Drug Overdoses And Tragedies

[klunderbunker]

So other than the Super Bowl, the biggest story on Sunday was the death of Academy Award winning actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman due to a heroin overdose. Hoffman had a history of substance and alcohol abuse issues and was obviously off the wagon. Police claim they found anywhere from 10-50 bags of heroin as Hoffman was getting ready for a binge.

The most common response has been to call this a tragedy, but there are some who see it differently. One of these is actor Jared Padelecki (Sam from Supernatural) who said on Twitter:

"Sad" isn't the word I'd use to describe a 46 year old man throwing his life away to drugs. "Senseless" is more like it. "Stupid".

After some backlash, he said:

I didnt mean PSH is stupid or that addiction isnt a reality. I simply meant I have a different definition of "tragedy".

And

When I think "tragedy", I think of St Judes, of genocide, of articles I read in the paper. But, yes, either way, a death, is sad.

LeVar Burton said something similar and was told that his comments were "not cool." His response:

Not cool is shooting up when you got kids

As harsh as they sound, I can't help but agree with them. Hoffman was a grown man with three children. No one put a gun to Hoffman's head and forced him to stick a needle in his arm the first time. Yes Hoffman was addicted and yes addiction is very real and very hard to break, but there's a big difference between being born with a condition that kills you at 46 and being killed by an overdose of drugs that you injected into yourself.

I certainly do feel sorry for his family and especially his children, but from what I can find he was clean for over twenty and didn't start using drugs again until after his third child was born about five years ago. Again, I understand that it's a lifelong problem, but it wasn't until he started using in the first place. He knew what could happen and did it anyway, which is why I agree with Padelecki.

At the end of the day, this was a man who overdosed on his own free will and left behind a grieving family, not someone innocent who was murdered after doing nothing wrong.

So go ahead and tell me what an insensitive jerk I am and how I don't get it because I've never done anything.

 

[Slash-LN]

As someone who has gone through addiction with pills and alcohol and has a heroin addict brother I don't think it's insensitive at all.

If I died as a result of the stuff I did I wouldn't want people to make excuses for me or any of that.

When a friend of mine died from an overdose a couple years ago and I was talking to his family at his memorial service and they knew I had been in rehab with him we had an honest conversation about what happened with him. About how he made the wrong choices and how they hoped I could learn from that. I was more sad about the 5 year old daughter he left behind and I was mad at him for that.

If my brother dies from a drug overdose I wouldn't deem it a tragedy. I understand that addiction is incredibly hard and you can fall back into the same patterns and everything. I understand staying clean is easier for some people than others. I do know that my brother would have had the support system he needed if he had decided to utilize it.

With PSH I don't know anything about him outside of him being an actor but I think it's safe to assume that he could have had a good support system. I'm sure being a celebrity he had a lot of yes men that would do whatever he wanted them to do also though.

In the end we make our own choices and whatever the results are either we live with them or if we die the people closest to us have to live with it. It's sad that his kids are going to be without a father. It's sad that his family and friends will no longer have him in their lives. I agree with all that. I understand all that. I however don't think anyone involved in these Tweets or you KB in your post are wrong.

 

[Sparky]

So go ahead and tell me what an insensitive jerk I am and how I don't get it because I've never done anything.

Yeah that's not happening. I'm in your boat. I understand that it's an addiction but you know there's a probability you can overdose. You're taking that risk to feed your addiction. Is it sad for the people around the deceased? of course it is death is never a happy thing but when someone dies of an overdose it shouldn't be called is a tragedy or an accident.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

A tragedy would be Hoffman dying of cancer or being in an unavoidable accident. A drug overdose and any kind of addiction is just sad.

