R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Heroin hassled the Hoff.

Don't hassle the Hoff.

Was is it with apparently successful people and horrible chemical addictions? I guess they get depressed or bored like anyone else, but sheesh, you're established and wealthy. Go buy a speed boat or something.

[The Man]

To be fair, he developed his chemical dependency on drugs before he was well known or rich, and those are things that never entirely go away. Apparently he was clean for over twenty years before he relapsed again, and who knows what kind of thing makes someone relapse :/

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Yeah, fair enough. I guess a lot of them do develop their issues before making it big, but I'm sure it's not all of them. I guess the others get wrapped up it that part lifestyle peer pressure or something.


Anyway, he was indeed a fine actor, and his additions to the craft will be missed.

[Bolivar]

He was great in everything I've seen him in.

[Slothy]

The war on drugs killed PSH? Come on. He had an addiction to a dangerous (and rightfully illegal) substance. He should not have broken the law to repeatedly use the substance in the first place. It's a terrible loss to the entertainment industry, but he's responsible for his undoing, not the government.

I think The Man covered things pretty well. All the available evidence points to the criminalization of drugs being ineffective, counter-productive, and dangerous. Sure, Hoffman had an addiction, and that is rough and what lead to him using the heroin that killed him. But the drug being illegal is what made the stuff he used outright deadly. And it is a shame to hear an intelligent person such as yourself say that the drugs should be illegal when there's plenty of reason to think they really, really shouldn't be.

Say what you will about whether or not someone should use drugs. The fact is there are always going to be people who do, and I'd much rather see them having access to a safe product that isn't produced and trafficked by violent cartels than be forced to risk their lives everytime they use and possibly never get the help they need or kick the addiction as a result.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I just want to know you're secret for keeping it mostly in the Territories and B.C.

[Rocket Edge]

Great actor, and sad news.

When I was driving today and I heard it again on the radio it made me think who else on the acting scene is taking hard drugs that we don't know about? A lot it would seem.

[escobert]

This is probably a worthwhile opportunity to rant about the war on drugs, because it is looking increasingly likely that it killed Philip Seymour Hoffman. It is suspected that the heroin that killed Hoffman was laced with fentanyl, a painkiller that has directly caused a large number of drug overdoses recently (this is just the most recent article I found; there are plenty more). Fentanyl is a much more potent painkiller than heroin and greatly increases the chance of death by overdose; as a result, fatal overdoses have spiked recently. Evidently it shows up because it "makes up" for poor-quality heroin. It is also so remarkably strong that it is extremely difficult to dilute it properly and safely, especially when it's being handled by clandestine makers, and can easily kill someone not habituated to a stronger dose. This mix is therefore much, much worse than pure heroin.

The fact that such a shoddy and dangerous mix can even be sold is a direct consequence of the war on drugs. The result of heroin being illegal is that the consistency and purity of the drug cannot be regulated, and people ingesting or injecting the drug really have no idea what they're taking. Keith Richards managed to avoid overdosing in twenty or more years of using the drug because he always, always used the same amount, but he also was fortunate enough to have a source that provided him with heroin of a consistent purity and potency. With the drug market not being regulated, the drug becomes vastly more harmful, since apart from its addictiveness, it is arguably less harmful to the body than alcohol when a consistent amount is consistently used. The difficulty is, of course, in using a consistent amount consistently when you don't actually know what you're getting.

Of course, we have to note that some people seek the heroin-fentanyl mixture out deliberately because of its potency, but even bearing that in mind, the illegality still affects drug users negatively because it is so difficult to dilute the mixture safely.

It's also worth noting that addicts frequently overdose when they resume using after stints in rehab (which Hoffman had recently visited) because they may go back to the dose they were using before they cleaned up, which they no longer have the tolerance for.

Anyway, people are inevitably going to use this to call for stricter policing of drugs and whatnot when it's in fact a direct consequence of the war on drugs that we even have so many overdoses, and it pisses me off. The whole idea that keeping the drug supply illegal will make people safer has been completely and utterly discredited; people who are addicted to potentially dangerous substances are not concerned with the legality of their drug of choice. Setting up safe injection sites where addicts can be assured a safe, untainted supply that is not likely to kill them (either through needle infection or through overdose) is far less harmful to society than trying to eliminate the supply of drugs. Even Richard Nixon understood this, which is why he set up methadone clinics. Unfortunately, modern politicians are completely clueless, and until there is a sea change in the way drugs are handled, many more people will continue to die unnecessarily.

