Where do you stand on acupuncture?

I work in substance misuse and the use of acupuncture is uncritically pushed on substance users as means of 'detox' (I love that word). My colleagues are all intelligent, thoughtful people - social workers that accept no social woo (and there is as much woo in the interpersonal field as there is others) yet they talk about acupuncture like Christians talking Jehee-sus. It's actually embarrassing to be non-woo about it so strongly is it accepted. Yet no one really talks about chi and meridians they instead talk pseudoscience woo about endorphins: 'it works because of endorphins.' 'Ah endorphins, I get yah.'
My favourite piece of madness is the nicotine point on the ear where some one places a slither of tobacco in to the point to 'detox' from cigarettes: 'It was the only thing that worked for me.'
 
Oddly enough, this is the only one of the big medical pseudo-sciences that actually has any backing whatsoever. I can't recall where I saw it but it was a show going through a host of these things (chiropractic, acupuncture, candling, etc.,) They pretty much all got dismissed as junk science except this one. Turns out that acupuncture (certainly not as a result of anything but trial and error) pressure points (? don't know what they're called really) do tend to correspond to nerve foci. Something like that anyway. Doesn't really matter to me as I have no intention of making a trip to the local acupuncturist. However, armed with this unresearched (on my part) knowledge, if there was no such thing as modern medicine I'd give it a shot as opposed to psychic-surgery or chiropractic for example.
 
Acupuncture has a profound effect on many people, but the question is, why?? My wife has visited an acupuncturist for a few months now, and I think she's nuts. But she's thrilled with the results.

I believe that acupuncture has a very convincing placebo effect on its patients. The state of mind of a patient has a huge effect on the body. If one expects to feel less pain or discomfort, it often happens.

Acupuncture is also a "big deal", involving much time and energy. An acupuncture session can be much more involved than merely putting on a copper bracelet or belt, or drinking a glass of something green and murky. Therefore, the suggestion can be a powerful one.

I have an interesting theory, that I would love to test. The hypothesis is: the more "profound" a ritual is, the more powerful the placebo effect. What does "profound" mean? I define profound as: 1) Intricate, detailed 2) Expensive 3) Time consuming 4) Exotic, foriegn, unfamiliar.

To my Western eyes, acupuncture fulfills all four. My wife's visits are expensive compared to copper bracelets and murky green drinks, but thankfully cheaper than other stuff...
 
I saw a national news headline in the NYTimes a few months ago referring to (I believe it was Detroit) using accupuncture as a new tool in the war on drug abuse. If I remember correctly drug offenders that were arrested were given city funded access to a variety of rehabilitation services, including accupuncture. I also recall (maybe it was skepdic) saying that addiction was one area where studies have shown accupuncture has no benefits. The reason it sticks out in my mind was that I thought it ironic that in addressing drug addiction (they specifically were referring to heroin use) they thought a practice of inserting needles into the skin would help addicts. There seemed to be some common sense missing from that policy, but of course I'm no expert in addiction or therapies. If anybody out there knows more about this, I'd be curious to see any local links on whether this program ever came about or if maybe I remembered things inaccurately.

I'd also like to add that while I think the accupuncture treatment was a bit quack, the idea of treating drug abusers instead of incarcerating or fining them has definite merit.
 
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