 

[The Butcher]

This is an exercise in semantics. Not everyone who uses the word "tragedy" to describe a case like that of Phillip Seymour Hoffman is equating the death to one caused by a terminal illness or to some large scale disaster. Believe me, I'd love it if everyone could communicate effectively, but there are parrots with larger vocabularies than a lot of people these days. If one wanted to force the issue, an argument could be made that many people who use the term "tragedy" in cases such as this unknowingly do so in the dramatic sense. That is to say that, in Western society, many see celebrities as characters rather than real people. So, when a celebrity suffers a reversal of fortune (be it of their own doing or not), people whose minds are wired that way don't see an addict who overdosed, but rather a hero whose situation spiraled out of control until they became pitiable or dead.

Now that I've played the semantics game, I've got to say that I don't particularly care how anyone wants to characterize Hoffman's death or any similar death. I understand that a lot of factors go into how folks look at situations like PSH's. I just try my best to meet any loss of life with solemnity, or, at the very least, I say nothing if I've got nothing nice to say. Both work better for me than being self-righteous about it, at least. It's always heartening to be reminded that there are still those among us who believe in personal responsibility, but I don't think that concept and the concept of compassion are mutually exclusive.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I just try my best to meet any loss of life with solemnity, or, at the very least, I say nothing if I've got nothing nice to say.

Usually a good policy, of course. Still, when celebrities die, there's going to be discussion......and just as they and their publicists looked for ways to get people talking about them when they were alive, no one should expect silence when they die. Public figures spur public reaction.

Yes, the post-life discussion we read and hear often makes us believe that only good people die. This keeps the peace between their fans and detractors, but if important lessons can be learned by critiquing their deaths ("Man, was he &%$!# stupid!") maybe the ends these folks met can help someone else avoid the same fate. That's probably too optimistic a view, but it's something.

Do I think Hoffman intended to put himself to death? ...... No, for a simple reason, and I'm not being flip when I say it: he reportedly had about 50 bags of heroin in his possession when he died. If he intended to off himself, why invest in such a large supply? Plainly, he intended to keep using, likely "knowing" with all the false assurance of a person whose judgment has been compromised, that he could handle it.

Bye bye, Phil. Sorry you died, but even sorrier for those you left behind, particularly your children.

Am I glad about anything pertaining to your demise?.....Sure, I'm glad you took no one with you.

 

[The Butcher]

Usually a good policy, of course. Still, when celebrities die, there's going to be discussion......and just as they and their publicists looked for ways to get people talking about them when they were alive, no one should expect silence when they die. Public figures spur public reaction.

Of course there will be discussion, and I've been on this Earth long enough to know that the opinions will be many and varied. I was just throwing my two cents in after addressing the use of the word "tragedy". I'll preemptively apologize for my remark about being self-righteous. During the Trayvon Martin discussion last year I took a similar course of action (ruder, actually) in being smarmy and dismissive of everyone's right to have an open discussion about a big news story; so again, my bad if that remark was snide.

Back to this situation, I've just got a peaceful and respectful life philosophy, and while I sincerely don't expect anyone to think the same, I'd just hope that people could be a little less callous. I know... weird from the guy who says "fuck this" and "fuck that" in weekly Raw live discussions, but that is wrestling and this is life. Hoffman messed up, and his weakness cost him his life, his partner her lover, and 3 young kids their father. The world lost a talented artist. To me, no one word does justice, which is why I say that I don't really care how anyone chooses to characterize the situation. The loss of life isn't one dimensional. From "tragic" to "one less druggie", there are numerous ways to view PSH's death, and along with that, not all people have the ability to translate their thoughts and feelings into words. It's simply best for me and my karma to give him a sincere "R.I.P." and go about my business.

Humor me for one last thought, though: the world's greatest doctor or athlete or scientist may not be in a hospital or on a field or in a lab, but instead on a street corner or in a crack house. Yes, they've got to show some gumption and grab those bootstraps, but to quote John Donne:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. ​

Idealist rant over. Back to posting memes and being an internet tough guy.

 

[Blade]

I don't think it's a tragedy that he died from a drug overdose. It was his choice. People claim that drug addiction is a disease, but that's bullshit. No one shoves the first needle in your arm while holding you down. No one puts a gun to your head and makes you buy the heroin. Calling drug addiction a disease is a slap in the face to anyone who has a real disease, like cancer. A disease isn't something you choose.

