The Orthmolecular News Service sends out regular articles which they invite recipients to post on their websites – many of which are excellent and we do indeed post them on our sites. However, the proposition in this one was so startling that I thought it deserved wider coverage than just on the vitamin section of FreeFrom Nutrition Matters. So here we go:
In 1977, Alfred Libby and Irwin Stone (1, 2) realized that addiction is both a disease and poor nutrition. Having lost their appetite, addicts are deficient in vitamin C, other vitamins, minerals, and protein. Genetics and certainly bad lifestyle may have contributed to the disease, but conventional medical therapy is almost useless until their nutrition is restored. In one test, very high doses of vitamin C gave a temporary cure to 30 out of 30 drug addicts. Vitamin C was observed to be an easy, quick, and painless remedy. Ewan Cameron (3) treated cancer patients on heavy doses of opiate-type painkillers. When vitamin C stopped the pain for five cancer patients, the patients wanted no morphine. Importantly, they had no withdrawal symptoms. Stone suggested that ascorbate mimics morphine and probably fits into the opiate receptor sites.
Libby and Stone’s Protocol for Drug Addicts:
- Work with your physician and stop intake of all drugs or Methadone.
- Dissolve 25 to 85 grams (25,000-85,000 milligrams) of sodium ascorbate powder in milk and have the patient drink it during the day.
- Adjust ascorbate dose up or down according to the estimated drug intake. Continued to adjust dose to almost cause loose stools.
- Give multivitamins, a mineral tablet, and vitamin E and protein powder. Doses were widely variable and adjusted for each patient.
- The vitamin C was started as soon as possible in many divided doses through the day.
- Other items were also given in divided doses.
- Continued full dose for 4 to 6 days and then slowly decreased the vitamin C down to 10,000 to 30,000 mg/day. Continued the lower doses indefinitely or as needed.
What Happened to Patients after Starting Vitamin C?
One incoherent patient received 30,000 mg of vitamin C. In 45 minutes he could hold a normal conversation.
After 12 to 24 hours, appetite started to return, mental alertness and visual acuity were improved.
Patient was often amazed that treatment worked without another narcotic.
After 2 or 3 days, patient felt fine, and he or she could sleep.
One patient took 45,000 mg of sodium ascorbate in milk. Five hours later, he took a heavy dose of heroin but felt no drug effect. Remarkably, vitamin C had stopped the desire for drugs. (1)
To repeat: Libby and Stone demonstrated a simple but effective method of temporarily curing 30 out of 30 drug addicts regardless of the type of drug. Their cure is temporary since patients could be followed for only about 30 days. This did not give time to evaluate and treat the basic causes of the addictions. However, treatment for basic causes can proceed with greater expectation of success since the patients have become properly nourished.
(Reagan Houston, MS, PE (Professional Chemical Engineer), age 91, takes his vitamins. His daily exercise usually includes three flights of stairs in about 50 seconds. His web site is
References:
1. Libby AF and Stone I. The Hypoascorbemia-Kwashiorkor approach to drug addiction: a pilot study. Orthomolecular Psychiatry. 1977; 6(4): 300-308. Read the complete article at http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1977/pdf/1977-v06n04-p300.pdf or Google: “Libby Stone drug addiction 1977.”
2. Stone I. The Healing Factor: Vitamin C against Disease. 1972, New York. Free full text at http://vitamincfoundation.org/stone/ .
3. Cameron E & Baird GM. Ascorbic acid and dependence on opiates in patients with advanced disseminated cancer. J International Research Communication. 1973; 1(6):33.
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: www.orthomolecular.org
And for an even more comprehensive rave about the wonders of Vitamin C see Thomas Levy’s article (also courtesy of the Orthomolecular News Service) here on FreeFrom Nutrition Matters.
As a potent antiviral one wonders what effect large doses of vitamin C might have on the Ebola epidemic now decimating parts of Africa. The main problem with Vitamin C is that it is low cost and low tech and therefore is not taken seriously. The WHO will soon sanction the use of experimental drugs and vaccines in a desperate attempt to counteract the virus. These drugs are hugely expensive and cannot be made quickly in large quantities even if they were to prove effective. Vitamin C is available now in industrial quantities and in relationship to the economic consequences of the Ebola outbreak costs almost nothing. This being the case, the chances of anyone trying it are vanishingly small.