In an almost unbelievably tragic story, the destructive grip of OxyContin is yet again displayed as a touring rock star robs a pharmacy in a taxi to get OxyContin.
Michael Todd was scheduled to play the Comcast Center in Mansfield Massachussetts on the night of July 10th when he went into an Attleboro Walgreens and “held it up” (with a bomb threat – displayed on his blackberry) for OxyContin. He eventually was given oxycodone and left in a taxi getaway car.
Why Would Someone Do This?
Before you dismiss this as a laughable act of a crazy person – we would ask you to consider what kind of suffering Michael Todd might have been experiencing due to OxyContin addiction.
As part of the powerful and artistically lauded rock band Coheed and Cambria, Michael had worked his way up through the ranks of the rock circuit and acheived rock stardom status. That fact alone is the culmination of a dream shared by millions and should have left him feeling on top of the world. The dedication required to achieve his level of success isn’t easy to come by and he couldn’t have achieved it by being a “degenerate drug addict thief.”
Enter OxyContin.
As we have chronicled for years on this blog, the opiate epidemic is reaching every level of society – from executives to rock stars to high school students and everyone in between. The addictive qualities of medication like OxyContin are so strong that unsuspecting recreational experimenters (or even legitimate medical patients) can find themselves hooked overnight. We hope Michael Todd gets the help he needsd and truly this can be a blessing if it helps him prevent a fatal overdose – the likes of which have robbed us of so many great musicians, artists, actors, and just everyday friends and colleagues.