With that said, his death itself is a sad thing. I think if there's a person who has made thousands and thousands of other people's lives better, or made people happy, even if it's just through acting in a movie, it's a tragedy when that goes away.

I was never a fan of Amy Winehouse. But I'm close friends with a few people who were. And when she died, their lives got a little worse. As a huge movie fan, I feel the same way about Philip Seymour Hoffman. Knowing he'll never amaze me again is a sad feeling. And there are plenty of others who feel the same way. That's the tragedy.

 

[jameyt2003]

Most street drugs are impossible to kick. Marijuana is the easiest, but that still isn't fun.
Alcohol and tobacco are legal and readily available, and we see how many people that takes to the grave. Man just isn't meant to take these drugs no matter how good they make us feel. And I am writing this in the context of someone who does struggle with addiction. I have met many that went on a smoking or drinking kick, quit, never missed it. Good for them, I applaud their survival. But the culture we live in doesn't help many people to avoid and overcome these pitfalls. Instead, it feeds the beast. As far as the relatively lighter drugs are concerned, moderation can lead to an education. But if u feel that even a beer, a cig, or a joint is gonna overwhelm you, then don't touch it. you'll thank yourself later. As far a PSH addictions were concerned. I don't wanna know what that kind of dependency is like. Too much for me to handle.

 

[Danger Burger]

I think the 'tragedy' (see "The Butcher on tragedy", 2014) is the loss itself and not how. Who cares that it was drugs and not gunfire or illness. The tragedy is that there is a family without a father and husband, and an industry missing one of its premier members. Could it not be argued that as this is a relatively avoidable cause of death, that the tragedy is in how nothing prevented it, when something could have? That a man could not beat his struggle, or a family/friends not reach the man? Meh, who knows.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think the 'tragedy' (see "The Butcher on tragedy", 2014) is the loss itself and not how. Who cares that it was drugs and not gunfire or illness. The tragedy is that there is a family without a father and husband, and an industry missing one of its premier members. Could it not be argued that as this is a relatively avoidable cause of death, that the tragedy is in how nothing prevented it, when something could have? That a man could not beat his struggle, or a family/friends not reach the man? Meh, who knows.

Who cares? The family and those around him.

The difference is that the way Hoffman died was something he could have controlled. Yes he was an addict, but he started himself down that path. If he's in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets shot, that's beyond his control. If he gets sick and dies despite trying to be treated, that's beyond his control.

I agree that the tragedy is the family and friends missing someone they loved, but I don't agree at all that it's the same as someone dying under circumstances outside of their control.

 

[Danger Burger]

The difference is that the way Hoffman died was something he could have controlled. Yes he was an addict, but he started himself down that path. If he's in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets shot, that's beyond his control. If he gets sick and dies despite trying to be treated, that's beyond his control.

I'm not sure he could have controlled it. Hoffman had spoken candidly on his addiction often, about his struggles in even giving up alcohol. He had been to rehab several times, even recently as far as I remember. If that's not a guy trying to control his situation. I don't know what is. It's not a simple motivational lapse, much of what lead Hoffman to relapse was likely neurological/chemical.

The path he started on was chosen while he was a teenager. He was in rehab at 22. This addiction haunted him his entire life. It's more that a decision, or a simple lack of motivation that killed him. I don't care much for trying to persuade you, I remember your views on people getting a pat on the back for giving up cigarettes. How much a tragedy is it when someone who smokes dies of lung cancer?

I see the loss as the tragedy, same as any other. He lead a decent enough life, gave joy to many (myself included) and died before he should have. That's all that matters to me.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm not sure he could have controlled it. Hoffman had spoken candidly on his addiction often, about his struggles in even giving up alcohol. He had been to rehab several times, even recently as far as I remember. If that's not a guy trying to control his situation. I don't know what is. It's not a simple motivational lapse, much of what lead Hoffman to relapse was likely neurological/chemical.

