cannabisnews.com: Downey's Relapse No Surprise





Downey's Relapse No Surprise
Posted by FoM on December 16, 2000 at 09:19:03 PT
By Stanton Peele
Source: Daily Record
Robert Downey Jr. relapsed, arguably, when he elected to spend Thanksgiving by himself in glitzy Palm Springs, Calif.Wandering alone in a resort city for the rich and restless on a prototypical family holiday is a poor recipe for staying away from drugs. And, sure enough, Palm Springs police found about a quarter pound of cocaine and methamphetamine when they searched the actor's hotel room after receiving a phone tip from an anonymous caller.
Addictive relapses are most likely to occur when three conditions are present: negative feelings like boredom, depression, and loneliness; availability of drugs and the time and opportunity to use them; and social settings which, if they don't encourage drug use, are at best indifferent to such use.Any number of Hollywood and show business notables have expressed their regrets over Downey's return to drugs. They offer condolences and say how much they like the distressed actor. But if only one such admirer could have invited Downey home for Thanksgiving during his hiatus from his recurring guest role on "Ally McBeal," it is unlikely that Downey would be facing drug possession charges.Instead of spending time in a family setting, Downey checked into Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel & Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs, attending tawdry night clubs with Palm Springs hangers on.One such individual told "Access Hollywood" that Downey seemed morose over his separation from 7-year-old son, who was with his former wife.Downey's uncle, "Saturday Night Live" writer Jim Downey, has claimed that it was the stress of long days before the cameras on "McBeal" that led to his nephew's downfall.Yet, Downey seemed glad to return to this acting stint after he was bailed out of the Palm Springs jail, and coworkers and friends reported no previous signs that he was abusing drugs while he was working steadily on the FOX TV series.It is ironic that, in most cases when someone is apprehended for using illicit drugs, the person is removed from work. But employment is a positive prognosticator of who will be able to overcome drugs. It provides a life structure along with social contacts and psychological rewards that counteract the inclination to use drugs.From this perspective, preventing Darryl Strawberry from playing baseball for the Yankees last season when he tested positive for drugs was perhaps actually likely to lead him to use cocaine again. That is, hanging around with old friends and with little positive to do presented ideal conditions for Strawberry's relapse this fall.Downey, who at age 35 is a seasoned actor with an Academy Award nomination, must, of course, take responsibility for his own life. But, while we regularly offer addicts stints of treatment, along with threats of prison if they use drugs, we ignore them when they are not institutionalized. Little attention is given to structuring their time and supporting their sobriety.Thus, they often quickly re-enter situations that prompt relapses.Where Downey goes from here -- a return to prison, a new stint of treatment, more threats and efforts to keep him on a short leash -- could miss the point.Instead, efforts could best be directed towards helping him to plan a sober lifestyle, to maintain associations with people who do not use drugs, to connect with his son and other family members, to engage in work and other positive activities, and to see that he has the capacity to create a drug-free lifestyle. Source: Daily Record, The (NJ)Author: Stanton PeelePublished: December 10, 2000Copyright: 2000 Gannett Satellite Information Network Inc.Address: 800 Jefferson Road, Parsippany,  N.J. 07054Contact: letters dailyrecord.comWebsite: http://www.dailyrecord.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Stanton Peele's Addiction Web Sitehttp://www.peele.net/The Robert Downey Jr. Problemhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/7/thread7964.shtmlDowney And The Drug Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7874.shtmlRobert Downey's Problem--and Ours http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7821.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Robbie on December 16, 2000 at 10:03:15 PT:
I agree obs...
>Instead, efforts could best be directed towards helping him >to plan a sober lifestyle, to maintain associations with >people who do not use drugs, to connect with his son and >other family members, to engage in work and other positive >activitiesStop arresting him! If he has problems, there are those involved in his life that can and will help him. But police? Law enforcement? Drug enforcement? Truly, all that these people care about is arresting their subject, not what happens to him later.Lest we not forget that Downey's whiteness and affluence will still afford much better opportunities than a brother from South Central who is DWB (driving while black.) He will not get a knock on the door. More likely, he'll get a no-knock front-door assault.
I could use an eight-ball, Ms. Heche, but I'd prefer my greenbud.
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Comment #1 posted by observer on December 16, 2000 at 09:40:30 PT
Getting The ``Treatment''
 negative feelings like boredom, depression, and loneliness . . . It is ironic that, in most cases when someone is apprehended for using illicit drugs, the person is removed from work. . . Where Downey goes from here -- a return to prison, a new stint of treatment, more threats . . . ... The German experience, however, raises the question of who needs treatment at all. Jewish neurologist Arnold Merzbach studied hundreds of Jewish children during the first eighteen months of the Nazi regime. In the first half of 1933 he found "restlessness, irritability, and increased squabbling. Some youths were refusing to eat; the more intelligent ones were sleeping fitfully and given to brooding." Similar behavior continued throughout the year, "as well as many neurotic symptoms." He noted, "older children thought themselves objects of special attention when outdoors."51  We typically find Jewish adults, too, drawing into themselves, exhibiting despair, and developing problems in relating with people as one formerly supportive group after another (employers, insurers, landlords, police) prevented them from living normally in society. These sorts of Jewish behavior mimic the "drug user personality," suggesting that the behavior may be a response to persecution from society rather than an expression of someone's inherent personality -- particularly since most users of socially approved drugs such as alcohol and nicotine do not exhibit "drug user symptoms" despite those drugs' potency and danger. In many cases, the proper course of treatment of drug users may simply be to cease persecuting them.Drug Warriors and their Prey, Richard Miller, pgs.173-174http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425
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