Phillip Seymour Hoffman Used Clean Needles

Say what you will about Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The dead junkie actor at least used clean needles.

From the WaPo here:

Philip Seymour Hoffman suffered from a chronic medical condition that required ongoing treatment. An admitted drug addict who first sought professional help more than two decades ago, Hoffman apparently succumbed to his illness with an overdose despite a return to rehab last March.

A father of three with a thriving career, the Oscar winner died Sunday with a needle in his arm and baggies of what appeared to be heroin nearby.

Success has no more bearing on drug addiction than it does on heart failure, doctors say: Both can be fatal without consistent care. And while rehab may be part of treatment, it’s no antidote. Amy Winehouse and Cory Monteith had both been to rehab before eventually dying from overdoses.

“Addiction is a chronic, progressive illness. No one can be cured,” said Dr. Akikur Reza Mohammad, a psychiatrist and addiction-medicine specialist who works as a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and is founding chief of Inspire Malibu Treatment Center. “If someone is suffering from addiction, they cannot relax at any time. The brain neurochemistry changes… so these people are prone to relapse.”

Hoffman was just pregaming for the superbowl. He preferred to get high as a kite to spending time with his kids. Yes, addiction is terminal. Hoffman was a great actor, but I find little pity for a man who injects high grade pain killers into his arm. I’m just sorry he didn’t take the time to show Justin Bieber how to find a vein.