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Over the last 3 years, the word ‘baclofen’has appeared on the cover of numerous non-specialized French journals, which sing the praises of its potentially miraculous effects on alcohol dependence. Baclofen is a gamma-aminobutyric-acid-B (GABA-B) receptor agonist, approved for many years for spasticity. Some recent works reported promising effects of low-dose baclofen (30 mg/day) for alcohol dependence [1], but these data remained largely confined to the medical community. A few years ago a French cardiologist suffering from alcohol dependence, Olivier Ameisen, tested baclofen on himself, at doses reaching a maximum of 270 mg/day, and published an atypical ‘autocase’report in which he maintained that high-dose baclofen (HDB) had suppressed his dependence [2]. Ameisen also wrote a best-selling book describing the story of his addiction, and of his use of HDB. This book attracted media attention …