'Potty Pete' Makes Another Try at Cleaning Up

LONDON, Dec. 1, 2006— -- It seems as if you cannot pick up a tabloid newspaper in Britain without running into a story about Pete Doherty -- or "Potty Pete," as one paper called him -- or a paparazzi snap of him with his on and off girlfriend, supermodel Kate Moss.

But it's not his lyrics or his band, Babyshambles, that gets the limelight; rather, most of the articles cover his drug addiction and court appearances. This is why he is also known as "the country's most famous drug addict."

It was no surprise he made the papers again last week. "Clean up your act or lose me" is the edict that Moss allegedly laid down. The rocker has been battling a crack and heroin addiction for years and after many failed attempts at rehab, he is seeking help again.

However, as conventional rehab has not been effective for him, Doherty has reportedly done a recent stint in a rehab clinic in Portugal, where doctors implanted a pellet that releases the drug naltrexone into his abdomen to help him kick his habit.

The implant, which can last from a month to six months, is meant to reduce the cravings by sending messages to the brain and nervous system. This opiate blocker has been in use for almost a decade; the implant is a preferred method because the drug only works as long as the addict remembers to take it.

There are reports Moss is funding the treatment, but her agent was unavailable to comment.

A Treatment, Not a Cure

Dr. Michael Farrell from the National Addiction Center in London calls the treatment "interesting" and points out that it is "still in development and remains an experimental treatment, but there are advocates who do report its advantages."

However, Dr. Farrell warned, "there are risks if the patient returns to heroin because you are more sensitive to it.

"In Australia there are concerns from drug-related overdose deaths when the implant wears off."

The last few years have been a blur of arrests and detox for the musician.

In a recent documentary, the singer spoke about returning to using drugs after rehab and the long-term consequences. "There [are] a lot of [criminal] charges piling up -- one or two of them are really serious. In a way, I've got this thing in the back of my mind -- if I get an implant, I can get that damn monkey off my back and I can avoid jail."

However, experts warn that while the drug can give addicts a respite and an opportunity to regroup, they must make life changes in order to continue living a clean life. And for many, that's easier said than done.

Doherty has been described as a poet who is highly creative when it comes to writing lyrics. So where does he get his inspiration? According to the documentary, he says it's prison. "It's what it is. It's a prison. You are in a cage; you are in a room; you are in a prison; you can't do anything. You have bursts of madness where you want to sing. It's a build-up of anger and frustration and all those things you can't do. But prison actually makes me become creative, pacing that room."

A Tempestuous Life

Since he burst onto the rock scene with his band The Libertines in 2002, he has never been far from controversy. In July 2003, the band was gaining critical acclaim but his chaotic lifestyle caused the band to break-up. (He pulled out of a European tour leaving the rest of the band to complete the gigs.)

Doherty formed Babyshambles shortly after he was jailed for two months for stealing a guitar, laptop and other items from former bandmate Carl Barat.

His relationship with his current band members isn't much better. Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek says, "It's just peaks and troughs all the time, so I tend to take every show as our last ... Generally the main problem is getting Peter out of his house. When he's out he's fine. So, normally you have to employ certain tactics."

Doherty's tempestuous life may have earned him NME magazine's title of "cool icon" in 2004, but his behavior has taken a toll on his family -- he is banned from seeing his three-year-old son, Astile. The child's mother, Lisa Moorish, echoed Moss' warning: "Get clean; it will all be easier. It will all change; everything will change. I'm just saying it's as simple as that."

For now, it seems like he is trying to do just that.