Drugs and celebs have a long history.
England’s King George V died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine, the same as Otto Von Bismarck. It’s almost taken for granted these days that if you are a celebrity, especially one connected to the music industry, you will, at some point in your career, take drugs that you might or might not get addicted to.
More than a lifestyle factor, for these celebs, drugs are related to performance. A snort of cocaine just before getting on to the stage gives that extra zing to your performance.
Countless performers like Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and lately Whitney Houston, however, learnt the hard way that the higher you fly on drugs the harder you fall.
Bengaluru-based guitarist Sam David, who has been staging shows for six years now, says it’s time one distinguishes music from fun.
“Music and drugs go hand in hand. Even though people deny it, it’s a part of the band culture,” he says, adding that the notion that drugs help in expressing oneself better and loosen up still prevails.
Entertainers are known to resort to such addictions, in Bollywood it might be a stress-buster but in the music world, it’s most often for fun. I have seen performers who cannot go up on stage without sniffing or snorting something or even gulping down some alcohol for that matter,” says Sam.
However, he does add that sooner or later one needs to realise that music is music and fun is fun. “As a professional musician, one should realise that it’s not like jamming with friends or college days, one needs to be more responsible,” adds Sam.
Bollywood or the film industry is no far behind. While the Fardeen Khans come under public scrutiny, there are many others who always manage to keep their antics under wraps. The high energy performances and round-the-clock attention comes at a price.
Dr Challa Venkat Suresh, a neuro psychologist blames it on the high socio-economic status. “There is a lot of pressure to live up to expectations and drugs help bring a sort of excitement.”
It gives a sense of detachment, a hallucinating experience that becomes robust after a while and leads to addiction,” he says adding that Tollywood is no exception either.
Dr Rahul Luther, executive director of Hope Trust, a drug rehabilitation centre in the city, says prescription drugs are new ways to get high.
“Drug abuse has always been a problem in our society; only the types of drugs change from time to time. People are resorting to prescribed drugs such as fortvin, sedatives, analgesics and other pain killers that are otherwise used for medical purposes. In India unfortunately it is very easy to buy these prescription drugs as there are no strict guidelines.”
Dr Luther who admits to treating a full house at the centre for drug abuse says the culture is not borrowed from the west and is very much Indian.
“Comedian Mehmood and Meena Kumari were some of the talents we lost due to drug abuse and alcoholism and in the recent past we have had examples like Sanjay Dutt and Fardeen Khan; it is a human failing. Drug abuse is common in all segments of the society but the kind of drugs used differ depending upon what one can afford,” he says adding that these deaths are a message to the society that “no matter how talented, rich or famous you are”, one can’t escape the repercussions of such addictions.
