This week another rock star lost his battle with addiction. Mike Starr, former bass player for Seattle-based Alice in Chains, was found dead in his Salt Lake City apartment. Starr, who was 44, is reported to have mixed Methadone and anxiety medication just hours before his death.
In 2009, Mike Starr’s struggle with heroin addiction had taken place in the public eye on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Many people have questioned the effectiveness of the reality-show format used by Celebrity Rehab since addiction therapy is most often a private matter between the addicted person and his or her therapist. Airing group therapy sessions on television adds another layer of complication to what is already a challenging process.
Although Starr claimed to be sober six months after completing his stint on Celebrity Rehab, one month before his death he was arrested following a routine traffic stop for illegal possession of the prescription drugs oxymorphone (a narcotic pain killer) and alprazalam (an anxiety drug marketed under the name Xanax).
Robert J. Lindsay, president of the non-profit National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), expressed hope that Starr’s death will serve as a warning for people who are currently struggling with addiction. NCADD puts the number of alcohol and drug-addicted Americans at about 23 million and names substance abuse as the nation’s number one health problem and leading cause of death.
Lindsay compares alcoholism and drug addiction to chronic disorders like diabetes and heart disease. If left untreated, these progressive diseases will eventually be fatal. Since addiction has an emotional component as well as a physical one, recovery can be even more difficult for those who don’t follow through with treatment.
Starr’s band Alice in Chains gained prominence as part of the Seattle grunge music scene. A legacy of drug addiction and death is associated with grunge music. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, perhaps the most famous of the grunge bands, was addicted to heroin and committed suicide in 1994. Andrew Wood of the band Mother Love Bone died from a heroin overdose in 1990. In addition to Starr, Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley died from an overdose of heroin and cocaine in 2002.
After Starr appeared on Celebrity Rehab, former Alice in Chains band mate Jerry Cantrell expressed skepticism about the experience, “Addiction is no joke, and we know that firsthand. We lost a good friend of ours to that. Mike deserves a better life.”
Upon hearing of Mike Starr’s death, Dr. Drew tweeted, “Devastating to hear of Mike Starr succumbing to his illness. So very sad. Our prayers are with his family.”