Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman Found Dead of Apparent Overdose

[poledriver]

Yeah that caption was very disrespectful I thought. Junkie is a very judgemental word, with negative connotations. Very bad form, and a big fuck you to them.

They could have titled it is such a positive way yet they chose that. How about something like 'Loss of a brilliant man' or whatever.

 

[23536]

Telegraph headline changed to:

'The most gifted actor of his generation': Philip Seymour Hoffman's sad drug death at 46

 

[poledriver]

Yeah inside the link that's what it was, but on the front page the link to the article was what bit_pattern kindly screen grabbed. Which I see they have also changed now.

The front page caption has now been changed to -

Revealed: Seymour Hoffman's last hours

 

[bit_pattern]

Telegraph headline changed to:

Not surprised. The anger on social media was palpable - which is where I got the screen cap from, hadn't realised PD had linked to the article already when I posted it

 

[caseface99]

^^ Fuck the telegraph seriously I don't care that they changed it, the fact that they originally published with that title and caption is absolutely sickening and I am having a lot of trouble not getting worked up and pissed off about it right now. FUCK YOU.


This man was a true talent. Somebody who actually had the skill to get to where he was. It's a shame. It just goes to show that addiction can effect anyone. I hope this tragedy will not be entirely in vain, and that at the very least it helps normal everyday people to be more empathetic to those who suffer from addiction. We are not terrible people, as Phillip Seymour Hoffman was not a terrible person. We are good people afflicted with a terrible illness.

So sad. Rest In Peace.
Already this death was not in vain because I have been having really bad cravings all week, and not really telling anyone about it, but hearing about his death this morning lead me to talk to someone about my cravings and helped solidify in my mind that even if I have to go back to the one day at a time method, relapse is not an option.

Earlier, Jim Carrey tweeted
"Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart."

So true.

 

[23536]

I hope this tragedy will not be entirely in vain, and that at the very least it helps normal everyday people to be more empathetic to those who suffer from addiction.

Only if that means that fewer people treat heroin users like outcasts, undesirables and human garbage.

I personally am extremely wary about anyone being concerned about my addiction, especially since I only use occasionally and am not addicted. When people get wary, they start rifling through my stuff and calling the cops on me.

All of these celebrities are apparently dying after returning to heroin because the rehabs and fellowships condition their friends and family to believe that a relapse is the worst possible thing for a person. The user is forced to relapse in secret, and with a lowered tolerance, that is a very dangerous thing.

Heroin users need spotters, not sponsors. Imagine if skydiving or mountain climbing were considered as odious as heroin use, and people who wanted to engage in these hobbies were forced to do so in secret? These deaths are all avoidable. None of these people had to die.

Spotters, not sponsors. Nobody should have to get high alone. It should be encouraged for any of us to tell a friend or family member: "I'm gonna go into the bathroom a second; if I'm not out in five minutes, please check on me."

 

[caseface99]

Only if that means that fewer people treat heroin users like outcasts, undesirables and human garbage.

I personally am extremely wary about anyone being concerned about my addiction, especially since I only use occasionally and am not addicted. When people get wary, they start rifling through my stuff and calling the cops on me. ?

All of these celebrities are apparently dying after returning to heroin because the rehabs and fellowships condition their friends and family to believe that a relapse is the worst possible thing for a person. The user is forced to relapse in secret, and with a lowered tolerance, that is a very dangerous thing.

Heroin users need spotters, not sponsors. Imagine if skydiving or mountain climbing were considered as odious as heroin use, and people who wanted to engage in these hobbies were forced to do so in secret? These deaths are all avoidable. None of these people had to die.

Spotters, not sponsors. Nobody should have to get high alone. It should be encouraged for any of us to tell a friend or family member: "I'm gonna go into the bathroom a second; if I'm not out in five minutes, please check on me."

Also yes that's exactly what I meant by more empathetic, not muddling in your shit but simply treating you like a human being. All too often news articles about heroin overdoses include dozens of comments from people saying things like "people dying from heroin? Whats the problem here...?" "good riddance" etc. and it's sickening to see such attitudes towards the situation.

