Clean and sober in 48 hours?

Lisa Hill, a 27-year-old prescription drug addict, lies in a hospital bed in Tustin, about to undergo her third detox attempt. A few minutes later, doctors give her anesthesia, stick a breathing tube down her throat and then administer a liquid dose of Naltrexone. During the next few hours, the drug cleans Hill's body and brain of any remnants of the painkiller Vicodin that she has been hooked on since a car accident in 2000.

If Hill were awake, she'd be suffering hours of severe headaches, vomiting, shakes, sweats and relentless abdominal pain. The doctors, though, don't wake her for several hours, and later give her sleeping pills to make it through the night. In the morning, she wakes up, takes a shower and goes home. A few hours later, she no longer craves.

The treatment takes two days, from start to finish.

This new and controversial drug detoxification therapy is known as "rapid detox." Advocates say it's the next generation in drug treatment, far easier and more effective than traditional methods, such as 28-day programs or methadone clinics. It's primarily used for people addicted to opiates, such as heroin, morphine or Oxycontin -- a highly addictive prescription pain medication -- because those habits are considered the most difficult to kick. Other detox programs that promise speedy treatment for people addicted to cocaine and alcohol are beginning to be offered across the country, although such programs are not yet common.

"This is more successful than traditional treatments. And it's more humane," says Clare Waismann, director of the Waismann Institute in Beverly Hills, who brought the treatment to the U.S. five years ago from Israel, a major center of research into rapid detox programs. The number of patients undergoing treatment at the institute's clinic in Tustin has tripled in the last two years, Waismann says.

Popularity and criticism

The concept of rapid detox is appealing for a number of reasons. As the name suggests, the treatment is faster and more convenient than alternatives. Patients could enter treatment on a Thursday and be back to work by Monday, without disrupting their lives for weeks or attracting the attention of bosses, co-workers and friends. Although medical insurance doesn't cover the treatment, which costs about $10,000, the programs are less costly than some of the longer and fancier drug treatment programs.