The path he started on was chosen while he was a teenager. He was in rehab at 22. This addiction haunted him his entire life. It's more that a decision, or a simple lack of motivation that killed him. I don't care much for trying to persuade you, I remember your views on people getting a pat on the back for giving up cigarettes. How much a tragedy is it when someone who smokes dies of lung cancer?

I see the loss as the tragedy, same as any other. He lead a decent enough life, gave joy to many (myself included) and died before he should have. That's all that matters to me.

As harsh as it sounds and as you would expect: about the same on the lung cancer though I'd be less harsh for reasons I can't put into words. Again, I'd be sad for the family and friends and would agree that it's sad he died, but I wouldn't call it a tragedy.

That being said, I also understand and agree that he couldn't control the addiction once it started. However, he started himself down that path, even though he was a teenager. Even at that age, he knew the possible consequences and did them anyway. That's where he, and only he, loses my sympathy.

 

[Danger Burger]

I'd be sad for the family and friends and would agree that it's sad he died, but I wouldn't call it a tragedy.

I guess we differ here. I see no great importance in the use of the word tragedy beyond its meaning of creating sadness. We could argue semantics beyond that, maybe talk on hamartia in greek tragedy - the heroes fatal flaw which causes his demise - for a laugh, but I see no difference where you do. I have no compass for saying one death is less or more than another, nor any use.

A man has died; it is sad.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I don't feel any sympathy for Hoffman. Even though addiction is terrible thing to break, he had access to any kind of rehab he wanted, and it does look like he was able to remain clean for many years, before slipping back into using again, which is sad to see.

It's the family that's left behind that I feel alot of sympathy for. His children who will never get to see their dad again and his wife who has lost a husband, my heart goes out to them, but not to Hoffman. No-one forced him to inject those drugs into his body.

When people are dragged into drugs through their terrible lives then I can sympathise with these people trying to escape from the hell they live through every day....but a rock star looking for another high, or a movie star who isn't strong enough to go back to rehab or kick his habit, no.

Any death is a sad thing, but a death self-inflicted through heroin is just a waste. It's Hoffman's own fault, just as it was Layne Staley's own fault, or even Reid Flair's.

 

[Akhilleus]

I definitely feel no sympathy for someone who has died of a drug overdose. It was their decision to use whatever drugs they used, and they knew what the consequences were. It's unfortunate that they had made that bad decision in life, but that's just how it goes. However I do feel sympathy for their families, and their friends. For them, no. Death is all around us, and if it's someone's time to go then it's their time.

I also don't feel any sympathy for drunk drivers either. If you get yourself killed or seriously hurt by driving drunk then all I can say is you had it coming. What would be worse is if they get someone else killed or hurt from them driving drunk. That is what I am afraid of...getting hit by a drunk driver late at night and not making it out okay.

To me a tragedy has to involve innocence, and if you're abusing drugs and abusing yourself then there is no innocence in that.

Now something that goes along with this in my mind is suicides. While the difference between that and drug overdoses is that they are tragedies, I still cannot find sympathy for a person who takes their own life. Just like before I do feel sympathy for the families and friends, but choosing to take your own life goes hand in hand with choosing to use harmful drugs. In most cases it's very sad what leads people to kill themselves, but still in my mind no matter what happens it isn't impossible to overcome. It's taking the weak way out. There have been points in my life, as well as I'm sure almost everyone else's where times were rough and they just wanted to get it over with, but we all showed strength powered through it. Yet like I said for it to be a tragedy there must be innocence, and in this case I would consider that to be a tragedy.

Yet talking about the subject at hand, no drug overdoses are not tragedies. As someone who has never used drugs and never plans too I cannot find any sympathy for those who do and ruin their lives doing it. It's harsh, but that's just the way I feel about it.

