One is the human realm, which is our ordinary selves. In the Buddhists’ psychology, there are a number of realms that human beings cycle through, all of us. GABOR MATÉ: Well, it’s a Buddhist phrase. In other words, the addiction is related both psychologically, in terms of emotional pain relief, and neurobiological development to early adversity.ĪMY GOODMAN: What does the title of your book mean, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts?ĭR. I don’t have a single female patient in the Downtown Eastside who wasn’t sexually abused, for example, as were many of the men, or abused, neglected and abandoned serially, over and over again.Īnd that’s what sets up the brain biology of addiction. Not only did they not get what they need for healthy development, they actually got negative circumstances of neglect. In other words, these people all enter life under extremely adverse circumstances. GABOR MATÉ: Well, the hardcore drug addicts that I treat, but according to all studies in the States, as well, are, without exception, people who have had extraordinarily difficult lives. And so, for them to even contemplate receiving help takes a lot of trust.ĪMY GOODMAN: Talk about the people you treat.ĭR. What we do find, though, is that we have a detox facility on the second floor, which is where I’ve been working, and people come from the injection facility to detox, because they’ve been into - brought into contact with compassionate caregivers perhaps for the first time in their lives. GABOR MATÉ: Well, the facility is not designed to treat addiction, per se it’s designed to reduce the harm from it. So it’s a harm reduction measure that, in many studies, have been shown to reduce the burden of disease and also the economic costs attendant to addiction to society.ĪMY GOODMAN: And do you find that addicts can actually heal themselves or perhaps be able to get off heroin more easily by injecting there?ĭR.
#Democracy 3 drug addiction skin#
They infect themselves with bacteria from their skin by using dirty water. GABOR MATÉ: Well, it was conceived in a moment of political openness, because so many people pass on infections, like HIV and hepatitis C, to one another through injection use, sharing needles. So, everywhere else in Canada or in the States, of course, these activities would all be illegal.ĪMY GOODMAN: Why are they allowed to do this?ĭR. And the staff, without being fear arrested, are allowed to help them inject in a safe way, give them clean needles, sterile swabs, and resuscitate them if they overdose. But they bring it in, and without fear of being arrested, they’re allowed to inject, under supervision. GABOR MATÉ: People are allowed to bring their drugs there. His latest, just out in the United States, is called In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.ĪMY GOODMAN: Now, what do you mean, the only safe-injection site, the only legal injection site in North America? People inject heroin there?ĭR. Gabor Maté is the bestselling author of four books. Maté also treats addicts at the only safe-injection site in North America, a center that’s come under fire from Canada’s Conservative government led by Stephen Harper.ĭr. Gabor Maté is the staff physician at the Portland Hotel, a residence and harm reduction facility in Vancouver, Canada’s Downtown Eastside. Well, I’m joined right now here in the Democracy Now! studio by a doctor who has spent the last twelve years working with one of the densest populations of drug addicts in the world. We’re not at war with people in this country.” In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last May, Kerlikowske said, “People see a war as a war on them. Well, just last year, the newly appointed drug czar and former Seattle police chief had called for an end to the so-called “war on drugs,” raising hopes among advocates of harm-reduction approaches to curbing drug use. National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske praised the numbers as reflecting a “balanced and comprehensive drug strategy.” Out of a total of $15.5 billion, some $10 billion are used for enforcement. AMY GOODMAN: The Obama administration’s budget proposal for the Office of National Drug Control Policy sets aside nearly twice the amount of funding for law enforcement and criminalization than for treatment and prevention of drug addiction.