Anyway, My boldEdit and question mark aren't accusatory I was simply pointing out a possibly accidental contradiction.


And as for the rest of the post, I agree as well as disagree. People should absolutely always let somebody know if they are shooting up, ESPECIALLY if it's on a relapse... Back in my old apartment when I was using the people staying there with me knew to come knock on the bathroom door if I was in there for a while. Even when I was supposed to be clean. (they didn't use heroin and I'd try to hide it, but they still knew)

Anyway, it's not as realistic in most situations because most people would flip a shit and probably try to get you 5150'd or arrested if you were said you were going to relapse. Unfortunately that's not what people should do though - they can offer support and someone to talk to but if your mind is made up then that's that... Its your life not theirs. Anyway, it's unfortunately unrealistic for most people to tell friends and family they are going to relapse and have them stand by as "spotters".

 

[jackie jones]

Man, people should learn to fuck off.

He was only trying to keep his mind, you know... limber.

 

[TheRapperGoneBad]

This is tragic.
and the ways hes demonized for it..
he had a problem.. and paid with his life he doesn't deserve to be criticised for it.

 

[ro4eva]

All of these celebrities are apparently dying after returning to heroin because the rehabs and fellowships condition their friends and family to believe that a relapse is the worst possible thing for a person. The user is forced to relapse in secret, and with a lowered tolerance, that is a very dangerous thing.

Heroin users need spotters, not sponsors. Imagine if skydiving or mountain climbing were considered as odious as heroin use, and people who wanted to engage in these hobbies were forced to do so in secret? These deaths are all avoidable. None of these people had to die.

Spotters, not sponsors. Nobody should have to get high alone. It should be encouraged for any of us to tell a friend or family member: "I'm gonna go into the bathroom a second; if I'm not out in five minutes, please check on me."

You read my mind - couldn't have said it better myself.

Man, people should learn to fuck off.

He was only trying to keep his mind, you know... limber.

Agreed.

Although I cannot prove if it's true, or just a tabloid rumor - I heard from someone earlier today that it is thought that PSH relapsed soon after he and his wife split up, and she was granted custody of their children.

Keep in mind that PSH confessed that about 23 years ago, he had experimented with several street drugs, including heroin, and then was able to stop and stay clean for over two decades. That is, until he and his former spouse called it quits.

I'm not sure who broke up with who, but either way, to not be able to spend time with your children can cause a man to lose his sanity, and much more.

As a comparison, my little one changed my life in a way that no drug ever could - regardless of the recreational value.

The joy he invokes in me whenever I see him makes me choked up just thinking about it. He gave me a reason to live.

And if something was to happen to him, I think I'd lose the will to go on living. I think I'd probably end up dead like PSH, may he RIP.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

that sucks

 

[hood]

What about a "phone a friend" app?

Heroin users need spotters, not sponsors. Imagine if skydiving or mountain climbing were considered as odious as heroin use, and people who wanted to engage in these hobbies were forced to do so in secret? These deaths are all avoidable. None of these people had to die.

Spotters, not sponsors. Nobody should have to get high alone. It should be encouraged for any of us to tell a friend or family member: "I'm gonna go into the bathroom a second; if I'm not out in five minutes, please check on me."

This wise advice gives me an idea....What if we were to create a java/smartphone app or a service somewhere that would allow a user to set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes with their location registered either through GPS or typing it in and if you don't tell it to stand down (because you didn't OD) it will sound an alarm and/or call a number of your choice and make an announcement....that could be 911 or a friend/family member. I realize there are privacy implications that would have to be addressed but if you could get people to use it....it could save lives.

Although...each user would have to make a sick calculation before using about just how long he/she would want to nod or "be dead" before making the call. I have seen some people IV and not be in shape to press a button for a few minutes. But most users are perfectly capable of doing so within a minute or less of seeing the red flag. If nothing else, it would get people to think about the possibility of death each time they use needles.

Does it already exist?

Thoughts?

