Addicts get leg up in their drug battle

Outdoor facilities to be built for drug users in city's big rehabilitation center

People struggling with drug addiction at the city's largest rehabilitation center will be able to exercise at an outdoor facility starting in March, after authorities invested 430,000 yuan in helping them beat their dependency.

Yang Baohang, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Center of Detoxification and Rehabilitation, told METRO the center was excited about the 600-sq-m outdoor training ground.

Exercise programs will include climbing, traversing rope and chain bridges and the crossing of a trench - all conducive to the psychological rehabilitation of addicts, said Yang.

"The key is to eliminate their psychological dependency on drugs," Yang said.

The center, the largest of three in the city, is home to more than 570 drug addicts who are undergoing compulsory narcotics detoxification. They comprise 110 women and 460 men who range in age from 18 to 62.

In 2009, the center received 375 new drug addicts, 40 percent less than in 2008.

In the same year, 68 drug addicts were discharged, compared to 683 in 2008. In 2007, the numbers were 834 and 1,041 respectively.

The center says 95 percent of those who undergo treatment take drugs again after they are cleaned up and discharged.

"It's easy for their bodies to get rid of the drug, but more difficult for them to get off the drugs psychologically," he said.

The drugs have done great harm to their central nervous system and their organs, so the memory function of most drug addicts has become weakened and their liver and heart functions have a higher likelihood of failing than ordinary people.

Addicts sent to the center by the police receive 21 days of compulsory narcotics detoxification, Yang said.

"In the first week, they will take an effective oral liquid medicine called Methadone, once a day to alleviate their suffering from drug addiction symptoms and the dose will gradually become less and less," he said.

After one week, their bodies almost give up the drug, then we turn to psychology to get rid of the drug, which is regarded as the most essential part of being clean, he said.

Twenty qualified psychologists work at the center alongside 30 policewomen who majored in psychology to offer psychological consultation.

All addicts take part in psychological classes twice a week to learn about the harm drugs do and relevant laws and regulations.

People who have broken free from addiction share their experience with the other addicts. The center also carries out some special one-on-one psychological therapy, including music therapy, sand-play therapy and catharsis therapy.

(China Daily 01/25/2010 page25)