Productive Misunderstandings: the Ambivalent Relationship Between Religious-Based Treatments and the Lay State in Mexico

Given the current political situation in Mexico, this article discusses the relationship between the state and the religious and spiritual models for treating problematic drug use. The lay nature of the state, specifically in the area of public health, serves as a basis for problematizing the ways in which that state has recognized medical pluralism while denying the religious/spiritual dimension present in various forms of non-biomedical attention. The article analyzes the particular case of religiously oriented rehabilitation centers, which constitute one of the main therapeutic options in Baja California (Mexico), given the nonexistence of alternatives that are public, secular, and free of charge. The case of these centers is paradigmatic for analyzing the ambivalent relationship the state maintains with religious or spiritual therapeutic services. While the state clearly recognizes their existence, and even finances them in some cases, it attempts to ignore the religious basis underlying their treatment model. This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages resulting from that ambivalent relationship. It will also propose some means for emerging from this situation so as to promote, firstly, a medical pluralism that allows for knowledgeable dialogue among and about differing forms of treatment, and, secondly, recognition of the contributions of religious and spiritually based treatment models in the public health field.