Eleven years ago, when she was 24 years old, Xiao Yu's (not her real name) boyfriend persuaded her to try heroin. Out of curiosity, she inhaled the substances for a few times, which made her feel high and forget all her problems. Soon after, she became an addict.

Years after her first heroin experience, the high was gone. Instead, each time she craved drugs, she felt aches all over the body, could not eat and suffered from severe insomnia.

"Drugs for me were once like a daily meal. To relieve the physical pain and fall asleep, I could not get away from it for a single day," she said.

Because of the drugs her mind was going slower and she was becoming apathetic towards everything and everybody around her.

To give up drugs, she tried several voluntary drug rehabilitation medical institutions, where she found she could only get rid of the physical addiction for a while, but would always relapse when she got out.

"The mental addiction was much more difficult part to get away from," she said.

Two years ago, Xiao Yu finally found the support she needed at the Sunflower Community of Beijing Public Security Bureau (BPSB) Drug Abstaining Center, situated in the southern suburbs of Beijing, which features a new model of drug rehabilitation treatment. Xiao Yu has since quit drugs and is now working as a peer consultant at the community.

All addicts that live in the center are called community residents, who live together and manage their own affairs under a hierarchical structure including a cleaning group, a catering group, an administration group and a group in charge of encouraging the members.

All the new arrivals start working in the lowest cleaning group. Excellent work in their positions, a positive attitude and a sincerity to help others will see them move to a higher position. On the other hand, those who violate the rules may be downgraded to a lower position.

The promotion grants more privileges, such as more phone calls, family visits and participation in community management.

"I felt like a human being here. I got support from others and offered help at the same time," said Xiao Yu.

Since she has beaten her addiction Xiao has found a new boyfriend, to whom she confessed her past to.

"Love from the family, my boyfriend and of course, my friends here gave me the power to resist the temptation of drugs," she said.

Set up in 2003, the Sunflower Community had already treated 320 addicts and 67 of them still keep in contact with the center.

Now the community only receives heroin addicts transferred from the compulsory drug rehabilitation division affiliated with BPSB. The patients commonly have long drug-taking histories, rarely have criminal records, infectious diseases or mental illness, and share a strong will to give up the addiction.

"Establishing the Sunflower Community is a worthwhile trial to increase the success rate of drug addicts getting away from drugs," said Wu Guoqiang, director of BPSB Drug Abstaining Center.

In the administration group office she has recently been promoted to, Yang Li was rating the hygiene scores of each dormitory. One month ago, Yang came to the community after staying in the compulsory rehabilitation center for three months.

Yang started using heroin in 1996. Before that, she tried several times to help her husband to quit his addiction. However, each time her efforts proved to be in vain.

"The family was on the brink of breakdown. I was so desperate that I took heroin myself," Yang recalled.

She admits that when she went through physical withdrawal from drugs while at the center she thought about using again. She would even unconsciously gesture as if she were taking heroin. Now she keeps herself busy and says that she barely thinks of drugs any more.

Developed in the United States about 50 years ago, the therapeutic community (TC) approach adopted by the drug abstaining center helps individuals recover from drug abuse and addiction through peer influence and helps individuals learn effective social skills.

There are three major types of drug abstaining institutions in China. They are compulsory drug rehabilitation centers affiliated to the police bureau for drug addicts caught for the first time, institutions affiliated to the judicial system for drug addicts caught for the second or more times and the voluntary drug rehabilitation centers affiliated with hospitals.

Despite various channels for addicts to get clean, drug abstaining focuses on the eradication of their mental addiction.

Humanity, no discrimination, and emphasis on mental will is the philosophy of Yu Hongfang and her husband, two former drug addicts in Guiyang of Guizhou Province. In 2003, the couple opened a club that provides psychological therapy and support to drug addicts.

By sharing their similar experiences and treating addicts as their friends, the couple helps new members by talking with them about their pasts, and futures. 

According to Yu, so far the club had already taken in hundreds of addicts from across the country and has helped 30 per cent of them stay off drugs for at least a year.

Gu Bin, 38, had been working as a volunteer in the couple's club since he successfully beat his addiction four years ago. "The key to getting clean is to identify role models and regain a fighting spirit," he said.

Gi began using heroin in 1991. Shortly after he lost his job, spent all his savings, and owed money to relatives. Later, he resorted to crime to get the money to buy drugs.

"The feeling of living in hell had become overwhelming. I felt worthless and a few times, I wanted to end my life," he said.

He tried more than 30 times to give up his addiction, either through drug rehabilitation centers or leaving for the countryside. But each time he eventually found his way back to drugs.

"Now I know I set too high goals for to accomplish. At that time, I wished I could get back everything I had before. But that is impossible, so I felt increasingly desperate," he said.

Gu now feels himself a worthy person again and uses his own experience to help others get clean. "It is atoning for my sins in the past," he said.

However, despite the emergence of new drug abstaining strategies, the chances of staying away from clean for good are still small.

According to Lu Lin, director of National Institute on Drug Dependence of Peking University, the relapse rate after three months of drug addicts who try giving up was as high as 95 per cent.

"Drug addiction is actually a kind of pathological state both physically and mentally. However, people tend to discriminate against them as people with character flaws and consider them degenerates. This can only push the addicts to the depths of hopelessness," he said.

So far, there are still no effective treatment options for drug addicts worldwide, according to him. The oral methadone substitution program around the country is the only therapeutic strategy that has proven effective.

In fact, the largest risk from heroin use is not the toxicity of itself but infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Also, many heroin addicts die of an overdose because there is a significant difference in purity between heroin and it is hard for the users to manage its amount correctly each time.

(China Daily June 27, 2007)