American sensation Mac Miller was found dead at his house in San Fernando on September 7, 2018 around noon. Miller, whose birth name is Malcolm McCormick, was only 26 years old and he was constantly on the rise. He first began releasing music as a teenager, and his music touched thousands, if not millions, of people’s lives. Many people say that his music was the soundtrack of their high-school career. So, how did this happen? He was so young, with an album that was released in August, and a tour set to start in October. How, or why, did this happen?
​Miller had a public relationship with life in the fast lane. He struggled with addiction and the search for sobriety, famously known as the reason his relationship ended with Ariana Grande, a fellow American pop sensation. In May, Miller was charged with a DUI and a hit and run. Clearly, this well-loved and well-known man was struggling before the people’s eyes but somehow slipped beneath the cracks enough to where there is no going back for him.
​The cause of his death was ruled as a drug overdose, but the public is still waiting to hear back from the toxicology reports. If this is correct, and we all watched him go down the rabbit hole of addiction, then how can we stop this from happening again? Demi Lovato was in the news earlier this summer for her drug overdose, but she was lucky enough to be able to be treated and given a second chance. The amount of celebrities that lose their lives, something that most of us would give anything to trade our lives for, to drugs, is an appalling number. So, it seems that the more time passes, the more loved ones we lose.
​The National Institute on Drug Abuse released a poll between 2002 and 2017 on the amount of all drug-involved deaths, and the amount has significantly increased from 2015 to 2017. In 2015, roughly 50,000 deaths were reported, and in 2017, the number increased to 72,306. That’s more deaths from overdose than from car accidents between the ages of 25 and 64, according to Vice. The increase is not a coincidence and it’s becoming increasingly common to know someone who has either lost their life to the battle of addiction or is currently still fighting it every day.
As college students, it’s important to understand what we are choosing to consume into our bodies and what exactly it is–especially since a fair number of overdoses are accidental, and it could happen to anyone. Mac Miller was loved by many and his life was too short. Don’t be a victim of this endless round-about of addiction. Pay attention to your loved ones, and stay aware of your own choices and what they could potentially lead to. Help make a change in this constant increase of numbers of lives that are lost to drugs, and think of why Miller’s death hit so close to home for many of us. Because in reality, addiction doesn’t discriminate and it can happen to anyone.
​If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, please call 855-516-1669.