Thank you to the LA Times for recently running a story about Chris Bell.
Chris Bell was producing a documentary about prescription drug abuse. Bell wasn’t only making a documentary about the problem. He was also living it.
Bell was using alcohol in combination with Xanax which led to a decline similar to the one that had ended the life of his brother, Michael, who had been a professional wrestler. Neither Michael nor Chris were stereotypical prescription drug abusers.
Yet Chris became addicted to painkillers after surgery. While filming a rehab center called Cliffside Malibu’s Taite, Chris wished he could become a patient. He knew he needed the help. Although it took awhile, Chris’s story had a happy ending…or, at least, a pausing point, because you never really know what the outcome will be. As they say, in dealing with addiction, it’s “one day at a time.”
Good for Chris Bell for coming as far as he has, and I hope his sobriety continues. Kudos to him for bravely producing his documentary on prescription drug abuse and shedding more light on this serious problem.
The time has come for the American public to demand less addictive drugs to treat the millions of Americans with pain and mental health disorders. Let’s figure out a way to end this horrible drug epidemic while still providing relief to people in need.
Then there will be no more stories like Chris Bell’s, and there will be no more prescription drugs-related tragedies.
