Lights! Camera! Quit!

SYLVIA WINSTON
Features Editor

Drew Barrymore once said, “Life is very interesting […] in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.”

She began smoking cigarettes at the age of nine and was drinking alcohol by the time she was eleven. Barrymore has successfully and gracefully overcome her addiction to drugs and alcohol and is an inspiration to all who struggle with addiction. However, the question always looms: Why do celebrities enter the downhill path of drug addiction?

Magazines and television shows claim that celebrities engage in using drugs because of the stress they have to endure from the media and the responsibility of keeping up their impeccable appearance to the public. Some celebrities start using drugs due to peer pressure from other celebrities who are more established. Celebrities who have been victims of drug and substance abuse include James Brown, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Jackson and Eminem.

However, the impact their ruinous choices have had on them and their fans may not be as vital as their recovery. Unfortunately, many celebrities did not have the opportunity to take that decision. For example, Canadian actor Cory Monteith was found unconscious last summer and days later was reported to have been intoxicated at the time of death. In spite of this, there are many celebrities who have kicked their drug and smoke addiction. Many of them have gone on to lead successful lives in recovery and are a shining beacon to the world that recovery is doable. Celebrities such as Robert Downey Jr., Elton John and Jamie Lee Curtis have proven that recovery is possible when the decision not only affects them but the people that care about them the most.