Recovery Artists
The autopsy and toxicology report on his body revealed that he died from a mixture of heroin and cocaine, known as a speedball. The autopsy concluded that he died two weeks before his body was found, on April 5—the same day fellow grunge musician Kurt Cobain died eight years prior.
Layne Staley
Now maybe
I didn't mean to treat you bad
But I did it anyway
Far Behind by Candlebox
“I think you actually have to have all of your dreams come true to realize they are the wrong dreams.”
― Matthew Perry, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
The actor says he used drugs before he was a teenager and spent most of his early career under their influence. He had several high-profile arrests in the late 1990s and early 2000s while misusing alcohol, cocaine, and heroin and spent time in a California prison and a state-run rehab facility. In 2002, he announced that he was recovered. Marvel’s 2008 movie Iron Man revived his stalled career.
Robert Downey Jr
Based on real events. It details the life of Nic Sheff, who has a severe addiction to crystal meth, and his father, who attempts to help him become sober. The movie focuses on the negative and heartbreaking impacts that drug abuse has on a person’s life and their loved ones and friends’ lives. It shows the continuous struggle and harsh reality of SUDs.
Beautiful Boy
He has long struggled with addiction. In fact, his heavy alcohol and drug abuse led to him being fired from Black Sabbath in 1978.
Ozzy Osbourne
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park
“An alcoholic will steal your wallet and lie to you. A drug addict will steal your wallet and then help you look for it.”
― David Sheff, Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
She was a 17-year-old actress on family-friendly TV when, she says, she first used cocaine. As her singing career took off, so did her problems with drugs and alcohol. In 2010, she first sought treatment for addiction, along with mental health issues including bipolar and eating disorders. She has addressed her ongoing recovery in interviews, on social media, and in her music.
Demi Lovato
When salesman Nick Halsey turns up drunk at work one too many times, he loses his long-term job, and his wife leaves him. The movie addresses the adverse effects an addiction to alcohol can have on a person’s private and professional life and mental health. It also shows how it’s possible to walk away from alcoholism and how life changes can help wake a person up to their problems and begin addiction recovery.
Everything Must Go
Honorable British musician died of an alcohol addiction in 2011. Known for her eclectic style and deep contralto vocals, she had much going for her but turned to drugs and alcohol due to stress and her sad life story.
Amy Winehouse
I have to block out thoughts of you, so I don’t lose my head.
“Because when we talk about addiction, we have to talk about collateral damage: the mental health of the kids and adults surrounding the addict. How do you live when your life has been upended by someone else’s health crisis? When you feel guilty about wanting to go to a dance, or be kissed, or go away to college, because right next to you, someone else is suffering?”
― Kathleen Glasgow, You'd Be Home Now
He who won Academy Awards for Good Will Hunting and Argo and starred as Batman in the DC Comics franchise, has been open about his issues with alcohol. He went to rehab for the first time in 2001 and has called addiction “a lifelong and difficult struggle.” Following a stay at a treatment center in 2018, he said on social media, “If you have a problem, getting help is a sign of courage, not weakness or failure.”
Ben Affleck
This mid-90’s crime-drama movie is based on an autobiography by Jim Carroll. It charts Carroll’s journey, a high school basketball player, as he turns to substance abuse to overcome the grief of a close friend dying. The film takes a close look at teenage addiction, how drug abuse can result in situations that lead to a prison sentence, and finally, how recovery can begin in prison.
Basketball Diaries
Having been in rehab for alcohol abuse and remained sober since, songwriter and guitarist his advice for alcoholics is to not be embarrassed to reach out for help.
Keith Urban
I was gonna go to court before I got high
I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high (no you wasn't)
Because I Got High by Afroman
“The problem with resolutions is they're only as solid as the person making them.”
― Ellen Hopkins, Crank
He’s been nominated for several Academy Awards, but the actor went through some hard times on his way to success. He says years of drug and alcohol misuse threatened to ruin his life, and in 2004 at the age of 29, he made the decision to stop using them. He’s since become one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men.
Bradley Cooper
This movie stars Bradley Cooper as a successful musician, Jack, as he helps an aspiring young singer (played by Lady Gaga) be discovered. His battle with alcoholism worsens and begins to create barriers in his career path and personal life, and the movie shows the tragic consequences of struggling to deal with long-term alcohol abuse.
A Star is Born
He was pulled over for speeding and possession of two ounces of marijuana in 2008.
Aaron Carter
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife
Rocket Man by Elton John
“I'm partly somebody else trying to fit in and say the right things and do the right thing and be in the right place and wear what everybody else is wearing. Sometimes I think we're all trying to be shadows of each other, trying to buy the same records and everything even if we don't like them. Kids are like robots, off an assembly line, and I don't want to be a robot!”
― Beatrice Sparks, Go Ask Alice
She made headlines in 1989 by going to rehab at just 13 and announcing she was an addict. From a famous, and famously troubled, acting family, she was 6 when the movie E.T. launched her career.She says she started drinking when she was 9, and quickly moved on to marijuana and cocaine. She spent her teenage years trying to overcome her notoriety and has since enjoyed success as an actress and producer.
Drew Barrymore
Released in 2000, it is a movie about a big-city newspaper columnist who spends time in a rehab center after a car accident. While undergoing treatment at the rehab center, she re-evaluates her life and attempts to create a better life for herself.
28 Days