 

[hood]

As a comparison, my little one changed my life in a way that no drug ever could - regardless of the recreational value.

The joy he invokes in me whenever I see him makes me choked up just thinking about it. He gave me a reason to live.

And if something was to happen to him, I think I'd lose the will to go on living. I think I'd probably end up dead like PSH, may he RIP.

Right there with you brother.....my son is my only reason to be here and to be clean. I know the groups tell you that it has to be for you but indirectly that is for you. It's hard enough being a good parent without running/using.

 

[Felonious Monk]

"Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart."

So very true, and no one understands when you try to explain that life itself is "what's wrong."

And I like the idea of the spotter app, there has to be some way to make that work, but it seems like it would already be too late by then...

 

[poledriver]

Philip Seymour Hoffman 'spent $10k a month on heroin' in lead-up to his death

PHILIP Seymour Hoffman was reportedly spending $US10,000 ($11,400) a month on heroin as well as using prescription drugs when he died.

RadarOnline reports that the Capote actor, 46, not only had a $10,000-a-month heroin habit but was also using the drug, Oxycontin.

Meanwhile, multiple sources report that between 40 and 50 envelopes of a drug believed to be heroin were found in the Manhattan apartment where Hoffman died.

"He was what we call a heavy 'red liner,'" a source told Radar. "That means he liked to shoot [heroin] with a needle, but he also sniffed it daily. And he was majorly hooked on Oxy, too."

It came as social media turned on former Gilmore Girls actor Jared Padalecki after he tweeted that Hoffman's death wasn't "sad" but "senseless" and "stupid."

Reports also emerged that Hoffman had tried to help Heath Ledger off heroin before the actor's 2008 death from prescription drugs.

Philip Seymour Hoffman dead at 46 0:37
Play video

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead of an apparent drug overdose.

Hoffman had entered rehab last year after being sober since the age of 23 but sources told Radar that he was well and truly off the wagon.

"He just bought five bundles of dope last week," the source claimed.

A bundle is 10 bags of heroin, and there are five bundles in a brick.

"Heroin is one of the cheaper drugs, but Hoff wasn’t buying the cheap stuff," the source said. "Still, to be spending 10 grand, he was using hard."

He was found in his West Village New York apartment on Sunday with a needle still in his arm.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Last shot ... Phillip Seymour Hoffman poses for what is most likely his last portrait at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on January 19.

He had recently separated from his longtime partner in the months before his death and was living alone in a rented apartment close to the couple's former home.

The NYPD has launched an intensive citywide search to identify the drug dealer who sold heroin to Hoffman, the New York Post reports.

"An internal email went out to all supervisors asking if anyone has had any experience with those brand names of drugs,” a law enforcement source told The Post. "They’re going to try to find the source."

Police also found a charred spoon in the kitchen sink, the sources said.

The Oscar-winner, who had three children with costume designer Mimi O'Donnell, reportedly moved into the $10,000-a-month apartment in the historic Pickwick House building last October.

Cont -

http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...-up-to-his-death/story-fn907478-1226817133907

 

[hood]

And I like the idea of the spotter app, there has to be some way to make that work, but it seems like it would already be too late by then...

Well I would think that the app could call as timely as a sitter would. Yeah if it could detect you are not breathing it would be perfect but I think people have been brought back with Narcan (which the announcement could tell them to bring) up to a half hour into their hell-nod. In fact you could even have the user record the message that they want to send which would also be a pretty heavy act.

 

[slimvictor]

Philip Seymour Hoffman dies amid major comeback of heroin in the U.S.

Sometimes the traffickers inject liquid heroin into jeans so they can ship the drug where it needs to go. Sometimes it's a fake coconut or bananas.

In a few cases, according to federal officials, heroin is injected into the bellies of dogs.

However it arrives, hundreds of thousands Americans have been turning to heroin more and more in recent years, and officials across the country are sounding the alarm as fatal heroin overdoses have more than doubled in some states over the last decade.

Although the autopsy results for Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman are not yet known, packets of the drug were found Sunday in his New York apartment where he died, a needle sticking in his arm.

