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One Little Pill is a 2014 documentary film directed and written by Adam Schomer. Narrated by Claudia Christian, and following the experiences of three individuals from different areas within the United States, it looks into the question that alcoholism is an example of operant conditioning which can essentially be unlearned through the suppression of the endorphins which are normally released whenever the behaviour is repeated.

Synopsis
In 2001 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) began the largest known US based controlled clinical trial to determine the most effective treatments and treatment combinations for alcohol dependence. Conducted in eleven states and involving 1383 subjects it looked at both the pharmacological and behavioural treatments available. In May 3rd 2006 the authors of the study published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr Mark L. Willenbring, Director at the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research at the NIAAA stated that "These results demonstrate that either naltrexone or specialized alcohol counselling--with structured medical management--is an effective option for treating alcohol dependence". A position shared by peer review journals such as Psychiatry MMC in October 2006 which, amongst it conclusions, stated that “the results of the COMBINE study demonstrated that a pharmacotherapy, like naltrexone, when given with medical counseling that emphasizes taking medications as prescribed, can yield clinically significant outcomes”.

Yet as recently as April 2015 in an online article, in The Atlantic, entitled the “The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous”, Journalist and author, Gabrielle Glaser reported that “ less than 1 percent of people treated for alcohol problems in the United States are prescribed naltrexone or any other drug shown to help control drinking.”

One Little Pill is a documentary film about The Sinclair Method of treating alcohol abuse. The film follows the lives of several people who have suffered from alcoholism, and have been helped by the treatment.

Worldwide, alcohol abuse kills more people than HIV, nearly 3.3 million per year. Yet what the public believes, and Alcoholics Anonymous purports, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic,” is not as true as you think. Nor is the fundamental principle for treating alcoholism that we all take as truth; abstinence. Science has shown that abstinence not only doesn’t take away the addiction, but also increases the craving. So why has one modality dominated our thought since the 1930’s? Why are profitable rehab facilities reluctant to change? And why are millions of people still being denied the opportunity of a simple life saving method and drug that have been FDA approved since 1994? One Little Pill takes an in depth look at a simple, safe method with success rates of 78%, the suppressing obstacles surrounding it, and those people just now finding it.

Five years after it saved her life, Claudia Christian, star of TV’s Babylon 5, is featured on Larry King Live talking about The Sinclair Method. Named after the doctor who spent 40 years studying alcoholism, one must simply take naltrexone one hour before drinking and it will eventually extinguish the learned behavior of alcoholism. Claudia’s passion is to share this method and save lives.

A housewife in Chicago is clouded in secrecy as she hides her use of the method from her husband and his prominent medical standing and political ties. It’s the threat of divorce versus what might save her life. A binge drinker from Detroit sincerely wants to kill this “monster” of addiction that threatens his new fiancé, two kids, and good job. We watch him try the method, step by step, which involves drinking and the slippery slope that could send him into another four-day binge and back in rehab/detox for a 7th time. A winemaker from Napa Valley is caught between her career and a disease that has killed off much of her family, leaving her hopeless and next in line to end her own life. Can this save her?

The push back from AA and traditional treatment is fierce. We find uninformed doctors and dogmatic rehab facilities in the USA. An inexpensive $2 pill with an expired patent and high success rate isn’t the most profitable business plan. In the UK, although newly approved by the NHS, reluctant doctors still make it extremely difficult to get. In rural India rehab and detox are not even remotely an option, but the Sinclair Method has been shown to work well here, providing hope for poverty stricken wives and children of alcoholics. But even at an inexpensive $2 price tag, that’s more than they can afford.

The story returns to America to learn that an astounding 80% of crimes are committed by addicts. An outspoken former prosecutor with years of experience fighting criminal addiction urges courts to use naltrexone as her county in California did, albeit against the wishes of the state, but with amazing results. Treat the addict and you stop the crimes. Alcoholism is a far reaching and severe worldwide issue. So Claudia risks herself, as the characters risk themselves, in the hope that the addiction community will wake up, include modern techniques, and save millions of lives.

"Claudia comes across as really down to earth and wanting to help others, and helps bring the different elements of the film together. This certainly makes a welcome change, to celebrities going on about the 12 step solution."

- Michael D (Lovinglife52)

Themes
The principle theme associated with the documentary is how the application of opioid blockers could be used as an alternative to help alcohol addicts in place of other more mainstream solutions such as 12-step plans.

The secondary theme covered in the documentary is the scientifically documented "Sinclair Method" treatment which uses naltrexone or nalmefene, The drug is claimed by the C Three Foundation to have a 78% success rate in remedying alcohol dependence. Demonstrating relatively mild side effects, naltrexone is FDA approved for use in the United States. In 2013/4 Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved nalmefene for use as part of the NHS National Services Scotland. Scientific evidence of efficiency (Figure 3) and claim of effectiveness of outpatient treatment at the Contral Clinic in Finland.

The treatment consists of taking a naltrexone pill one hour before drinking alcohol, but not on other occasions. Over the following months, most users will begin to drink alcohol less frequently or in smaller quantities. Usually after 3 to 4 months (but occasionally 15 months), successful practitioners are no longer addicted; some people give up drinking alcohol altogether, while others become social drinkers. If they choose to continue to drink, the patients have to continue taking the drug as needed for life. Therapy may optionally also be used.

Release
In July 2014 the first sale of the documentary was announced. YLE TV Finland showed the film in March 2015 and the film page received more than 14,000 views.

A special showing of the film occurred on August 23, 2014 at the HollyShorts Film Festival.

Purchase and rental of the move via Video on Demand was announced in September 2014.

Production
The executive producers Adam Schomer and Claudia Christian financed the film by a campaign on the crowd funding website Indiegogo, with additional finance from Fundly, general donations and special fund raisers. The film was made by the C Three Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by actress Claudia Christian. She is a proponent of The Sinclair Method, which she credits for saving her life in 2009.