Chris Herren Drug Addiction Essay

Addiction is everywhere, from television, to celebrities, family members, and maybe even a close friend is suffering from it. It is a chronic brain disease that causes compulsive substance use despite harmful consequences. Roughly about 23.5 million Americans are either addicted to alcohol or drugs. Sadly, only 11% of those people suffering from this chronic disease get treatment. There have been many celebrities that have been in the tabloids and over the news for either alcoholism or drug abuse. For example, Lindsay Lohan, Mary Kate-Olsen, Heath Ledger, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Herren, and many more are victims. Chris Herren was a professional basketball player in the NBA from 1999-2001, he played for the Boston Celtics and nuggets but his life took a turn for the worst when he started using and abusing …show more content…
Chris Herren, the NBA player, had it all. A great family, friends, he was blessed with the great gift of being a great basketball player. But yet, even drugs took over his life. He almost lost everything because of it. This goes to show that anybody and anyone can be an addict. Chris like most started drugs because of a social situation. He said that his partying mainly started with just alcohol and marijuana but one day he went to a friend’s room and tried cocaine for the first time. Like most he said “I am only going to try it once and only once” but as usual one time turned into another and so on. After that Chris ended up doing coke from age 18-32. It took him about 14 years to get clean. While he was addicted to drugs he shot up heroin before his mothers funereal and left his newborn baby in the hospital so he could get drunk. This goes to show that when a person is addicted to something, that is the most important thing in their life, no matter what. Until the addict chooses to take control of it and go to rehab, the addiction will continue to control them and their actions. Chris has been