Russell Brand is to address MPs over his drug addiction Comedian Russell Brand is expected to tell MPs on Tuesday that drug addiction should not be seen as a crime or a romantic affectation, but as a disease that will kill. The flamboyant film star has been asked to give evidence about his own battle with addiction to MPs reviewing the Government's drugs policy. Brand has given frank accounts of his battle to overcome drug addiction and has said society needs to change the way it views addicts. Writing on his website last July after the death of singer Amy Winehouse, Brand, 36, said addiction should be treated like a potentially fatal illness. "Addiction is a serious disease; it will end with jail, mental institutions or death," he wrote. "Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant. It is not preventable today. "We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease. Not all addicts have Amy's incredible talent. Or Kurt's (Cobain) or Jimi's (Hendrix) or Janis's (Joplin), some people just get the affliction. "All we can do … Continue reading →

Posted on Monday, April 23, 2012 Those trying to extricate themselves from the destructive cycle of drug and alcohol abuse do not have to do so alone. Drug Rehab Florida can help. If you are trying to find your way to soberness, going into drug rehabilitation Florida may just be the thing you need to speed you on your way. At Florida House Experience we offer a range of options for drug treatment Florida that will help you transform your life. Drug treatment Florida is a way for persons to get through the difficult task of freeing themselves from drugs and alcohol dependency. At Florida House Experience, we understand the courage it takes to step forward, admit there is a problem, and act decisively to address it. We encourage persons to see drug rehabilitation Florida not as a sign of weakness but as a sign of strength, as a sign that the possibility of living a better life is real and one can attain it. The Florida House Experience offers a unique program of drug rehabilitation Florida. We recognize that drug addiction is a disease, and that persons need stable, long-term care in order to deal it. Our drug treatment … Continue reading →

British comedian and former heroin addict Russell Brand told lawmakers on Tuesday that addicts should be treated "with love and compassion" and not as criminals. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star said drug dependency should be treated as an illness and called for more "abstinence-based recovery" as he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee reviewing government drug policy. The former husband of US singer Katy Perry, warned that society should not "discard people, write them off on methadone and leave them on the sidelines". The 36-year-old, who has been clean for nine years, described how he became addicted to drugs in his youth because of emotional and psychological difficulties. "It was rough," he said. Wearing a black hat, gold chains and a torn black vest top, he spoke rapidly and addressed members of the committee by their first names in typically disarming style. Asked if he favoured decriminalising drugs, Brand stressed that he was not advocating "a free-for-all where everyone goes around taking drugs" but said existing British laws were "irrelevant" to addicts. "If you need to get drugs, you will," he added."The criminal and legal status, I think, sends the wrong message." Asked if there should be a carrot and … Continue reading →