Pete Doherty Sort Of Doing OK-ish With The Drugs

It's hard to imagine what Pete Doherty would be like without drugs - a waft of dirty steam in a porkpie hat, probably - but it's something we'll possibly get to see soon, as Pete's been back in court for a review of his drugs treatment.

And how has Pete Doherty been judged to have done in his Battle Against Drugs So That He Can Get Back Inside Kate Moss's Knickers? Well, according to an appearance in court yesterday, Pete Doherty has sort of done quite well, although everyone involved sounds a bit disappointed that he hadn't done any better. We know this feeling exactly, having listened to two Libertines albums and a Babyshambles one once.

There's an argument - usually made by slack-jawed ninnies who think that carrying books of poetry around will help them find a girlfriend - that drugs define Pete Doherty. Without the drugs, they say, Pete Doherty would never do all that hilarious stuff he does like squirt TV crews with blood or write blindingly awful prison diaries, and without the influence of drugs Pete Doherty would be boring like the moon-faced choirboy from Keane. It's a flawed argument, because a) the moon-faced boy from Keane is on the drugs too, and he's still about as rock and roll as a three-week-old packet of Werther's Originals b) The people who say this are likely to be the same people who voted Pete Doherty as the second-best rockstar ever, so they've obviously cashed in their common sense chips somewhere down the line and c) Nothing Pete Doherty has ever done has been good.

With this is mind, it's easy to see why Pete Doherty wants to quit his drug habit. Kate Moss will marry Pete if he's clean, and also an absence of drugs might make Pete Doherty sound like something other than a toddler who's fallen down a well and given up hope of ever being discovered when he sings. Oh, and also he might go to prison if he keeps taking drugs.

In the past, Pete Doherty has avoided jail several times for all his drug arrests, but it has come at a price - a judge has said that if Pete Doherty isn't clean of drugs by December, he'll get banged up in the slammer again. That's bad news for everyone; prison isn't likely to be an environment conducive to quitting drugs, plus Pete'll probably pick up a bunch more rubbish prison slang to pepper his crappy songs with. Anyway, thanks to this threat Pete Doherty was in court again yesterday for a review of his treatment. And this, according to BBC News, was how it went:

Defence counsel Bruce Clark said: "On the whole, progress is being made," adding the singer's appearance had "certainly improved". The singer was ordered to return to court for a further review in January. District judge Jane McIvor said: "Weekly appointments under the order had not been as successful as expected." Doherty who appeared wearing a grey shirt and dark trousers told the court he was still seeking treatment. "I've been going to NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings and seeing a counsellor separate from the Priory," he said. When asked by the judge if he was still optimistic, he replied: "Yes".

So now Pete Doherty will be back in court in three month's time for another review of his drugs treatment. At which point we'll probably just republish this exact same article and try and pass it off as new, since this whole 'he's sort of doing alright but not really' pattern seems like it's sticking.

Read more:

Doherty's Drug Progress Mixed - BBC  

[story by Stuart Heritage]