People suffering from drug addiction are turning to a Buddhist monastery in Thailand known for its unorthodox way of relieving the ill effects of the condition and helping visitors to quit their drug use.
The Wat Thram Krabok temple, located in the Saraburi Province, has gained a reputation over the years as one of the toughest drug rehabilitation centers in the world.
Monks from the temple give drug addicts seeking to alleviate their dependence on dangerous substances a secret brew of 120 herbal ingredients that forces them to vomit and release their inner demons. Visitors are not charged for the treatment, which typically lasts for a week.
One of those who made the journey to the temple was Steve from Perth, Australia who had been addicted to drugs for the past 25 years. His story is featured in a local TV program that documented his choice to sign up for the week-long treatment and his road to recovery.
Steve recounted how his life before seeking treatment at the "Vomit Temple" was filled with guilt and deception as a result of his addiction to meth. He said that he was caught by his wife using drugs one day and saw the look of fear and uncertainty on her face.
When she asked him to give her the drugs and told him that she wanted to help, Steve said that it was when he decided to quit his drug use.
After arriving at the Wat Thram Krabok temple, the monks asked Steve to take a vow known as Sajja. He said that while the treatment may be free, visitors to the temple are only given one chance to receive. The Sajja requires people to give up their use of drugs for the rest of their lives.
Steve was then given the herbal cocktail to drink. The purging typically begins at 3 PM, and foreigners have to vomit every day for five days.
According to Steve, the secret brew the Buddhist monks hand out tastes "horrible" and that it is very rank. He said that it was made to upset the stomach in order to force drug users to vomit intensely.
Despite having struggled in his first two days at the Wat Thram Krabok temple, Steve said his vomiting eventually became easier by his fifth day.
"I think it's maybe it's a bit of a metaphor for acknowledging that you're expelling the badness out of yourself," Steve said. "But it must have some sort of medical like powers. I definitely felt better after the five days."
The Wat Thram Krabok temple has helped around 100,000 individuals to quit their habit since it first began accepting drug addicts for treatment in 1959.
