Here is the opening paragraph from an on line CBS news article: Heroin use has reached the highest level in 20 years in the United States, according to a new global drug report that calls the trend “alarming.” The UN Office on Drugs and Crime released its World Drug Report 2016 today. The annual report examines the health impact of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine and other substance abuse around the world. The report said heroin is the deadliest drug worldwide, and said its increasing use in the U.S. is of concern. There were about one million heroin users in the U.S. as of 2014, almost three times the number in 2003. Deaths related to heroin use have increased five-fold since 2000.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is not the only celebrity victim of the insidious drug heroin. Here are five more well-known stars who died from that wicked white powder. Cory Monteith: The Glee star died a few years after struggling with drug addiction for some time. His body was found in a Vancouver hotel room after a combination of heroin and alcohol. Janis Joplin: The ‘I love rock and roll’ singer was found dead beside her bed in the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood. The official cause of death was an overdose of heroin, possibly compounded by alcohol. Paula Yates: Writer and television presenter Paula Yates died on September 17, 2000, which was her daughter Pixie’s 10th birthday. Her body was found in her London home. River Phoenix: In the early hours of October 30, 1993, the iconic actor, arguably best known for his part in coming of age movie “Stand by Me”, collapsed and convulsed outside a Hollywood nightclub. His younger brother Joaquin called emergency services, while his sister Rain tried to give him give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He died the following day with high concentrations of heroin and cocaine found in his blood. Peter Farndon: The Pretenders bassist passed out and drowned in his bathtub following a heroin overdose. His body was found by his wife. Farndon was battling a heroin addiction and was kicked out of the band due to his inability to deal with it.
When I served in Vietnam heroin proved a catastrophic problem for the young men under its spell. H, big h, horse, crank, mojo, doojee, flea powder, skag or coke, (the name we used in Vietnam), all identify one of the most addicting and deadly drugs known to man–heroin. In Vietnam a wide variety of drugs were easily obtainable and inexpensive if you sought to indulge. I spent twenty-two months in Nam and witnessed firsthand just how destructive this venomous substance could be. New guys (cherries) arriving “in country” were often introduced to coke (the misused name for heroin) by troubled addicts looking to initiate clueless rookies to their depressing drug of choice. Since most cherries were scared witless when arriving in country, they would usually do anything to fit in and make new friends. Consequently, when some ashen-faced, soulless junkie offered them a hit of coke from their cigarette, they usually complied. Often within a week or less, that innocent, wide-eyed naive teenager from Duluth, Minnesota or Columbia South, Carolina became hopelessly addicted to skag! Although most people associate heroin use with a needle stuck in the arm, in Nam most junkies smoked the white devil in their cigarettes. The junkies would roll out the tobacco from the end of the cigarette then fill the empty space with skag and smoke it. Even though requiring much more powder than shooting up, the crank was so cheap the cost proved no problem. A small vile, about the size of an olive, sold for $5.00. So, what might be a $200 a day habit back in the states became a $10 a day expenditure in Vietnam. After witnessing a significant number of hapless FNG’s–another name for new arrivals in country (ask a Nam Vet just what it means), become addicted within weeks of arrival, I began educating inexperienced cherries on the risks of smoking coke, even for one small toke. Addiction was a given, and would devastate their life, I often scolded. Unfortunately many believed they could control the powder and use it recreationally. Although in my experience, the relentless “white lady” ALWAYS won. One of the most common and significant events carried out by junkies demonstrates the uncompromising power of this evil drug. In Vietnam everyone kept a “short-timer” calendar, with the day they were scheduled to go home brightly highlighted. All soldiers knew exactly how many days they had remaining on their one-year tour of duty. When asking a buddy how he was doing, a typical response would often be, “185 and a wake up!” A GI’s departure day was Christmas, New Years and 4th of July all rolled into one. I clearly recall the first time I learned that a group of sergeants were searching for a junkie scheduled to depart for the states that day. His days in Nam were over–hallelujah! Oddly, he had unexpectedly disappeared and no one knew where he had gone. I had seen him the day before and told him how envious I was. The next day they found him hiding out in another junkie’s room, coked out of his mind. This zombie-like addict didn’t want to go home because he couldn’t afford the stateside skag! He wanted to stay in Nam for the heroin! Although well aware of the extremely addictive powers of heroin, that sobering incident sent icy chills down my spine. Unfortunately, that experience proved the rule, not the exception. I would guess that about 50% of known junkies disappeared on their last day in country, opting for the lesser of two evils. Most impatient soldiers couldn’t wait to board that glorious freedom flight home. Sadly, however, many hopeless and pathetic junkies preferred to remain in Vietnam, with the alluring white lady close to their side.
