Dope is Death
Dope is Death was made by Canadian film maker Mia Donovan. It documents the creation of the Lincoln Acupuncture Detox facility by the Black Panthers and Young Lords community activist groups in the South Bronx NYC in the early 70's. The film documents one of greatest grass roots activism victories in American history.
In 2007 my Reiki practice was beginning to blossom and I was searching for a place where I could do community service as a Reiki provider. I made overtures to several different social service organizations but nothing was clicking. Then a woman named Fanny Hernandez came to my Reiki circle and mentioned that she was volunteering as a Reiki provider at The Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center.. I told Fanny of my quest for a volunteer gig and she referred me to Raquel Algarin who was the director at the facility and just happened to be a Reiki Master Teacher.
I now look back on my introduction to Raquel as an event of the greatest good fortune. When I told her that I wanted to volunteer at her facility, she just smiled and said "When do you want to start?". That was the beginning of 11 yrs of service in which I treated thousands of people of all ages, shapes and colors in various stages of active drug addiction or recovery.
After about 2 years as a Reiki volunteer, Raquel announced that as a Harm Reduction volunteer, I qualified for the free 80 hr. ear acupuncture detox protocol training at the Lincoln Acupuncture Detox facility.
I signed up for the training, and I'll never forget the day that I was scheduled to start. I was living in the Bronx at the time, not far from the facility. I was supposed to be there at 7 in the morning but got hopelessly lost on my way. After wandering around for over 30 min. I began to think that maybe I just wasn't supposed to take the training. I was heading back home and was only 2 blocks from the subway station when I saw a group of people listlessly loitering near a building that looked like some sort of facility.......wait a minute, I thought, those guys are addicts! They'll know where the Lincoln Detox is!! And sure enough, the first guy I asked gave me directions.
I finally found the facility, which was tucked away at the end of a dead end street. I was 45 min. late, but when I told the receptionist that I was there for the training she said, "Ok just have a seat, the trainer is running late".
The 2 week training was one of the coolest things I've ever done. I've given the treatment to thousands of people since then and even taught the protocol in Guatemala and Peru.
The Lincoln Detox was much more than just an ear acupuncture clinic. If you wanted services there you would go for your ear acupuncture early in the morning, then you might check in with you social worker or recovery counselor, go to a Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous meeting right there in the building, go to a Spanish speaking support group or a single Mom support group. or go upstairs to the big Reiki Circle (most of the counselors were Reiki trained).
A big part of the training was devoted to learning about the battle that founders waged against the"powers that be" - the medical bureaucracy, the police, the drug cartels and the local, city, state and national government.
Dope is Death does a great job of documenting this inspiring story, and the huge positive impact of the ear acupuncture detox protocol which is now practiced all over the world.
Unfortunately, the Lincoln Acupuncture Detox facility was shut down about 6 yrs ago because of "funding cuts". In the 45 years that it was open, over 25,000 people from all over the world got trained there and hundreds of thousands got clean and sober there. The program's success rate far exceeded any other type of rehab program.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been trained there, and to have had the opportunity to serve so many people for free with this highly effective natural treatment that has no bad side effects. It consists of 5 needles in the detox points of each ear and is very easy to learn.
Many trainers were certified at the facility and people can still learn and practice the protocol. If you want to learn it you can train here in NYC with my friend Juan Cortez (the guy with the NY Yankees baseball cap in the documentary. Just let me know if you want his contact info). Juan is the Holistic Services Director at NY Harm Reduction Educators in East Harlem.
I look forward to the time when we can meet safely in person and resume our Free Clinic For Recovery and I can resume my Harm Reduction Free Reiki and ear acupuncture clinics.
Right up until the pandemic, all my Reiki Teacher apprentices were required to volunteer in my free clinics as part of their training. It's one of the best ways to experience that special feeling of fulfillment that one can only have through selfless service of the greater good!
When we do good things for others for free, without any expectation of receiving anything in return, the reward is priceless!