Celebrities & Drug Dependence?
The National Institutes of Health defines drug dependence as the need to use a drug in order to function normally. Many people become dependent on drugs for a variety of reasons, including celebrities. Drug dependence among celebrities may be caused by factors such as the following:
- Always being in the public eye
- Newfound wealth
- Declining career
- Recovering from a painful operation
Celebrities often struggle with drug dependence, but some of them have gone on to lead fulfilling lives after completing a legitimate drug treatment program.
Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen is a recovering alcoholic who belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous. He told AARP Magazine in 2008 that he credits his Catholicism with his successful recovery. Sheen has also said that he joined AA to help his son Charlie through his struggle with drug dependency. Charlie Sheen has not had as much success with sobriety unfortunately.
Jaime Lee Curtis
Jaime Lee Curtis discussed her problems with drug dependence on the Today Show in 2010. She became addicted to painkillers in 1993 after a routine surgical procedure and also began drinking heavily. Curtis has been sober since 1999 and credits her recovery as the greatest accomplishment of her life.
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne wrote about her addiction to painkillers in her autobiography Fierce. She was taking up to 50 Vicodin pills a day by the time she was 17, and her addiction became worse when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
Osbourne’s fourth rehab program in 2009 at the age of 25 was successful, when she completed a standard 30-day program. Osbourne wrote that she is optimistic about her recovery for the first time and feels that she has been given a second chance at life.
Read more on Kelly Osbourne and her recovery here
Robin Williams
Robin Williams struggled with an addiction to alcohol and cocaine during the 1980s, which he talked about in a 2001 episode of Inside the Actor’s Studio. He said that the death of comedian John Belushi in 1982 and the birth of his first child in 1983 was his wake-up call for sobriety.
Williams remained sober from 1983 until 2006, when he began drinking again. He voluntarily checked into a rehab clinic and has been sober since then.
To read more on Robin Williams’ story click here
Nicole Richie
Nicole Richie went into rehab after her arrest for heroin possession in 2003, and she also pled guilty to driving while under the influence of Vicodin in 2007. Richie said that she has been sober since then in a 2010 interview by In Style U.K. She feels she has been a more productive person and all around better in her everyday life since going clean.
We Can Help
If you or one of your loved one’s is struggling with a drug or alcohol dependency issue let us help. At Blu By the Sea we offer a plethora of alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs that are tried and true. Don’t let addiction control you or your loved one’s lives, contact us today at 1 (850) 564-7057, and speak with one of our trained, certified addiction treatment counselors now. We are here to help.