Would opiate addicts like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cory Monteith be alive today if they had been in maintenance therapy with buprenorphine or methadone instead of focusing on abstinence-based philosophies?
Could Drug-Replacement Therapy Have Saved Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Life?BY SACHA Z. SCOBLICPhilip Seymour Hoffman was an artistic icon and, for me, a sober icon. According to The New York Times, Hoffman had spoken of having 23 years of sobriety under his belt before he relapsed on prescription drugs and then, ultimately, on heroin. From that moment of relapse on, one of the greatest actors of our generation was in mortal danger: Years of sobriety had reduced Hoffman’s tolerance, but his brain craved the drug as much as ever—and he had given that brain another taste. In May of 2013—perhaps realizing the disease was back in force—Hoffman checked himself into a detox facility for ten days, once again resetting his tolerance to zero. His brain was at war with itself: his healthy sobriety brain versus his voraciously hungry opiate receptors. It’s why, unfortunately, overdosing is tragically common for once-sober heroin addicts […]