Free Republic

(10/16/06) - Imagine this. You are hooked on alcohol and you want help getting off the booze. You go to your doctor, and he or she says, "Drop some acid." That's right. LSD, the infamous drug of choice for many hippies in the 1960s and '70s. Lysergic acid diethylamide, the drug that caused hallucinations or "tripping," was, of course, outlawed, giving it immeasurable street cred in its time, before fading away as flower-painted bodies grew into gray-flannel suits. So, in the 21st century, why would a respected medical doctor even consider prescribing LSD as a wonder drug to help cure...

Winning the war on drugs, losing the battles. On May 3, the Washington Post's David Von Drehle wrote a Style Section profile of Susan Cheever, biographer of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson. In the article, we learn that as Wilson was dying of emphysema, he — the man who has inspired millions to kick the bottle — asked his caretakers for three shots of whiskey. Over his last days, he asked three more times for a drink. He was never given one. Cheever says she was "shocked and horrified" that Wilson would want whiskey on his deathbed, and confesses that...

Rehab plan focuses on dietBy DAN RICE, Staff WriterAudrey Sunnyboy noticed a troubling trend when she entered the drug and alcohol treatment field in 1990. "I was watching people and was realizing that most of the Alaska Native people did not recover from alcoholism," she said. "And as I was going along, I would ask, 'Did you ever go to AA?' Then they would say, 'No, because I didn't want to talk.'" Sunnyboy said the realization that AA's 12-step program does not work for everyone, especially people who are reluctant to talk about themselves, is what led to her interest...