Re: RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman
He WAS a careless drug addict. In fact, the description " careless drug addict " is redundant.
There are more functional addicts in the world than dysfunctional ones. The idea that you have to be down and out to be an addict is misinformed. There are addicts at all levels of society.
HEROIN USE is a recipe for disaster and no, he doesn't get a pass becauss he shouldering the stress of. forrtune and fame.
I agree that heroin is extremely dangerous. But his addiction did not start with fortune and fame. He was formerly addicted in college, and probably had addictive tendencies even before he tried drugs. Fame and fortune don't necessarily bring you closer to resolving your inner wounds. Sometimes it makes it worse.
If there was ever a prime example for the continued prosecution of drug dealers and drug dealers, this is it.
I don't see what the legalities have to do with this dead man. Clearly the law is not stopping even high profile people from accidentally killing themselves with drugs. How many people die of overdoses from drugs they were legally allowed to have? More than all the illegal ones combined. Do some market research and you will see that it's the
war on drugs which is irrelevant here. Put aside the dogma and look at the hard facts.
Drug addicts are selfish individuals. You mentioned his kids. He was kicked out of his home he shared with them because he was doing heroin.
Well, he ended up in rehab before, so how selfish could he be? It takes courage to really face yourself and get clean. If he relapsed then it means his work wasn't finished, not that he is necessarily a selfish bastard. Most addicts relapse because there are mental health issues tied to the unhealthy dependence. If they get clean without debunking the core issues, then they are far more likely to end up back on drugs. It's why forced rehab is so unsuccessful. They have to want it. If PSH turned to heroin to cope with life's crap, then you can bet his mental health problems were somehow triggered again. Typical pattern.
He knew how to get help, he knew there were people and doctors and proffesionals that could help, he could AFFORD that help but he chose the dope.
We don't really know what he was thinking so this is speculative.
I agree, drug addicts need help, but justifuing their self destructive behavior by claiming we should change our minds on the benefits of sobriety is counter productive.
No one is arguing that sobriety is less desirable. Addicts also go through sober phases in an attempt to readjust reality, but it's the mental health issues and life circumstances which can easily draw them back in. Life can really suck and drugs are an easy go to because they feel blissful and euphoric.
What I'm trying to change your mind about is not the legalities, but that we should reserve judgment.
Addicts don't need more excuses and justifications.
No one is saying otherwise. In fact, excuses and justifications merely enable them further.
They don't need to hear some nonsense like " its societies fault, and the war on drugs fault, not yours ", they need to hear the truth.
Look... it's not about giving them some other way to shift the blame and avoid personal responsibility. It's asking people to understand the sources of addictions, addiction as MEDICAL DISEASE, and how being more compassionate yet NOT enabling would really go a long way to ending the isolation of addicts who want to get better.
That if they continue they are going to DIE.
Not always, but in a lot of cases yes. There 60-80 year old men still doing heroin from their days in Vietnam where they originally got into it. And on the flipside, there are first time users who die because the dose is wrong.
We need to end the arbitrary and pointless arguments about "what drugs are" and look at the scientific info, the historical info, and the wealth of research that shows what comprehensive harm reduction strategies can really do to turn things around.
I mean c'mon... if you go into any U.S. hospital with track marks or an infected injection site, you can be arrested then and there. Paraphernalia like needles? Same thing. Just how are tormented addicts supposed to come forward when the system is so harshly deterring them into hiding all evidence?
If you have to hide from help, then you go into hiding, and
THAT'S when you die.