The Darjeeling Project officially started in 2009 in hills of northeastern India and continues to help young men with heroin addiction. It is a joint HARM reduction project for the prevention of HIV with the Indian Red Cross Society in Kurseong, India by focusing on substance abuse in the region.
The Laura Louie Hope Projects has completed two trainings (spring and fall 2009) in the NADA ear acupuncture protocol for substance abuse, a well-recognized adjunctive therapy to substance abuse programs in North America. Both trainings successfully graduated nine peer counsellors in the NADA protocol, operating in five different clinic sites throughout the Darjeeling district.
Acupuncture is exceptional for treating any level of the drug recovery process. It treats acute withdrawal symptoms, which can include intense cravings, flu-like symptoms, pain, and anxiety. It also can help immensely with the post-acute symptoms. It is used in relapse prevention and with the addition of acupuncture; many rehabilitation centers have had far less relapses. Acupuncture is also used in prisons, shelters and drop-in centers. Acupuncture can help calm hostile clients so that they are more open to individual counselling.
In February and March 2010, site visits were done at all five Indian Red Cross acupuncture clinics in the Darjeeling district. A few days were spent at each of the clinics providing supervision, encouragement and fine-tuning of their clinical skills. All acupuncture clinics had successes with two to five patients at each drop in center (DIC) relinquishing heroin and becoming clean. Patient evaluations were given out to each client every one or two months to evaluate the efficacy of the acupuncture. All patients found acupuncture helpful for a number of withdrawal symptoms, especially for irritability, mood swings and sleep.