"It’s reached epidemic proportions here in the United States,” Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Rusty Payne said of heroin use.

Payne attributed the problem to a surge in heroin crossing the nation's southwestern border, where soaring seizures of the drug are a sign of soaring smuggling operations. In 2008, the DEA reported seizing 559 kilograms of heroin at the southwestern border; that more than tripled to 1,855 kilograms in 2012.

Other health experts and law enforcement agencies have said pain-medication addicts have turned to heroin to get a similar high after they lose access to popular prescription pills such as OxyContin.

In 2011, at least 178,000 Americans used heroin for the first time, according to the latest available estimate from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, almost doubling from five years earlier. And early indicators suggest that those numbers will continue to rise.

"This last year, we’ve seen a big uptick in heroin use. It’s become rapidly very popular," Theodore J. Cicero, a professor of neuropharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis, told the Los Angeles Times in a phone interview Monday.

For seven years, Cicero has been monitoring trends for patients in 150 drug treatment centers across the country. In 2011-12, about 10% of the people going into the drug abuse clinics were getting treatment for heroin abuse; that has risen to 20% to 25% of those clinics' patients over the last year, he said.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/natio...offman-20140203,0,6211890.story#ixzz2sIkjVzlO

 

[bagochina]

Found in his apartment:

50 bags of dope (ace of spades)
20 used needles
5 prescription drugs (suboxone, soma, vyvance, vistaril, clonidine)
Multiple other bags of unidentified white powder

 

[slimvictor]

Dear Prudence: Philip Hoffman died from drug use, why is everyone so sad about it?

Q. PSH Death—What About the Kids?: At my office today everyone is talking about the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman and how great of an actor he was. I made that the comment that while he was talented, he was also a junkie who just left three children without a father. I am now getting the cold shoulder from many colleagues. If he hadn't have been famous many others would be also be critical of the situation. How do I mend the fences and find some middle ground within the office?

A: Everyone who loves great acting, who has been moved, thrilled, and chilled by a Philip Seymour Hoffman performance is mourning his tragic passing. Yes, it was due to the fact that he could not overcome his addiction. But fortunately, society is moving to a place where we recognize this is a terrible illness, one that needs treatment and compassion. That doesn't mean one simply excuses the terrible things that addicts can do; part of treatment is accepting responsibility for one's actions. But if Hoffman had been a colleague of yours who had been struggling with addiction, I doubt many of your co-workers would have agreed with your, "Hey, what do you expect—he was junkie" remark. I think you should reconsider what you said and tell people you feel terrible for being so harsh. Say you know he openly struggled with his demons, sought treatment, and you truly feel sorrow that he couldn't overcome them.

(...)

Re: Phillip Seymour Hoffman: A few days before Thanksgiving, my nephew succumbed to his addiction to heroin. A wonderful, intelligent, warm, outgoing, friendly 18-year-old. I can tell you what would happen if I heard any of my co-workers react like that person ... and it wouldn't be pretty. The fact that Hoffman stopped using over 20 years ago and then fairly recently resumed shows that the fight against addiction is never won, it is just sometimes managed. Every single day is a fight.

A: I'm so sorry for your loss. At least as a society we are finally starting to move away from the punishment and criminalization model of dealing with addiction. You are right, it is something people must deal with for a lifetime. I hope we will continue to develop better means of treatment.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...ffman_died_from_drug_use_why_is_everyone.html

 

[Felonious Monk]

Well I would think that the app could call as timely as a sitter would. Yeah if it could detect you are not breathing it would be perfect but I think people have been brought back with Narcan (which the announcement could tell them to bring) up to a half hour into their hell-nod. In fact you could even have the user record the message that they want to send which would also be a pretty heavy act.

That would be really fucking heavy to record your own call for help...
I was just thinking that if you have someone there to give you Narcan you're getting it a lot quicker than if a call first has to be made and an ambulance dispatched... That half hour is really pushing it and every second counts... Not saying it's a bad idea just needs tweaking.