Recently, PSH passed away from a heroin overdose. A tragic loss to the entertainment community, specifically serious cinematography. Russell Brand, a recovering drug addict as well, wrote a very touching article in The Guardien describing why PSH parted this world the way he did. There is no denying it, PSH was addicted to drugs. But the stigma of drug addicts all being criminals is what Brand really talks about.
"People are going to use drugs; no self-respecting drug addict is even remotely deterred by prohibition. What prohibition achieves is an unregulated, criminal-controlled, sprawling, global mob-economy, where drug users, their families and society at large are all exposed to the worst conceivable version of this regrettably unavoidable problem."
Via
What kind of a society do we live in where we pin people with addiction to automatically being criminals? If someone's mental health is not well, they get help, right?! The doctor helps create a pharmaceutical cocktail of medication to help with the depression, anxiety, etc. But nooo, not drug addicts. Those people deserve to die because of the decisions they have made. I completely disagree, I think that if drug addicts are treated as people with a mental illness, they would feel more accepted in society and realize that they don't need to get that next fix.
If these addictive and harmful drugs (i.e. heroin, crack, meth) were regulated by the Government, giving addicts safe needles and or places to get high, you would see as significant decrease in deaths due to these drugs. We live a progressive world where people are starting to realize the war on drugs was a complete failure, and just a gimmick for the Federal Government to make more money off of the prison industrial complex. I am confident that with the decriminalization and regulation of all drugs, people would be able to seek help and treatment, rather than incarceration. Thus decreasing the amount of overall drug addicts.
What do you think about PSH's death? Was it just a tragic incident waiting to happen, or could it have been prevented with the loss of the drug addict stigma? Please leave your comments below.
What kind of a society do we live in where we pin people with addiction to automatically being criminals? If someone's mental health is not well, they get help, right?! The doctor helps create a pharmaceutical cocktail of medication to help with the depression, anxiety, etc. But nooo, not drug addicts. Those people deserve to die because of the decisions they have made. I completely disagree, I think that if drug addicts are treated as people with a mental illness, they would feel more accepted in society and realize that they don't need to get that next fix.
If these addictive and harmful drugs (i.e. heroin, crack, meth) were regulated by the Government, giving addicts safe needles and or places to get high, you would see as significant decrease in deaths due to these drugs. We live a progressive world where people are starting to realize the war on drugs was a complete failure, and just a gimmick for the Federal Government to make more money off of the prison industrial complex. I am confident that with the decriminalization and regulation of all drugs, people would be able to seek help and treatment, rather than incarceration. Thus decreasing the amount of overall drug addicts.
What do you think about PSH's death? Was it just a tragic incident waiting to happen, or could it have been prevented with the loss of the drug addict stigma? Please leave your comments below.
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