I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One at the Holiday Inn

Summary:

A former heroin addict realizes that he wants to help other addicts kick their habits. The problem is, he wants to do this using a hallucinogenic drug - Ibogaine - that is completely illegal, and which requires medical expertise he doesn't have.

Website:

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/2007/

Additional Credits and Funding:

Writers & Reporters: Trey Kay & Lu Olkowski
Producers for TAL: Alix Spiegel & Nancy Updike
Supervising Producer: Julie Snyder
Executive Producer: Ira Glass

Timely on:

September: National Drug & Alcohol Recovery Month

Tones:

Provocative, Real, This American Life-esque

Language:

English

Description:

This piece is close-up portrait of a community that most people and frankly, most news organizations would rather not look at, much less empathize with. We focus on Dimitri, a former heroin addict who was cured by controversial substance called Ibogaine. It's a drug that promises to take away intense cravings for heroin and also suppresses the withdrawal symptoms. It's Illegal in the U.S., so Dimitri has become a part of the "Ibogaine Underground," a group of people, with little to no medical training, trying help their fellow junkies. Dimitri isn't a doctor, but he plays one at the Holiday Inn.

Gold Medalist in the 2007 New York Festivals Awards for Best Human Interest Story.

Originally aired on "This American Life" on December 1, 2006.

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