On Feb. 2, Phillip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose. At age 46, the actor was found in his Manhattan apartment with an empty syringe protruding from his arm.
Hoffman was known for his awe-inspiring roles, such as his depiction of fabled writer Truman Capote in “Capote” (2005), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. He has also been nominated for three Tony Awards for his vast contributions to theater.
To many, it was a shock to hear such an intelligent, successful and cultured middle-aged man died of a heroin overdose. In past years our society has always preferred to associate drug addiction and overdoses with lower class “degenerates”. However, this has never been the case. Drug addiction pervades every social class from the poverty-stricken homeless to individuals idolized by an entire nation.
It would be easy to condemn Hoffman as a drug addict and a criminal, but his death should force an examination of how our society treats and reacts to drug addiction.
Drug addiction is a disease, a disease that plagues millions of Americans everyday. Addiction is not a choice; those who suffer from addiction often have a predisposition to the disease causing them to lose control.
Unlike other diseases, addiction is a taboo of sorts; to get it treated you first have to admit to being an addict. This sounds simple enough, but admission of addiction brings a whole slew of other vicious criticisms. Our society treats addiction as a crime, not a disease.
We have created this ideology that there is no difference between a criminal and an addict, which in turn has developed one of the worst possible environments for someone suffering from addiction.
Addicts feel helpless in our society, and it has led to steadily increasing death tolls from overdose in recent years.
Morally, we cannot permit this to continue. Addicts are often tortured souls, using drugs as a way to escape a harsh and often unimaginable reality. They are victims, not criminals, and ought to be treated as such.
It is imperative that a new culture of acceptance be created. A culture that embraces addicts as victims, rather than criminals, will lead to more of those affected to seek help and heal themselves. Until our society can remove its overbearing stigma, there is no telling how many more beautiful minds, such as Hoffman’s, will be lost.