Drug Addiction Stories & Info

The recent death of Whitney Houston, aged only 48, is reputed to be a result of combination abuse of alcohol and drugs - with a mention of use of the prescription drug Xanax. Only hours before her death, Whitney appeared to friends and family to be happy and looking forward to attending yet another pre-grammy award party, and mixing it up with friends.

It would appear that despite a reported current use of alcohol and drugs, Whitney’s death was accidental.

Alcohol and prescription drugs might have been what Whitney Houston had lately been using, but for the most part of her career, it has been reported, by The Sun newspaper,  that Whitney used cocaine.

Citing the influence of former husband Bobby Brown, singer Whitney Houston is said to have wasted on drugs the fortune that she earned in the music industry in a 30 year career - over a hundred million dollars of earnings gradually drifted away, while Whitney paid out the money required to feed a massive cocaine habit.

The Sun newspaper has gone into print – telling the tragic story of how this celebrity died nearly bankrupt after many years of paying dealers to supply her with cocaine, a habit that took it’s toll on her health and eventually destroyed her successful career.

Whitney, – who once denied the use of cocaine saying on TV,  in 2002 – ” I make too much money, to smoke crack. Crack is wack.”, was taken to hospital, with severe bleeding from the nose in 2003, and in 2006, photos appeared of a squalid bathroom, full of drug paraphernalia – including a dirty crack pipe, and cocaine encrusted spoons. Whitney is reputed to have used crack, cocaine, marijuana and pills, introduced to cannabis laced with crack by former husband Brown.

Whitney says that she once spent seven months, only ever wearing pyjamas, and not going out, when seriously addicted to cocaine. On a chat show with Oprah Winfrey, Whitney finally admitted that she had been addicted to crack in the 1990′s, after getting married to Bobby Brown. Whitney Houston has been a practising drug addict for over twenty years.

Brown’s sister Tina who publicly released the bathroom photos, said that at the time, and since Whitney had finished filming the 1992 movie “The BodyGuard”, Whitney was using drugs every single day,would not stop, and those close to her thought it likely that one day she would overdose. Whitney appeared to be out of her mind – paranoid and unable to function when addicted to coke.

Her daughter Bobbi Kristina, now hospitalized due to grief and shock over the recent death of her mother, was witness to and often severely frightened by Whitney’s extreme and bizarre behavior. 

Having gone twice to traditional rehab, Whitney told Oprah in 2010 that she was clean of cocaine. However she cancelled performances, and could not appear in public, and her last public performance was in 2010.

Simon Bailey who accompanied Whitney on her final tour says that he never saw her use drugs, or drink, she only drank water, and he says, as many people often wonder, after a person dies – you just think people around her could have helped her, although I know they must have tried.

Whitney had an unhappy marriage to emotionally abusive Bobby Brown, which finally ended in 2006, legal conflicts between 2001 and 2003 with her long term manager – father John Houston Entertainment, and financial worries must have played their part in Whitney’s continuing drug dependence and addiction.

Five years after signing a hundred million dollar 6 album contract, her $4m mansion, in 2006 was being re-possessed for mortgage arrears – and outstanding taxes. 

In fact Whitney was said to be flat broke and living on an advance against future recordings with Arista on the day she died.

The party that Whitney was to attend on the evening of her death was show biz mogul Clive Davis’ pre – grammy award party, now partnered by the Grammy Awards, and the absolute “must be in it to win it” party of the year. Davis was the man, then head of Arista records, who in 1985, launched Whitney Houston’s career.

One thing that is certain, whether Whitney’s death proves to be intended or accidental, many people give up hard drugs, such as cocaine or crystal meth, and take to using alcohol and prescription pills instead, thinking that this enables them say that they have overcome their addiction to “drugs”.

In fact although familar, alcohol is potentially more toxic than many other available “hard” drugs.

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Prescription drugs, used for pain, stimulants and depressives, when skinned down to their basic chemical formulations are often virtually identical to the illicit drugs that can be bought on the street, and are just as addictive, and easily abused.

No one is safe or recovered from drug use until they have got rid of all toxic residues, that remain in the body, and have completed a comprehensive and thorough drug free rehabilitation program, to clear the body and mind of all residual toxicity.

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It is very true that often those closest to an addict are those least able to help, too many issues might cloud the way to open communication between them, and the expression of unconditional love.

However, one might expect, during a span of 30 years, that sometimes a window of opportunity might have been there to get Whitney Houston into effective drug detox and rehabilitation.

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People who care about and want to see a drug addict recover completely from their addiction, can take hope and have confidence when making contact with a comprehensive drug addiction recovery program.

Comprehensive drug programs have successes from over forty years of experience in the addiction recovery field.

There are former addicts around today, who have used a comprehensive program – and been drug free and happy – for over forty years.

In May of 2010, the much loved and widely acclaimed writer and storyteller Robert Munsch admitted to having had a problem with alcohol and cocaine – and to being 4 months clean.

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Munsch is unusual in that most people with drug addictions begin at an early age – Munsch was over 50 when he first took a serious interest in the misuse of alcohol and cocaine.

Now aged over 60,  it is a big step for Munsch to admit to drug taking. Parents have for decades read his tales as bedtime stories to their children, and for some it has come as shock.

It seems that it is the parents as much as the children who need mystical fairy tales to escape into from the mundane and routine chores, that include a fantasy of the author as they imagine them to be.

