On Oct. 21 Shannon Hoon, lead singer of the hit alternative band Blind Melon, was discovered dead on his tour bus from a cocaine overdose. He had recently tried to quit heroin. On May 28 David Gahan, singer for dance-pop icons Depeche Mode, was arrested on charges of drug possession after an overdose of coke and heroin. On June 23 actor Robert Downey Jr. was pulled over for speeding; cops found heroin, crack and cocaine in his car. Meanwhile, Weiland, who had pleaded not guilty to drug-possession charges, entered a mandatory rehab program, but his troubles weren’t over. On June 26 he walked out of the center. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he turned himself in the next day.
What’s wrong with these people? Didn’t anyone ever tell them drugs are bad? The fact is that heroin hasn’t been so visible in pop culture for decades. From movies like ““Trainspotting’’ to fashion spreads featuring skeletal, sunken-eyed models to obtuse lyrics in hit songs, heroin imagery has become pervasive. ““We observe pop culture making this drug – which is very lethal – look glamorous and chic,’’ says Ginna Marston of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The Partnership has mounted an extensive counterattack, which it says is the largest print and TV campaign ever to target heroin. Even the notoriously laissez faire music business has stepped forward. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which handles the Grammy Awards, has joined forces with the MusiCares Foundation to set up helplines, intervention networks and financial assistance. ““It should be different than the Elvis syndrome,’’ says Michael Greene, president and CEO of NARAS. ““People around him looked the other way while he took drugs to oblivion.''
But there’s a flip side to this new, more open attitude. In Hollywood and the music industry, there’s a tacit motive at work: don’t deny it or cover it up – market it. When Stone Temple Pilots were forced to cancel shows because of Weiland’s relapse in April, the band issued a press release. ““Our lead singer, Scott Weiland, has been unable to rehearse or appear for these shows due to his dependency on drugs,’’ it stated. ““We would like to apologize … for any inconvenience this may have caused.’’ Jerry Stahl, a TV writer (““Moonlighting,’’ ““Twin Peaks’’), has a memoir about his life as a junkie, ““Permanent Midnight.’’ It’s already being turned into a movie. ““What’s much trendier in L.A. than doing dope is being an ex-dope fiend,’’ says Stahl. ““This is a weirdly intense career move.’’ All the media attention, both positive and negative, is giving some recovering addicts the creeps. ““It causes more people to consider using, as opposed to reconsider using,’’ says one musician. ““One of the problems I face in trying to get any kind of message out is “Geez, you’re 45 years old and you survived – why can’t I? Why can’t I do it for x amount of years and then get help and quit?’ And that’s not the message I want to give out. It’s “Don’t start’.''
