An Elephant on MARS

The elephant was not on the red planet, but rather on (M)edically (A)ssisted (R)ecovery (S)upport. Taking five times the regular dosage for a human, Xiguang the Asian elephant received daily injections of methadone while in treatment for heroin addiction he developed after being captured by smugglers. This is not the first time I have seen this type of story, apparently the smugglers drug the animals to make them work longer and keep them controlled. Much like human addicts, this system works fine until either the dope or the body gives out.

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It took a 3 year treatment program before Xiguang was able to taper off methadone; Big Brother, another Asian elephant once addicted to heroin, was able to finish the program in a year. This should serve as a great example for anyone looking to goals and timelines of others as overly relevant. We might all be of the same species (most of us), but treatment and recovery are not of the one size fits all type. Especially when the size on the tag reads elephant XXL