Pete Doherty will soon be dead as Amy Winehouse

Dishevelled, with a fragrant Thai flower in his button hole and clutching a bag of duty free, you would think Pete Doherty was returning from a hedonistic holiday in Thailand if you spotted him at Heathrow.

But in reality the ruined rocker was making his way back from a last ditch attempt to rid himself of his crack and cocaine addiction at a remote Thai jungle clinic.

His, and perhaps his managements, hopes were dashed days ago after the 33-year-old was booted off the exclusive The Cabin clinic, in Chiang Mai for being a disruptive influence on other addicts.

Father-of-two Doherty, was escorted by his manager Andy Boyd to Thailand three weeks ago, cancelling a string of festival gigs.

At first Doherty seemed to be responding to treatment, which included elephant trekking and yoga, but in recent days his behaviour became challenging.

The Cabin has a high success rate with less than a dozen patients out of 300 being asked to leave in the last two years.

For the last decade, Doherty has battled drug addiction and been in and out of rehab since as far back as 2004.

Recently he confirmed that he is still using heroin and crack cocaine.

Staff at the $15,000 a month Cabin put a diplomatic gloss on Doherty’s departure but couldn’t tolerate his disruptive behaviour.

Programme Director Alastair Mordey – himself a recovered addict said; ‘Pete was discharged today for therapeutic reasons.

 ‘It is important to maintain the integrity of the treatment programme for the other clients to have a good chance of recovery.

Pete understands this and therefore the reasons behind why we have asked him to leave.’

He added: ‘Although our parting with Pete is amicable, we are of course disappointed to see him leave. We hope some of the things he has learnt here will help him in the future and look forward to the day when Pete decides to consider recovery again.’

Since 2009 the Cabin has treated over 300 men and women from around the world with a programme completion rate of 96% and a recovery rate amongst the highest in the world.

One former addict treated at the Cabin described the treatment and care as ‘fantastic.’

‘At some of the well known treatment clinics you are fleeced and you don’t get a lot of one to one and personal attention.

‘You develop an inner calm that helps you cope with the treatment programme.

A former staff member, who asked not to be named, said: ‘People at the clinic will be sad this has happened because they have such a good success rate. It’s almost unheard of for someone to leave mid-treatment.’

As part of his detox Doherty was undertaking a tailored exercise programme including yoga and pursuits such as elephant trekking as part of his treatment, along with in-house medical care and 24-hour nursing.

Comedian Michael Barrymore, who was treated at The Cabin earlier this year, has spoken out of his recovery and has now celebrated 6 months clean and sober.

by Wallace McTavish
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