Get Yo Ass In Rehab
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PoiSoNeD_CaNdY replied on Fri Oct 15, 2004 @ 12:21pm |
Recovery in Russia: Inside a Detox Gulag
by Cletus Nelson, [ DrugWar.com ] (originally published at Points of Departure) Oct. 9, 2004 Victoria Malakhova could care less whether you "work your steps," find your inner-child, or connect with some unnamed "higher power." Instead, the iron-fisted director of the most brutal drug treatment center in Russia is interested in only one thing: results. "Isolation, bread and water, that's all one needs to deal with withdrawal," she informs a western journalist. Welcome to City Without Drugs (CWD) and the sadistic world of Recovery---Russian style. Situated in the industrial city of Yekaterinburg, some 900 miles east of Moscow, the mere mention of this notorious facility sends shudders down the spines of Moscow's needle-scarred street urchins. "On the first day we beat them with belts until their buttocks turn blue," Igor Varov, a co-founder of the renowned facility informs Mark Franchetti of London's Sunday Times. The controversial practice usually involves some 300 lashes. "Every week we have to buy a new belt because they go too soft, but we have been impressed with the quality of Gucci belts," Varov explains. However, CWD officials aren't merely punishing their unfortunate charges for losing the battle with addiction, they strongly believe that drug use can be cured with a strong dose of old-fashioned Slavic cruelty. "Drug addicts are animals who have lost all sense of values," Varov asserts. "This way, the next time they think about getting a fix they remember the pain of the thrashing rather than the rush of the drugs. It's very effective. You cannot solve this with mild manners - you need tough measures." After a rigorous beating, the recovering junkies are then handcuffed to a bed where they undergo the agonies of withdrawal while living on a strict diet of bread and water. Those who make it through this harrowing ordeal and are considered drug-free graduate to performing harsh physical labor and other errands in a starkly ascetic environment. Any backsliding by these newly-liberated addicts invites violent reprisals. The questionable cure at Yekaterinburg typically lasts 12 months and many parents pay over $1,000 to CWD to get their children off of drugs---an exorbitant fee in Russia. Founded in 1999 to counteract an epidemic of addiction among Russian youth, the center is an outgrowth of a concerted vigilante effort by powerful (and allegedly mob-connected) local businessmen to stem the drug trade. Suspected dealers have been threatened, and in some instances assaulted by local anti-drug zealots. CWD also acts as an informal intelligence-gathering arm of the state with a sophisticated pager network fielding thousands of tips alleging illict drug activity. However, these dedicated drug warriors aren't interested in confining their activities to Yekaterinburg. "With a typical lack of modesty, the fund's founders say their approach should serve as a model not only for Russia but for the West, too," reports the Holland Sentinel. This sounds highly unlikely here in the states where 12-step methods are considered the "cornerstone" of addiction treatment. Indeed, since the inception of Alcoholics Anonymous over six decades ago, recovery has become a publicly accepted ritual rooted in the belief that substance abuse is caused by a medically-recognized "disease" as opposed to a mere lack of willpower. Then again, studies indicate that 12-step methods are questionable at best and many qualified experts are openly challenging the once sacrosanct "disease" theory. Should this growing dissent become the accepted wisdom, this may create a vast therapeutic void that will unleash a whole new approach to treating drug addiction. It is worth noting that Alcoholics Anonymous emerged in a similar environment. Medical efforts to treat alcoholism were sharply curtailed after anti-drinking advocates decided that state-enforced prohibition was the only available method to stem excessive drinking. When this "noble experiment" failed, AA stepped into the breach. Let's hope the control freaks at NIDA aren't in contact with the Russians. |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» nothingnopenope replied on Fri Oct 15, 2004 @ 9:39pm |
I bet most of the people never start using drugs again out of fear of being put in rehab again |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PaT_ replied on Sat Oct 16, 2004 @ 6:24am |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Trey replied on Sat Oct 16, 2004 @ 2:11pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» basdini replied on Sat Oct 16, 2004 @ 3:03pm |
only in russia would beating someone's ass blue be a treatment for heroin, got to love that |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Miss_Amanda replied on Sat Oct 16, 2004 @ 9:38pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Purple_Lee replied on Sun Oct 17, 2004 @ 2:09pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Violence_Inc replied on Mon Oct 18, 2004 @ 10:12am |
I admire the anit drug zealots.
this quote was gold "Every week we have to buy a new belt because they go too soft, but we have been impressed with the quality of Gucci belts," Varov explains. |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» eLDee replied on Mon Oct 18, 2004 @ 11:33am |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Violence_Inc replied on Mon Oct 18, 2004 @ 2:41pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Plan-C replied on Fri Dec 24, 2004 @ 5:51pm |
should i laugh or say a prayer for russian smak addicts?
i'll just buy a gucci belt instead. |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Tue Dec 28, 2004 @ 1:02am |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Plan-C replied on Tue Dec 28, 2004 @ 1:07am |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Tue Dec 28, 2004 @ 1:16am |
shhhhhhhhhhh
stop telling people.....( it al depends how hard you hit me charlie... and yes please smack me around with a belt...) |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lone_Star replied on Tue Dec 28, 2004 @ 1:55am |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Wed Dec 29, 2004 @ 5:57pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» PitaGore replied on Wed Dec 29, 2004 @ 6:00pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» sheake_me replied on Mon Jan 3, 2005 @ 7:49pm |
Ok I dont agree witht the beating.....but I do think that are rehab programs dont go far enough.
we take kids for a week then put them back into the same enviromnet. my friends that have had the most success in getting there lives back together, eventually slashed there wrists so the phycward would admit them for 3 months (with an option of 6 months I think)and then when they got out made sure not to get in contact with the same people. |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Lady replied on Mon Jan 3, 2005 @ 10:06pm |
Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Vee-Vee replied on Tue Jan 4, 2005 @ 4:08am |
Get Yo Ass In Rehab
[ Top Of Page ] |
Post A Reply |
You must be logged in to post a reply.
[ Top Of Page ] |