But really, until the details are confirmed we can't be sure what happened. A huge tragedy, though. There were few actors in his calibre (Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep are the only two that come to mind) and I can't even imagine how awful his family must feel.

And what about the 100+% increase in opium production since our nice little freedom building war in terror in the region it mainly comes from. But our troops don't guard opium fields or anything

Heroin hassled the Hoff.

Don't hassle the Hoff.

Was is it with apparently successful people and horrible chemical addictions? I guess they get depressed or bored like anyone else, but sheesh, you're established and wealthy. Go buy a speed boat or something.

In order to have genius you must lose something else!

[Shoeberto]

The war on drugs killed PSH? Come on. He had an addiction to a dangerous (and rightfully illegal) substance. He should not have broken the law to repeatedly use the substance in the first place. It's a terrible loss to the entertainment industry, but he's responsible for his undoing, not the government.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I wanted to write up a response to this a few days ago but I didn't have time - luckily, Russel brand wrote a few things about Hoffman and the nature of addiction that pretty well sum up my thoughts. I sincerely hope you take the time to read and reflect on what he says.

[Crop]

To be fair, he developed his chemical dependency on drugs before he was well known or rich, and those are things that never entirely go away. Apparently he was clean for over twenty years before he relapsed again, and who knows what kind of thing makes someone relapse :/

While the physical symptoms of heroin eventually go away when you stop using, the psychological addiction often doesn't ever go away.

[Del Murder]

The war on drugs killed PSH? Come on. He had an addiction to a dangerous (and rightfully illegal) substance. He should not have broken the law to repeatedly use the substance in the first place. It's a terrible loss to the entertainment industry, but he's responsible for his undoing, not the government.

I couldn't disagree with you more. I wanted to write up a response to this a few days ago but I didn't have time - luckily, Russel brand wrote a few things about Hoffman and the nature of addiction that pretty well sum up my thoughts. I sincerely hope you take the time to read and reflect on what he says.

It was hard to get through those (not a fan of Brand's writing style) but I did read them. I don't agree with his conclusions but it was some good insight. It seems like it is more of the culture surrounding the law rather than the law itself that results in these things happening with frequency.

Maybe I will never truly understand addiction because I am gifted with an incredible self-will which prevents me from being addicted to anything, and a life free of depression which removes the desire of using drugs in the first place. So when these things happen I can't help but wonder how the victim 'let' them happen. Maybe addiction is a powerful disease and is not rational, but at the end of the day it is your own self that makes you stick that needle in your arm. Hoffman was 23 years sober before this happened so obviously he was capable of not doing drugs. Even Russell Brand has done it for 10 years. Anyone can overcome addiction and it's really up to that individual to choose what path they take, not the government.

[Calliope]

There are many reasons why someone might choose to do drugs, drink alcohol, have reckless sex, drive too fast, or otherwise make unhealthy and unwise decisions. Anyone can overcome addiction, but when the alternative to using includes depression, suicidal ideation (what kind of life do you have left if you're no longer high, just in withdrawal?) debt, isolation and the complete lack of a support system (similar to attitudes you demonstrated in your post), then it does not surprise me in the slightest that people relapse when they think they have no positive life options.

He was clean for 23 years, but maybe that was 23 years of excruciating effort and dealing with media pressure that he could no longer cope with, who knows? People relapse for all kinds of reasons, from thinking they can "handle it now", to being triggered by some sort of change or life event. Recovery seems to be a constant thing one has to be mindful of, sure - but if you're saying that the government has no responsibility to even try to decrease the unnecessary deaths associated with laced drugs, then that's really disappointing given that a lot of addicts have had the sorts of experiences you don't seem to be able to understand or identify with.

[Del Murder]

Of course the government has that responsibility. We're using responsible in two different ways.

[Calliope]

Alright. Well then I agree that both drug use and recovery are constant decisions, it's just unfortunate that for some people it can seem like the only thing they have any ability to choose.

[Shiny]

Brand's article is ridiculous and rightfully so since he is a drug addict. The government should mandate drugs because drug addicts can't self regulate? How abused. Heroin is pernicious regardless of it's dosage. Why should the government make it legal and mandate it?