The Addict, the Enabler and Us

Who is to blame when a drug addict dies?

We now know the L.A. County Coroner's Office considers the death of Michael Jackson to have been a homicide caused by acute propofol intoxication and the effects of five other powerful prescription drugs found in his system.

If the L.A. district attorney chooses to charge Michael Jackson's personal doctor, it could very well be for manslaughter.

Realistically speaking, it was more like assisted suicide.

Michael Jackson struggled with addiction for years. He went into drug rehab in 1993. He was often very obviously overmedicated during his 2005 child sex-abuse trial. And during the run-up to his massive comeback concert tour this year, we've now learned he was engaged in an orgy of drugs and self-destructive behavior.

So doesn't Michael Jackson bear some of the responsibility for his own death?

Before you answer, let me tell you about a sworn affidavit, attached to a now unsealed search warrant, which outlines excruciating details about the tragic last days of Michael Jackson. In the final hours of his life, he was injected by his doctor or was given oral doses of no fewer than four heavy-duty drugs. The last medication given was propofol. There are indications that when the doctor was not in the room, Jackson may have sneaked even more medications in his continuing quest to end his insomnia. It's typical addict behavior.

At Jackson's bedside when he died, there was a cornucopia of prescription pills, ordered up by several different doctors using fictitious patient names. It is a federal offense to prescribe pharmaceuticals under an alias. But there they were: bottles of Valium, Tamsulosin, Lorazepam, Temazepam, Clonazepam, Trazodone and Tizanidine. Drugs used as hypnotic sedatives, to reduce pain, anxiety and muscle tension. Some treated sleeplessness. Others have a relatively high addictive potential, and some are frequently sold and abused as street drugs. Finally, there was one prescription to treat an enlarged prostate, a nod to Jackson's over-50 status.

In other words, one glance at that nightstand and a red flag should have gone up to any trained doctor that this was not a person for whom one should prescribe more drugs. But according to that sworn affidavit, several doctors did — a cardiologist, a dermatologist and a general practitioner among them.

Don't the doctors bear some responsibility for Jackson's death?

And what responsibility do the die-hard Michael Jackson fans bear for their blind worship? His drug addiction was no secret, yet the throngs of his followers continued to be dazzled by his stardom. Their continuing admiration sent a signal to both Jackson and his doctors that celebrity trumps all the normal rules.

The status quo was working, and there was no reason for the superstar to change his ways, no pressure from the entourage, because those who tried to warn Jackson to take care of his health were banished. As Jackson continued to demand more medications, there were more people brought in to his long, slow suicidal process. Actually, it's a wonder he lived as long as he did.

Michael Jackson suffered from a lot of obvious maladies, many self-inflicted. Not only was he abusing massive amounts of drugs, he suffered from anexoria and a body dysmorphic disorder that compelled him to repeatedly hire doctors to change his face. He had children who didn't know their mothers. He shut out much of his family lest they tell him how to live his life. And he seemed a reclusive, nomadic hermit who was never quite able to shake the taint of his child molestation trial acquittal.

Yet there were legions of fans that sent him the message that he was the best, the king! And there were countless doctors standing by to prescribe what he needed to get through his days.

Even in death there is blind adoration. A politician in New York is pushing to get a Brooklyn subway station — the venue for one of Jackson's music videos — named after him. A U.S. congresswoman pushed for an official House of Representatives commendation for the entertainer. There has been a movement to get a Michael Jackson postage stamp. What's wrong with this picture?

As I wrote in this space recently, there are record numbers of Americans — tens of millions of them — using and abusing prescription drugs. They are sick people in need of help, either for their underlying illness or for their addiction to these drugs. While I've always advocated personal responsibility, I've come to realize the responsibility must radiate outward, too.

Everyone who's ever enabled a drug addict shares in the responsibility.

Visit Diane Dimond's official website at www.dianedimond.com for investigative reporting, polls and more. To find out more about Diane Dimond and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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