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The Libertines' Pete Doherty has written a long and moving comment piece from his Thailand rehab centre, during which he discusses his dark battle with addiction, encourages others to get help and pledges to play a series of fundraising shows when he leaves the facility.
Doherty has been staying at the Hope Rehab Centre in Thailand for over a month, receiving treatment for a decade-long addiction to heroin.
In a new piece for The Independent, the singer writes, "To me [heroin] wasn’t a dirty street drug, it was this magic potion I read about. It was Kubla Khan, Thomas DeQuincy, Oscar Wilde: it was an aspect of their world that appealed to me — the opiated dream-world.
"Now, more than 10 years on, I can see that drugs have flummoxed me. In most aspects of my life I think I'm a pretty sane person. If I hadn't been successful with my music, I think I would have pushed myself to be successful at something else because I'm like that — I'm a grafter. But I got addicted. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't."
He continues, "Compared to other rehab centres, Hope isn't expensive. But some people with drug problems live day-to-day from hand to mouth. This is why, once I'm a bit further along in my recovery, I'm going to do a few shows to raise money for people who really want to get clean and need this treatment."
Doherty goes on to admit: "Doing gigs was a nightmare, and all the songs were so dark, how would I be able to perform if I wasn't fucked up? That's when I knew I needed to go and get help. I'd gone as far as I could; the next logical step for me if I didn't get help was to kill myself. I was at that end-stage. When you have all the people around you, like your family and most of the world, saying it’s your fault, pull yourself together, get a haircut etc, it's pretty hard to believe in the whole 'addiction as a disease' concept...
"To anyone struggling with addiction, I would say this: just hang on, hang on. There is a way out. You will heal. I don't care how much damage you've done, you can heal. I would say ask someone for help, just get yourself along to an NA or AA meeting, you'll be amazed. I know I was."
Read Pete Doherty's full piece over at The Independent.
