Russell Brand: Philip Seymour Hoffman is another victim of extremely stupid drug laws.

[WillowTree]

55. "You could say the same about smoking, or gambling......."

And I do. That first cigarette was among the stupidest things I've ever done. Cost me untold thousands of dollars over the years and no doubt carved some years of the end of my life. But taking that first one was a choice and I have to take full responsibility for it. (Quitting, I found, was more a matter of sheer force of will an a lot of prayer than just a choice, but I finally did it and have always been glad.)

And I also understand that some people can become addicted to gambling, but most people who gamble don't.

Things like heroin and cocaine are different. A person doesn't have to have a predilection to addiction to get hooked. It's just in the nature of the substance itself and that's no secret. So yeah, I don't get the decision to try "hard" drugs even once considering that the likely best outcome will be rehab which may or may not be successful in the long run, as demonstrated last weekend.

Thus, it is my opinion that Philip Seymour Hoffman wound up dead on a bathroom floor with a needle in his arm at the age of 46 not because of anything in any drug law, but because of the monumentally stupid decision to try heroin in the first place. That's not something I'm likely to change my mind about.