 

[LSN80]

For me, I don't think it depends on the drug, as my stance remains the same irregardless. This discussion has been had before, and I'm much easier on people then I know others to be. I say that having not read any responses, rather, knowing their outlooks on the subject. Personally, I take the "Let He Whom Is Without Sin approach." For those who don't know it, here's a refresher. In Jesus' day and time, a prostitute was to be put to death, and she had been caught. There was no "reasonable doubt ", no technicalities to let her off.

Many of the religious leaders of the day brought a prostitute to Jesus, asking his stance on what to do with her. She had been caught in the act, without question about it. They asked Jesus, attempting to trip him up, what should be done with her. The woman, shaking and quivering, had her fate resting in the hands of the man who claimed to be the Son of God, and thus, would follow His law. The law, in this case, mandated she be put to death. But instead of answering first, Jesus stooped down and wrote in the sand behind him. It was the only time in his purported 33 years of life anything Jesus wrote was actually recorded, rather then him simply speak it. To me, this goes to the importance of the issue.

When he was done, he looked at the leaders of the Temple and verbally made the same statement he had written:' Let He who is without sin cast the first stone.' In doing this, the religious leaders were all trapped. They had hated on Jesus for claiming to be without sin, so they couldn't cast stones themselves, claiming the same. So instead, they slowly walked away, one by one.

The woman didn't get off scott free, however, as Jesus turned to the woman and said, "Where are those who condemn you?", to which the woman replied "None remain." Jesus then replied, Then condemn you neither do I, but go and sin no more.

The true tragedy would have been had those same religious leaders brought the woman back to Jesus a week, a month, or a year later, noting she had been caught again. I don't know what Jesus' response would have been, but I doubt highly it would have been as forgiving.

And this, I suppose, is where my issue lies with Hoffman, and other celebrities who've kicked. It's a tragedy when someone picks up for the first time and is never able to quit, regardless of drug. It's a tragedy when painkillers from surgery lead to a person becoming hooked, until more and more is needed, to the place where they overdose. To me, these people are the real tragedies. They've never had, as this prostitute was given, their "Come to Jesus" moment. If they've never been truly clean, then I finmd it insensitive to criticize. Not that we should pedastal them, but to look down on them is truly is bad.

My problem is with people who want to memorialize the Philip Seymour Hoffman's of the world. With the writers of Glee who dedicated an episode of Glee to Cory Monteith. Why? Because they had their "Come to Jesus" moment(rehab), were successful, and picked back up again. If the cast wants to mourn him privately or as a group, that's one thing. But to dedicate a show or do a merorial of a man who got themself free of drugs, only to willfully slide right back down that path is enabling. It's failing to hold that person accountable for their own death, which in these cases, they truly are.

I have a problem with the (complete) criticism of the person who overdoses after using for some time, but was never offered rehab, especially the person who OD'd on painkillers from chronic pain or surgery. This was not the case for Philip Seymour Hoffman. The real tragedy here is that the man was so damned selfish. That he had kicked, and without regard for it's danger, it's pratfalls, or the pain it caused others-Things he was undeniably aware could happen should he use again-he picked back up once again, is what angers me the most.

I have no compass for saying one death is less or more than another, nor any use.

Some people are, as psychology tells us, more "hard wired" to become addicts. But I'd say that if a death can help an industry stop using, or, stop deaths in general, their's can be more important. Drug related deaths in Hollywood/rich and fampus is down 40% since 2002, overall, so I'd argue some lesspns have been learned.

I don't feel any sympathy for Hoffman. Even though addiction is terrible thing to break, he had access to any kind of rehab he wanted, and it does look like he was able to remain clean for many years, before slipping back into using again, which is sad to see.

Not only did he have access, he went to rehab for 10 days for addiction to prescription medications in May 2013. What drug do many prescription drug users turn to when the prescription meds aren't enough for their high? Heroin.

