Welcome to

The Alliance for Addiction Solutions

Promoting Drug-Free Brain Repair

 

The Alliance for Addiction Solutions is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting effective nutritional and other holistic natural methods for the treatment of addictive disorders. AAS advocates the use of innovative techniques to establish individualized biochemical balancing of the addicted brain and body.

AAS also supports research, provides education to health professionals, policy makers, and the public; certifies recovery programs; and offers practitioner referrals.

The Alliance for Addiction Solutions invites you to become a member of this international organization and help spread awareness that addictive behaviors can be treated and managed through biochemical balancing.  It is crucial that society stop punishing those with addictive behaviors and start offering them science-based therapies so that they can re-claim their lives and the respect of their families, colleagues, and themselves. 

 

History of Addiction 

Humans have used drugs of one sort or another for thousands of years. Wine was used from the time of early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to China since 2737 B.C. It was not until the 1900’s that active substances in drugs were extracted.  These newly discovered substances - including morphine, laudanum, and cocaine - were unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.  It was during this era that drug addiction, alcoholism, and other addictions were seen as signs of social and moral weakness that could be corrected if only the addict would try harder.  However, when the addict relapsed even after trying as hard as they could to stay clean and sober, social brought shame and isolation to the individual and the family.

By the early 1900's there were an estimated 250,000 addicts in the United States. In 2008, the National Survey in Drug Use and Health conducted by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimated there were 7 million drug addicts; 3.1 million classified with dependence on or abuse of both alcohol and illicit drugs.

Throughout the years, the public's perception of the dangers of specific substances changed. The surgeon general's warning label on tobacco packaging gradually made people aware of the addictive nature of nicotine, and the recognition of fetal alcohol syndrome brought warning labels to alcohol products. The addictive nature of prescription drugs such as diazepam (Valium) and other psychotropic medications became known and acknowledged even though millions of prescriptions are still being written. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2008 2.3 billion drugs were ordered or provided.  In addition, the CDC reported that between the years 2007 to 2008, 1 out of every 5 children and 9 out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the past month. 

It wasn’t until the 20th century and scientific research into brain functioning that the ‘psychosocial model’ of addiction was replaced with the ‘disease model’ where some substances were perceived as naturally addictive, and that after taking them for a certain length of time a person is inevitably bound to become an addict.

These views reflect the powerful and commonly-held view that drugs themselves cause addiction and now drives global efforts to fight the ‘War on Drugs’, into which enormous financial resources are used  to strengthen police forces, border patrols, courts and rehabilitation programs.

Paving the Way for New Models of Addiction Therapy

As far back as the 1960's and '70's, four founding mothers
pioneered the way to the understanding that addiction stems from biochemical imbalances in the brain and can be managed with nutrition. 

 

 

Barbara Reed Stitt, PhD , is a former Chief Probation Officer, President & Co-owner of Natural Ovens Bakery, and Author of Food & Behavior: A Natural Connection; Nutritional Guidelines for Correcting Behavior; Impact of Fresh Healthy Foods on Learning & Behavior; and Roadmap to Healthy Foods in Schools in DVD/Video.  Stitt was the recipient of the Abram Hoffer Lifetime Achievement Award for her pioneering work in the use of food to improve behavior.

 She has been studying the connection between nutrition and behavior since 1963.  While working with the courts in Ohio as a probation officer, she developed a program in 1971 showing the relationship between what the people consumed and recidivism.  During a period of 7 years, fewer than 15% of the people referred to the program were back in trouble. The results of the study were reported in a front page Wall Street Journal article on June 2, 1977, leading to international publicity and about 1500 presentations across the US and Canada. After marrying Biochemist Paul Stitt, founder of Natural Ovens Bakery, Barbara moved from Ohio to Wisconsin in 1982 and began promoting fresh, healthy foods for students in schools to help prevent future problems. In 1997, they were invited to provide all of the food to an Appleton, Wisconsin, alternative school and the resulting changes in behavior and performance of the students led to school district-wide changes documented in Morgan Spurlock's documentary Supersize Me.
 

 

 

Joan Mathews Larson, PhD began her work over thirty years ago. The loss of her son, shortly after he completed a top-rated, 12-step treatment program, fueled a passionate search for more effective solutions to treat addictions. Convinced that alcoholism is not the result of emotional triggers, or willpower weaknesses, Joan delved into the scientific research, and uncovered scores of studies, including those by the groundbreaking biochemist Dr. Roger Williams, which clearly established a genetic and nutritional connection to addiction. Her work has been the catalyst for changing the way many of the founding members of the Alliance approached addiction treatment and recovery.

Mathews-Larson holds a doctorate in human nutrition and is the author of the national bestsellers Seven Weeks to Sobriety and Depression Free, Naturally. Her books have led the field into new ways of understanding chemical addictions and mental health problems.

 

 

 

 

Julia Ross MA, MFT was initially interested in finding a treatment that worked for cocaine and has since fine-tuned the use of individualized amino acids to correct deficient neurotransmitters. She has also designed a professionals' training program in neuro-nutrient repair, which is in the process of being evaluated for future use by the Alliance.

In 1980, Ross began hiring nutritionists to research the link between biochemistry, emotions, and addiction. By 1986 this exploration had led to the creation of a model of treatment that combined innovative nutritional therapy and holistic medical care with conventional counseling and education. In 1988 Ross founded The Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley, California, an outpatient program that applies this modelto both eating and addictive disorders. 

 

 

Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD  has been lauded for her identification of the phenomenon of sugar sensitivity as a critical factor in addiction and depression. Des Maisons’ is the author of Potatoes Not Prozac; with a foreword written by Candace Pert PhD, a pioneer in the discovery of the way neurotransmitters function in the brain.  DesMaisons also wrote The Sugar Addict’s Total Recovery Program and Little Sugar Addicts which document the way sugar influences the thoughts and behavior of adults and children.

Dr. DesMaisons is president and CEO of Radiant Recovery, a web-based treatment program for alcoholism, drug addiction, depression and self-destructive behaviors such as compulsive overeating and gambling. The program has gained national attention due to its unparalleled success rate and its innovative combination of medical and holistic approaches. Dr. DesMaisons is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Never before has the work of the Alliance of Addiction Solutions been so important.  We invite you to read through our pages, join our newsletter and become a member of a dynamic community of health professionals committed to using science-based holistic therapies to manage addictive behaviors. For more information contact AAS Director, Carolyn Reuben at reubencarolyn@gmail.com