Prescription Drugs Abuse and Celebrities: Will Michael Jackson’s Death Be a Wake Up Call?

It’s becoming fairly clear that prescription drugs will likely have a major role in what killed Michael Jackson. It’s a tale that’s becoming far too familiar among celebrities.


Yet, the general public and Hollywood continually fail to judge those that abuse prescription drugs as harshly as those who are addicted to street drugs. Nor are they willing to acknowledge that the consequences can be just as deadly.

Celebrities have been dying from prescription drug related death for years. Icons like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Judy Garland, and most recently Heath Ledger all died under similar circumstances to Michael Jackson. Yet the death toll among celebrities continues and no one seems to be learning any lessons.

In Hollywood, the use and abuse of drugs is a long standing practice. There is great pressure in the industry for the stars to produce. The heat of the spotlight can be extremely difficult to endure. Young stars in particular often have not learned healthy ways of coping with the stress and expectations of stardom and can easily be led to adopt artificial means to relieve the pressure.

Stars like Liza Minelli, and Elizabeth Taylor (both friends of MJ’s interestingly enough) who have struggled with health issues and the pressure of stardom, have turned to prescription drugs with damaging results both to their health and their career.

In Liz’s case, after a year long investigation, the LA County DA’s office failed to press charges against several doctors suspected of over prescribing painkillers to her, even though the DA’s office acknowledged that their methods of prescription, “fell below the accepted standard of medical practice.” Their aura of respectability and public opinion helped get them get off even though these people may well have been no better than common drug pushers.

Liz and Liza, though they played Russian Roulette with their health and lives, are at least still alive. Michael is not.

Unfortunately, there will always be unscrupulous people around, some with doctorates, some who seek to gain influence with the stars, and others who see the them as a cash cow, who will use any means necessary to climb the social ladder, gain confidence, or keep the cash register ringing – including plying them with drugs.

Something must be done. Perhaps there ought to be mandatory drug testing in Hollywood in a manner similar to how it is practiced with athletes during the Olympics.

Obviously, simply sending the stars for a physical examination prior to a production, as they did with Michael Jackson, is not sufficient. Insurance companies are obligated to shell out millions of dollars when concert tours or movie productions are halted due to celebrity death or disablement. Fans, promoters, organizers, behind the scenes people, and the stars themselves all get hurt when this happens.

With millions of dollars at stake, bad habits and practices would change VERY quickly if celebrities were immediately dismissed from productions every time they failed a drug test. But this will never happen until the severity and prevalence of the problem is recognized.

How many more talented people have to die before the public and the industry wake up?

Rob Rheubottom