*Yes Hoffman was addicted and yes addiction is very real and very hard to break, but there's a big difference between being born with a condition that kills you at 46 and being killed by an overdose of drugs that you injected into yourself.I certainly do feel sorry for his family and especially his children, but from

It's a tough thing for me, as I believe everyone is wired different, and experiences different things. I've had multiple surgeries in my lifetime, some which have made injuries worse, or, that will never recover at all, according to doctors. So I'm faced with the choice of a lifetime of painkillers,prescribed, but subsequently, what professionals label "addiction". That, or a lifetime of extreme pain, but not being an "addict". I've faced times where I've been off the pain medicine of my own volition, and I wished myself dead instead. If I continue down a path of taking medication as prescribed, but feel a need, a craving for it, there are many in the psychological field who would, on a technicality, label me an addict anyway. But because I take it as prescribed, I consider myself dependant, not an addict. To me, there's a large difference, don't you think?

 

[klunderbunker]

It's a tough thing for me, as I believe everyone is wired different, and experiences different things. I've had multiple surgeries in my lifetime, some which have made injuries worse, or, that will never recover at all, according to doctors. So I'm faced with the choice of a lifetime of painkillers,prescribed, but subsequently, what professionals label "addiction". That, or a lifetime of extreme pain, but not being an "addict". I've faced times where I've been off the pain medicine of my own volition, and I wished myself dead instead. If I continue down a path of taking medication as prescribed, but feel a need, a craving for it, there are many in the psychological field who would, on a technicality, label me an addict anyway. But because I take it as prescribed, I consider myself dependant, not an addict. To me, there's a large difference, don't you think?

Yes there is, but to me there's also a difference between being injured and being prescribed medicine by a trained and educated professional and going to a parking lot in Los Angeles at 3am while praying the guy you're meeting isn't an undercover cop so you can make it through the night.

At the end of the day, it comes down to why you're taking anything as well as what you're taking. In your case you're taking them due to a physical condition that (presumably) you didn't cause. Hoffman was taking them due to a physical addiction that he himself caused when he got started. It's like comparing someone who died in a fire they started to someone who saw a fire and died trying to save someone from it. The reason for the addiction makes a big difference in how I'd look at the consequences it may cause.

 

[LSN80]

Yes there is, but to me there's also a difference between being injured and being prescribed medicine by a trained and educated professional and going to a parking lot in Los Angeles at 3am while praying the guy you're meeting isn't an undercover cop so you can make it through the night.

At the end of the day, it comes down to why you're taking anything as well as what you're taking. In your case you're taking them due to a physical condition that (presumably) you didn't cause. Hoffman was taking them due to a physical addiction that he himself caused when he got started. It's like comparing someone who died in a fire they started to someone who saw a fire and died trying to save someone from it. The reason for the addiction makes a big difference in how I'd look at the consequences it may cause.

While I personally don't see myself as being an addict as I take them the medication as my physician prescribed, and the main injury was caused by a client who was 350 pounds clumsily falling on me, there are many I know within the community of which I work whom would label me an addict because of my "need" for the medication. It doesn't matter why I need it, and that it's to overcome otherwise dehabilitating pain. It's the fact that I have the need for it at all, not the reason why, which to me itself is the flaw in labeling people addicts.

Much of the time, we simply don't now. Now, I have no problem labeling anyone who picks up coke or heroin for personal pleasure and becomes hooked an addict; They made a poor choice and are now paying or it. The issue I have are with those who label anyone who takes prescription painkillers long-term an addict, especially under close doctor's care. I see it happen all the time in my field. And to be honest, there are so many people who have given it a bad name due to using for pain becoming a usage to get high.

Especially since I know there are those, like me, who would deal with the pain and wouldnt run out in the first place, making that meeting with the possibly undercover cop unneccessary.

 

[klunderbunker]

While I personally don't see myself as being an addict as I take them the medication as my physician prescribed, and the main injury was caused by a client who was 350 pounds clumsily falling on me, there are many I know within the community of which I work whom would label me an addict because of my "need" for the medication. It doesn't matter why I need it, and that it's to overcome otherwise dehabilitating pain. It's the fact that I have the need for it at all, not the reason why, which to me itself is the flaw in labeling people addicts.

