Myoclonic dystonia is a rare disorder that occurs in an hereditary and a sporadic form. The autosomal-dominantly inherited form is responsive to alcohol but not to other drugs. The sporadic form has been relatively resistant to drug treatment. We report a young man with myoclonic dystonia who displayed only little response to alcohol but improved significantly with a combination of sodium valproate for myoclonus and trihexiphenidyl hydrochloride for dystonia. His rehabilitation, however, was confounded by public authorities who thought the patient's appearance was indicative of drug use.