Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Officially Dead of Accidental OD

News broke last Friday that Phillip Seymour Hoffman officially died of an accidental drug overdose, something that is physically impossible to do with cannabis.

“According to the medical examiner, the drugs in the actor’s system at the time of his death were heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety) and amphetamines (uppers like Adderall). Mixing heroin and cocaine is often termed “speedballing.” It’s the same mixture that killed Chris Farley, River Phoenix, and John Belushi.”

The list goes on and on of talented people going too far with dangerous (not always illegal) substances.

Then there are celebs who aren’t dead, but who have just gone off the deep end when they move beyond cannabis. It’s like TLC crooned about in the 90’s. Cannabis = rivers and lakes; all that other shit that can kill you in one shot = waterfalls.

Take Katt Williams for instance. He was on a meteoric rise doing stand-up and movies and smoking tons of grass. Then he got into cocaine. Then the news stories about him driving a motorcycle through a mall and screaming at his audience started to surface. Don’t do drugs. Just smoke weed.

So, celebrities, please stick to the weed. I’m tired of the people who bring a little life into the world with their talents going crazy and drifting off to be a statistic. I’m tired of seeing headlines about so and so being found in a hotel bathtub with no pulse or face down in a pool of vomit. I’m not saying that there are no struggles that come with fame and fortune and I’m sure the lifestyle and privacy/notariety issues are a big contributor to seeking relief in drugs. But I do think that more money means more options and I find it hard to think that better outcomes are not possible.

Also, just a final little piece, two of the four drugs that contributed to Hoffman’s death are FDA approved and relatively easy to find. Yet cannabis remains on the schedule as equal or worse in harm potential than heroin and cocaine. Government sanctioned poison is legal and wreaks havoc in many lives, cannabis is not fully legal and wreaks almost no havoc. Hard drugs can turn a decent person into a disaster. Cannabis won’t ruin your life, but it also won’t stop you from ruining your own life if you really want to.