Much of the time, we simply don't now. Now, I have no problem labeling anyone who picks up coke or heroin for personal pleasure and becomes hooked an addict; They made a poor choice and are now paying or it. The issue I have are with those who label anyone who takes prescription painkillers long-term an addict.

Especially since I know there are those, like me, who would deal with the pain and wouldnt run out in the first place, making that meeting with the possibly undercover cop unneccessary.

I was referring to meeting a heroin dealer in a parking lot if that wasn't clear.

I can certainly have more sympathy for someone who gets hooked on prescription drugs and can't shake them. Like I said, it depends on why you started taking them in the first place. There's a big difference between someone having a headache and asking a friend of theirs gives them one of their prescription pills for it and someone needing several a day to be able to function of course.

If Hoffman had died just from pills, I would feel a bit more sorry for him. Like you said, an addiction or dependency like that could come from something entirely not his fault which changes a lot of things. That being said, supposing the pills weren't enough to cure whatever was wrong with him (assuming there was something in the first place), I lose the sympathy when he turns to something harder and universally illegal. I'm nowhere near as well versed in medicine as you are, but I have a hard time believing there was nothing that could have cured or helped the ailment he may or may not have been having.

 

[LSN80]

I was referring to meeting a heroin dealer in a parking lot if that wasn't clear.

I knew what you meant, and was responding as such. My response was, essentially, the same as yours. There are good doctors out there in the paliative care field who can help those who want to be helped, both with pain and addiction problems. Clearly, Hoffman was neither.

I can certainly have more sympathy for someone who gets hooked on prescription drugs and can't shake them. Like I said, it depends on why you started taking them in the first place. There's a big difference between someone having a headache and asking a friend of theirs gives them one of their prescription pills for it and someone needing several a day to be able to function of course.

Agreed. The reason behind it always matters, as it does here with Hoffman. He was simply doing it to get high and have fun, and anyone who argues otherwise is an idiot. I have a friend whom I have an immense amount of sympathy for, because she has two kids to a man in prison serving 10-15 for felony murder. He had gotten some Percocet for an injury to his leg, with 60 in the bottle plus a refill. He didn't need the refill, but got it filled anyway- to sell it. The person he sold it to died, and he's in jail for felony murder.

Like Hoffman, his kids now also have to grow up without their father, all so he could net an extra $200. Hoffman went to rehab in May 2013 to shake his habit and, supposedly, become a better father, but now, he won't have that chance. I don't pretend to know what heroin addiction is like, I've never used an illegal drug in my life. But he was free of it, or at least, he had been for at least ten days. And now, his kids will grow up without a father, simply so he could shoot up. How selfish can someone get?

If Hoffman had died just from pills, I would feel a bit more sorry for him. Like you said, an addiction or dependency like that could come from something entirely not his fault which changes a lot of things. That being said, supposing the pills weren't enough to cure whatever was wrong with him (assuming there was something in the first place), I lose the sympathy when he turns to something harder and universally illegal.

Purportedly, he had some back and knee issues, but these had never been confirmed or discussed previous by Hoffman. Theree was no doctor treating him of note, and if the roles he was taking were too physically demanding on his body for whatever reason, stop taking them. He certainly was, as an Academy Award winner, at a place where he could pick and choose his roles.

I'm nowhere near as well versed in medicine as you are, but I have a hard time believing there was nothing that could have cured or helped the ailment he may or may not have been having.

You're correct. And if was he truly having problems with pain there are dual-treatment medications such as Methadone and Subaxone that work both for pain and for addiction, so if he was serious about overcoming the addiction issues he's had for the past 20+ years, he's Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He'ld have a head start already at jumping to the head of the line at getting in with a phsyiacist(pain-management doctor)who could help him with the problems he was having, be they pain or addiction. Truly, he's out of excuses here, and put getting high over being a, for simplicity-sake, a husband and a father.

For him I feel only slight sympathy, and have little empathy for.