LAUR, Nueva Ecija – Hope is not lost for people addicted to shabu and other illegal drugs.
According to Dr. Joy Ruiz-Molleston, drug addicts could still be given a second chance in life through proper treatment and rehabilitation.
“We never lose hope at least for me. I never lose hope on a person,” Molleston, an addictionologist and founder of Moscati Meadows Residential Treatment Facility to be inaugurated by President Duterte Wednesday, said in a media interview here.
“If you detox them and treat them appropriately, for us, in the United States the success rate is 40 percent…When you detox a person let’s say three to seven days, you let the shabu come out of their system,” she said.
She affirmed that a drug addict could not considered a lost cause, adding she has known many who have recovered and even returned to school and found new careers.
“In fact, a lot of my counselors used to be stimulant addicts, they’re in recovery now. They don’t use anymore, they become therapists. They go to school, finish college, have masters,” she said.
She made the remark when asked about her view on the President’s sentiment on drug addicts.
Duterte previously said when a person becomes addicted to shabu, rehabilitation was no longer a viable option. He insisted that drugs would adversely affect a person’s brain and could compel users to harm other people including their loved ones.
Molleston said the new facility, located in a family lot in Nueva Ecija, provides world-class treatment to all kinds of addiction especially drug and alcohol geared towards the beliefs of Christianity.
The rehabilitation center, dubbed “The Healing Haven,” has treatment activities with prayer, yoga, and meditation. It provides a six month evidence-based treatment modalities found in the United States, including drug court expertise, telemedicine, and trauma therapy, among others.
It is expected to formally commence operations in one or two months once government permits have been secured. She said they intend to seek assistance from the Department of Health to ensure the efficient delivery of service.
In building the addiction treatment facility, Molleston said she and her family wanted to help the nation amid the drug problem prevailing in the country. She was also thankful for Duterte for making the campaign against illegal drugs a priority of his administration.
The private facility is several kilometers away from the mega drug rehabilitation center built by a Chinese tycoon inside a military camp in Nueva Ecija. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)