It is a tragedy when anyone dies of a drug overdose. Drugs are no respecter of persons. It takes anyone at anytime, killing without prejudice. Why do humans like to get high? One answer is that drugs provide shortcuts to religious and transcendental experiences. If something can be ingested, injected, inhaled or absorbed into the human body, it can be abused. In the United States alone, nearly one-third of the population either abuses drugs or has a relationship with someone who is chemically dependent. Other countries face a similar problem.
Nearly half of drug abuse in the United States involves the misuse of prescription drugs. This is not only deliberate misuse, such as forged prescriptions, Medicaid fraud, and black market sales, but also errors made by physicians and accidental misuse of prescribed drugs—especially by the elderly. Many observers have become concerned about the astonishing increase in the use of Ritalin, a physician-prescribed drug given to American children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Many widely-used chemical substances damage the brain, heart and lungs of the user, as well as the bodies of the user’s unborn children. Drug use contributes to the leading causes of death in the world—heart disease, stroke and various types of cancer. It also generates an incredible financial burden for society. The total cost of substance abuse in America has been estimated at more than $240 billion per year. According to the World Health Organization, approximately one out of five hospital beds in the United States is occupied by someone with substance abuse as a contributing factor, and nearly 50 percent of all preventable deaths are related to some aspect of substance abuse. Substance abuse and its consequences are major medical and social problems.
Today, the medical model of addiction dominates the thinking in much of the Western world. This model suggests that people who abuse chemical substances or have behavior-related problems are victims of faulty genes that produce internal chemical imbalances. This can promote the notion that people have little control over their lives, and at times is used as an excuse for lawlessness by wildly mixing up moral responsibility with diagnosis. Indeed, much conventional wisdom about substance abuse undermines personal responsibility.
Factors Preventing Substance Abuse:
- Purpose in life
- Strong system of values
- Positive parental example
- Close relationship with parents
- Positive peer influences
- Academic achievement
- High educational aspiration
- Regular school attendance
- Regular church attendance
- Realistic long-term goals
- Knowledge of consequences
- Hope of a reward
It is alarming how many celebrities who have died secondary to drugs and alcohol over the years.
- Corey Monteith, age 31, who played Finn Houston in the Glee TV series, was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room after taking a lethal cocktail of heroin and booze.
- Sid Vicious, the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols, died in his sleep after partying with heroin the night of his 1979 release from New York’s Rikers Island. His drug dealer that fateful night was his mother.
- Dee Dee Ramone, Ramones founding member, bassist, singer and songwriter, died of a heroin overdose. Police found a syringe and five balloons of heroin near Ramone’s body.
- Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana front man, was found in 1994 at his Lake Washington home. Although he shot himself—a suicide note was found—a high concentration of heroin and a small amount of diazepam was found in his bloodstream.
- Peter Farndon, the founding member of The Pretenders, was found in his bathtub by his wife following a heroin overdose.
- Lenny Bruce, standup comedian, died in 1966 after overdosing on heroin.
- Jim Morrison, front man for the Doors, died on July 3, 1971, at age 27. He was found in a Paris apartment bathtub, reportedly dead from a heroin overdose after snorting what he thought was cocaine.
- Jimi Hendrix was arrested in 1969 for possession of heroin, but was acquitted after claiming the drugs were planted in his belongings. He died of a heroin overdose the following year.
- Hillel Slovak, founding member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, died on June 27, 1988 of a heroin overdose.
- Elvis Presley died at age 42 on August 16, 1977 after being found unresponsive in his upstairs bathroom. Cause of death was cardiac arrest secondary to an overdose of prescription drugs, including codeine, Valium, morphine, and Demerol.
- Chris Farley died in 1977 after a night of partying with a hooker. An autopsy revealed a cocaine and morphine overdose.
- John Belushi, of Saturday Night Live fame, was found dead in his room at the Chateau Marmont hotel in 1982 from speed-balling: injecting a combination of heroin and cocaine.
- Whitney Houston, 48, was found unconscious and submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel just hours before a pre-Grammy party. She died of an accidental overdose of cocaine and other drugs.
- Corey Haim, the former child star who played in The Lost Boys, died of an accidental drug overdose. It was determined that he’d been obtaining prescription drugs through various aliases.
- Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose. She was found wedged between a table and the wall with a cigarette in her hand.
- Heath Ledger, 28, who won a posthumous Oscar for playing the Joker in The Black Knight, was found unconscious in his bed by his housekeeper. Ledger died of acute intoxication due to taking six different prescription drugs.
- River Phoenix, 23, who was scheduled to perform on stage with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar winning actor who starred in over 40 films, was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose on February 2, 2014. He had been clean for 20 years. Hoffman was 46.
- Len Bias, pro basketball player, died of a cocaine overdose in 1986.
- Christopher Bowman, professional figure skater, died of a overdose of cocaine, diazepam, alcohol, and cannabis.
- William Holden died at 63 after he fell and bled to death following a night of intoxication.
- Michael Jackson died in 2009 of an accidental overdose of lorazapam and propofol administered by his private physician.
- Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates. Officially ruled as a private suicide, although several conspiracy theories still persist.
- Amy Winehouse, a talented singer with a unique take on jazz, died in 2011 at age 27, from alcohol intoxication.
- Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2009.
- Anna Nicole Smith succumbed to an overdose of methadone and medication for anxiety and depression in 2007.
- Tom Petty died from a fatal combination of fentanyl and oxycodone in 2017.
- John Entwistle, bass player for The Who, died of a heart attack due to a cocaine overdose in 2002.
- Len Bias, Boston Celtics second overall NBA draft pick, suffered cardiac arrhythmia after an accidental cocaine overdose, and passed away in 1986.
- Truman Capote died of liver failure secondary to drug and alcohol abuse in 1984 [Ironically, he was brilliantly played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in Truman.]
- David Kennedy, fourth son of Robert F. Kennedy, died from an overdose of cocaine, meperidine, and thioridazine in 1984.
- Judy Garland died in 1969 secondary to a barbiturate overdose.
If you know someone who is struggling with active addiction, please talk to them about treatment. If you need help, contact your local Al-Anon chapter. If you are stuck in the bondage of addiction, there is hope. First things first: Contact your local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. I struggled with active addiction for forty years. Step One says, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, and that our lives had become unmanageable.” Drug overdose is the leading cause of death in the United States, with 64,000 deaths last year alone. President Donald Trump said in the State of the Union Address this week that 700 Americans die every day from drug overdose.