The Board Certified Addictionologist Program (C.Ad.), now in its 11th year, will be presented in Las Vegas, beginning on March 9, 2002.

The 150-hour program consists of 10 modules; one weekend a month for 10 months. Upon completion, the C.Ad. (Certified Addictionologist) credential is granted. Those interested can begin with any module at any time and take the modules in any order and at any location they wish.

This training program brings subluxation-based chiropractic full circle since B.J. Palmer himself talked and wrote of the effectiveness of chiropractic in aiding the addicted person.

The ACACD has graduated approximately 1000 D.C.s, and has helped position chiropractors and other professionals with Board Certification as primary intervention resources for our country's top cause of death and crime.

The disease of addictions and compulsive disorders affects more than 50 million people, and chiropractic has been proven effective in a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Further, The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, a world leading peer-reviewed medical journal, published a landmark paper on Reward Deficiency Syndrome, which introduces the role of subluxation correction in addiction and compulsive disorders.

Last February, the journal Molecular Psychiatry, rated second in the world among medical journals and published by Nature, published the success achieved in addiction treatment through correction of the subluxation.

It is estimated that up to 29% of our nation's population suffers from the disease of addiction. Since recovery and recovering individuals require total avoidance of all mood-altering substances, chiropractic is the primary intervention resource in such cases.

According to ACACD Program Coordinator, Michael Davis, D.C., C.Ad., "Addiction is a multifactorial disease having psychological, genetic, metabolic and spiritual components. The most significant mechanism of this disease process is manifest through neurophysiological insult within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord as expressed in the 'Brain Reward Cascade Model', which aligns itself with the known causes of the vertebral subluxation."

The cost of drug addiction to the nation -- in terms of dollars, loss of productivity, death and the breakdown of the family unit -- is staggering. Despite spending millions of dollars, the government and others involved in the "war against drugs" have found themselves fighting a losing battle.

This is due, in large part, to the lack of meaningful education and training offered to the medical profession. It is also due to the fact that, the available medical treatment tool -- pharmacological intervention -- is contraindicated in addiction cases, since patients require drug-free treatment.

For this reason, the chiropractic profession may represent the best hope of effectively helping the millions of people affected by this disease. There are 400 drug courts throughout the nation that embrace alternative sentencing that are beginning to include chiropractic care.

A research study funded by the Florida Chiropractic Society conducted at Exodus Addiction Hospital with Dr. Robert Duncan of the University of Miami School of Medicine, clearly showed the effectiveness of subluxation-based chiropractic in the treatment of addiction.

The project was the first research done on a human population by randomized clinical trial demonstrating subluxation-based chiropractic's efficacy for state of well-being. The project also showed that chiropractic has little or no placebo effect, a long-standing criticism of our detractors.

The board certification program and credential (C.Ad.) offered by the American College of Addictionology & Compulsive Disorders (ACACD) is approved/certified by the State of New York, Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the Certification Board of Addiction Professionals of Florida (CBAPF), which are State Member Boards of the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC), and the State of Nevada Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (BADA).

The ICRC provides reciprocity services to approximately 41 States, Canada, and five foreign countries, all branches of the U.S. military, and Indian Health Services. Until recently, the use of the title Addictionologist was limited to physicians only, thereby defining "Addictionologist" as physician-level board certification.

The C.Ad. program will begin on March 9, 2002. The American College of Addictionology is the only national educational initiative to offer the C.Ad. training that grants the C.Ad. designation and the only program that certifies D.C.s in the field of addiction and compulsive disorders.

The program satisfies the requirement for advanced certification for D.C.s participating in managed care programs when Board Certification is required. The program is co-sponsored by Graceland University of Independence, Mo., and St. Martin's College of Milwaukee.