Chinese drug-treatment programs are known for using manual labor, intimidation and indoctrination to try to sway addicts, but some are adopting peer-oriented treatment models from the U.S., the Washington Post reported Jan. 19.

China has about 600 compulsory detoxification centers run by police, and the Chinese Justice Department also runs harsh re-education programs for repeat drug offenders. But programs like the Yunnan Daytop Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center focus on individual responsibility and peer support.

Some experts say that such programs could proliferate as addiction rises in the face of China's wrenching social changes. "Every year, farmers who lose their land come to the city for jobs, but they can't cope with the changes," said Yang Maobin, director of Yunnan Daytop. "People all over China want a better life, but they feel lost. They cannot hold their families together, and in frustration they turn to drugs. And white-collar workers like to go to discos and use ecstasy. They like to use new drugs and follow the latest fashion."

The Daytop program operates on a combination of private donations, foreign aid, foundation money, and support from the New York based Daytop therapeutic community. Yang said that Chinese government officials now recognize addiction as a mental illness, and are looking for alternatives to disciplining users. "They call us and ask us to help them in their compulsory centers," he said. "We are about to sign a contract to help run a compulsory center in Kunming. That's a big change."

"Now government agrees that therapeutic drug treatment is effective, and is going to promote it," agreed an official with the Beijing Compulsory Drug Treatment Center. "But since therapeutic treatment needs more money and, especially, more professional staff, the government is not capable to develop in large scale right now."