized by many addiction specialists for its questionable efficacy in long-term addiction treatment. [1] In fact Congress 60, like many critics, believes that rapid detox lacks long-term efficacy and can actually be detrimental to a patient's long-term recovery. Additionally, there are many questions about the ethics and safety of rapid detox. There have been several reports of a number of deaths resulting from this method. [2]
As a conclusion here we state the Congress 60’s view on detoxification very briefly.
Addiction is not a chronic poisoning, it is a long-term replacement, replacement of internal opioids and neurotransmitters with external drugs and opiates. Addiction treatment needs at least ten months. Addiction treatment includes recovering internal system of opioids and neurotransmitters. To treat addiction three aspects should be considered correspondingly: body, mind and the worldview. The true and certain treatment has no relapse and craving. For a more detailed discussion on Congress 60’s method of addiction treatment please refer to this article by Mr. Dezhakam: Narcotics Addiction, The Cure and Proper Method.