Addiction II: The Towns/Lambert "Cure" and its Failings

Early addiction treatment in the United States took a very different turn thanks to the self-advocacy of Charles B. Towns. An insurance salesman down on his luck at the turn of the century, Towns claimed to have been approached by a stranger on the streets of New York who offered a theoretical treatment for curing any form of substance addiction. The cure was simple: administer delirium-inducing herbs, alkalides, and castor oil regularly across five days to induce diarrhea, and when the initially green colored bowel movements ran clear, the patient was cured.

The regimen seemed absurd to some doctors at the time, but once Towns received the endorsement of Cornell University Medical College professor Dr. Alexander Lambert, who was soon to become President Theodore Roosevelt’s personal physician, he had the clout to open in New York his first clinic (where Bill Wilson, future founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, would be treated). This connection to the White House led to Towns receiving a leading position in a charitable mission from the U.S. government to China to treat opium addiction there. Towns returned from this expedition in 1908 and claimed to have cured thousands, but had little evidence to support the assertion that patients were cured for life. Towns estimated that around 90% of patients were cured, based solely on the small number of patients who voluntarily returned to receive almost a week of gastrointestinal distress, which did not account for those who fell back into addiction or sought alternative treatment (Musto, 1973).

The reputation of the Lambert/Towns treatment among medical professionals declined in the 1920s, just as the rise in substance abuse culture fueled the clinic with ever more patients. Undeterred by academic disapproval and ultimately losing the endorsement of Lambert himself, Towns expanded the number of illnesses he claimed he could cure, ranging from caffeine addiction to kleptomania. The Great Depression deprived many in need of treatment of the necessary funds, which greatly reduced the flow of incoming patients to the clinic, but it remained open until 1965.