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Jackson’s Death Draws Attention to Chemical Dependence
Adam Hammond
Story Created:
Jul 1, 2009 at 4:36 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Jul 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM CDT
As the world mourns the death of Michael Jackson, his nutritionist Cherilyn Lee says he abused prescription medications to fight insomnia.
"Once you take advantage or abuse any kind of drugs, instead of helping you they can hurt you, so I think it's a lesson for the city," said Michael Jackson fan Curtis Dugger.
"People can become chemically dependent without having any history of dependence in their family," said Addictive Disease Counselor Sam Thomas.
Thomas says chemical dependence doesn't just affect the stars—it can hit home for anyone with a medicine cabinet.
"As they become more dependent on the medication, as they take the medication longer, they become accustomed to functioning on that medication. As they become more accustomed to functioning on that medicine, then their brain chemistry adjusts to that medicine," said Thomas.
"I've had something happen in my life where if someone hadn't been there I would have died, so you have to be very careful with that kind of thing," said Kathy Snyder.
Thomas says some warning signs that you may be addicted to prescription medication are withdrawals like headaches, nervousness, and not being able to function without the substance. If you have any symptoms, he says you should seek medical help, or it could result in death.
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