alcohol-dependent patients received naltrexone, acamprosate or placebo for 12 weeks. [1] there were no differences in outcomes between treatment groups [2] irrespective of actual treatment, perceived medication allocation predicted health outcomes.
Moderate drinkers often have lower risks of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive loss
Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Risks Of Alzheimer’s Dementia And Cognitive Decline
police officer investigating an accident refused to listen to plaintiffs’ version of events after learning that they were members of AA. Plaintiffs asserted that this violated their free exercise rights.
Religion Clause: No Free Exercise Violation In Police Refusal To Believe AA Members
Coming clean without going clean and sober
Alcoholics Anonymous, the renowned 12-step program that directs problem drinkers to seek help from a higher power, says it’s not a religion and is open to nonbelievers. But it has enough religious overtones that a parolee can’t be ordered to attend its meetings as a condition of staying out of prison, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
In fact, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the constitutional dividing line between church and state in such cases is so clear that a parole officer can be sued for damages for ordering a parolee to go through rehabilitation at Alcoholics Anonymous or an affiliated program for drug addicts.
Rulings from across the nation since 1996 have established that “requiring a parolee to attend religion-based treatment programs violates the First Amendment,” the court said. “While we in no way denigrate the fine work of (Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous), attendance in their programs may not be coerced by the state.”
[Article continues at link. - Trevor Blake]
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in SF claims the line between church and state is so clear that a parole officer can be sued for damages for ordering a parolee to go through AA.
Appeals court says requirement to attend AA unconstitutional
When Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs are examined in controlled studies, a new review reports, scientists find no proof that they are superior to any other intervention in reducing alcohol dependence or alcohol-related problems.
Review Sees No Advantage in 12-Step Programs – New York Times