Seems like addiction is in the news quite a bit lately. With the loss of DJ AM, who's real name is Adam Goldstein, we unfortunately see another death in the face of addiction. Found in his New York apartment "wearing only sweatpants, face down on his bed with a crack pipe and unspecified prescription drugs" nearby, Goldstein obviously was struggling with a relapse. A tragic ending for someone who had been sober for a number of years- a reminder that addiction is a chronic, progressive and fatal disease. The sad part is, less than a year ago, Goldstein survived a horrid plane crash, only to end his life at a too-young age with drug use. The thing to remember here- he was in the grips of a disease. Keep away from judgment- at this point, Goldstein's decision making was so far from the norm that going to far could only be expected. THIS is what addiction does.
Dr. Drew Pinsky brought up an interesting point- that pain medication likely led Goldstein down a path away from his recovery. We know that pain medication can be addictive and dangerous- we just saw Michael Jackson perish from an overdose as well. So Pinksy probably isn't that far off. We'll never truly know what caused DJ AM to go on a final drug run...but we can learn from this. It's sad that it sometimes takes a tragic loss for people to get a wake up call, but maybe some of our friends and families that are struggling with addiction, or asking for help, will see this as a warning for their own behavior.
In October, The Associated Press reported, MTV was to begin his new reality show, “Gone Too Far,” in which he and concerned families staged interventions for drug abusers. As a legacy, I hope they continue with the broadcast. In the end, DJ AM was reaching out to try and help young addicts. Struggling with relapse or not, he still was able to encourage individuals to see help. That, in its own way, is heroic. So Adam, we'll miss you.
Here's DJ AM performing in Las Vegas:
And here's AM talking about his in-progress MTV show about addiction:
Here's something funny.
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