Perhaps we have need to see prominent people and celebrities in the community who are without fault or failing, a need for heroes in a world increasingly compromised in its values.

It is easy to feel outraged upon discovering that our self appointed heroes, in fact have feet of clay, with much the same feelings and failings as any one of us.

 The ancient philosopher Seneca said – if you would judge, first understand.

If we wish to make moral judgment about the behavior of others, then it is the whole person, their life experience that we must first understand.

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 When columnist Judith Timson first heard about Munsch’s addictions, she say that her heart sank, yet outrage turned to acceptance with reflection about Munsch as a whole person, his contribution to children’s literature not diminished by his inner demons.

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 People can find out more, and begin to understand, the man behind the public face of Robert Munsch by visiting his website.

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Munsch, an American by birth, adopted Canada as his homeland and, made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999, has been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. Munsch’s manic energy and enthusiasm for his craft have brought much delight to both children and adults for more than three  decades.

 The admissions that Munsch has made about what he declares to be foolish mistakes, in relation to alcohol drinking and using cocaine have found respect.

Now in recovery Munsch maintains his professional connections, family bonds and friendships – ultimately, there is honesty, and an acceptance by Munsch that he took a wrong road, that his use of alcohol and cocaine was detrimental, and had to stop.

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People who think that they are in too deep with alcohol or drug use, that they are unable to stop sometimes fail to seek treatment because they are fearful of being exposed, found out, and possibly abandoned both professionally and personally as a result.

 Sometimes the treatments available for alcohol and drug addiction seem to offer little in the way of comfort, don’t seem to provide much respite.

It might be that you can give up drug use, but will be in recovery, and at risk of possible relapse for the rest of your life.

 It is a major step in life when a person confronts his pain and admits to substance abuse and addiction. It is a major decision as to what form of detox and drug rehab you will choose to assist you with recovery.

In making a judgment as to what kind of treatment offers the best opportunity for full recovery from addiction, people are better off with programs that treat the whole person, that don’t just medicate symptoms.

In Canada, comprehensive alcohol and drug recovery centers provide residential rehab that leads to complete and permanent recovery from substance abuse and addictions.

 Comprehensive drug rehab centers understand the nature and causes of drug addiction, and that the causes of drug abuse are very much related to the personality style and the life experience of the user.  No one comes to drug use except they are looking for a solution, attempting to self medicate, if you like, for problems that they have in their life.

 It is easy to be judgmental, write a person completely off, when you get to hear they do drugs. In fact many addicts themselves think that they should be written off, for having made the choice to do drugs.

Using drugs puts us in a sort of defensive shell where we don’t have to deal with reality. Drug use is damaging and limiting of our options. But we are scared to break out of the shell, because we fear the emotional pain of our life, and the pain of drug withdrawal.

Comprehensive addiction recovery programs help you to fully detox and begin to understand more about yourself and the reasons why you do drugs. The more you understand about the role of drugs in your life, the more empowered you feel about being able to give up using drugs and all the negativity in your life that makes you want to use them.

Most drug programs say they don’t know the reasons for drug addiction, and happily give you another shot of maintenance medication.

At comprehensive rehab centers the more you learn about yourself and the reasons why you have chosen to use drugs – the quicker you will get to the stage of complete recovery from drug use and all addictive ways.

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People who truly want to become drug free and independant,

first need to do as Robert Munsch did, and admit to an addiction,

admit to having made a mistake –

and then use each new day to progess towards complete addiction recovery.

Comprehensive addiction recovery programs understand addiction – and offer drug free, natural treatments that lead to complete addiction recovery.

As I sat in the group session, I felt for the first time like I was not alone. I saw others, men and women, who had been where I was. Sure, we have come a long way here in America and women are allowed to go to war for the country they love, but still, it is hard and with several of my friends having died over there, plus being the only girl in my group of friends who had gone the military route, I felt alone as Memorial Day approached.

That may be why it was so easy to just go along with my friends a year ago when they talked me into going to the party and why I accepted the powder that cute guy gave me. The chance to forget for a few hours what perhaps no one in the room had been through? I was all for that!

But that night started a spiral of addiction to cocaine. My family soon noticed the difference but were unsure if it was related to my service or what. I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was a little of both. I couldn’t sleep without seeing my friends’ faces, the ones that died in Iraq. I couldn’t sleep without being back over there. Now, the craving for forgetfulness was marred by the craving for cocaine.

Eventually, my family figured it out and my parents approached me. My dad had never been in the military because of his back and both my parents were only children. With three daughters, I was the oldest and the one who went into the Army and then to war. Still, my heroes are most assuredly my parents as both had a discussion with me one night with my sisters, some friends, an uncle of my mom’s who had served in the military and an intervention counselor.

This Memorial Day is one I can now look upon with strength because I know that my survivor’s guilt is a common feeling. I know that having others to talk to who have been there, even if it means a 3 hour drive for my family, is worth it in order, as they say, to “get the old me back”.

It still kind of makes me nervous when someone who knows I was in the Army says thank you to me. I still think the real heroes died over there. But I am learning to deal with the nightmares without turning to cocaine. I am learning to pause and take a breath without worrying that I don’t have time to think because a bomb could go off. I am learning to see children here and realize that they are innocent and lucky just as I am lucky to live in this country. And every now and then, when I am able to get to a meeting and stop the urge for cocaine, I can almost hear my combat buddies who died whispering “Good Soldier” to me as I get through another day.