Ten years ago Russell Brand was addicted to heroin, his career was unravelling and he was told he may only have six months to live. The story of how he battled to stay clean of drugs is at the heart of this honest, personal film in which Brand challenges how our society deals with addicts and addiction. The death of his friend Amy Winehouse was the spur to this exploration of the ’condition of addiction’ which, he believes, is misunderstood and wrongly treated. Brand meets a whole range of people from whom he draws insights - scientists at the cutting edge of research into the psychology of addiction, those involved in innovative recovery treatments and drug addicts themselves. He draws on his own experience to try to help an addict take the first steps towards recovery, and has the opportunity to influence policy makers when he is invited to give evidence before the Home Affairs Select Committee investigating the efficacy of current drug addiction treatment in the UK
(55 mins)Programme ID 02C264C4Broadcast ID 89371107