Philip Seymour Hoffman

Fell victim to his addiction to heroin

 Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose — with a hypodermic needle still stuck in his arm and 70 baggies of the drug inside his Greenwich Village pad Sunday, authorities said. He was 46.

The acclaimed screen and stage star was discovered in his underwear on the bathroom floor of his $9,800-a-month rental after missing a morning appointment to pick up his three young kids from their mother, his estranged girlfriend, Mimi O’Donnell.

He was declared dead at the scene, a needle in his left forearm. A source said it was clear that the “Capote’’ star had been dead “for hours.”

Cops found five empty glassine envelopes in a garbage can, two more under the bed and one on a table in the apartment, along with a charred spoon in the kitchen sink, sources said.

“He was shooting up in the bathroom,” a law-enforcement source said.

The drug envelopes were marked “Ace of Spades,” which sources said is a brand of heroin that has not been seen on city streets since around 2008 in Brooklyn.

Police later executed a search warrant and found 70 glassine envelopes of heroin inside a desk. In addition to the “Ace of Spades,” investigators also found packages marked “Ace of Hearts” and one with a playing-card jack stamped on it.

Hoffman’s body was found at about 11:15 a.m. by a screenwriter pal, David Bar Katz, and Isabella “Bella” Wing-Davey, Hoffman’s personal assistant, who performed CPR. They called 911 at 11:36 a.m. Hoffman was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was on a heroin binge 6 weeks before he died, and told friends he feared he was destined to fatally over dose.

Back in December Hoffman told them he had started injecting himself with heroin and couldn't kick it.  Hoffman said he would kick it for a few days and then fall off the wagon.

He went back to AA in a desperate attempt to clean up ... but much to his great frustration it didn't work.

During the last 6 weeks he often looked disheveled and dirty.  At one point someone asked him how bad his problem was, and he responded, "If I don't stop I know I'm gonna die."

We're told Hoffman was also drinking excessively ... which opened the door to many bad decisions when it came to heroin use.

Ironically and sadly, we're told Hoffman went to AA meetings over the last 4 years and was considered a "guru," because he had been sober for so long.  Hoffman would give inspirational talks to people who attended.

The deadly truth:

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have risen steadily since 1970. Painkillers actually kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but heroin is still one of the No. 1 killers of illegal drug users. Only one in 10 heroin overdoses ends in death.

Overdose deaths from heroin have increased recently, and heroin use is also on the rise. In 2011, 4.2 million Americans over the age of 11 had tried heroin at least once, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

An estimated 23% of them will become addicts. And it's addicts who die more frequently than new users, studies show.

How heroin works:

Heroin is most often mixed with water and injected. Injecting it minimizes the lag time between when the drug is taken and effects are felt -- with injection, the effects are almost immediate.

It can also be smoked, snorted or eaten, but smoking or eating destroys some of the drug and mutes its effects.

When someone takes heroin there is an immediate rush. Then the body feels an extreme form of relaxation and a decreased sense of pain.

What's happening inside the body is the heroin is turning into morphine. Morphine has a chemical structure similar to endorphins -- the chemicals your brain makes when you feel stressed out or are in pain. Endorphins inhibit your neurons from firing, so they halt pain and create a good feeling.

Morphine, acting like your endorphins, binds to molecules in your brain called opioid receptors. When those receptors are blocked, that creates a high.

This eye opener story has showed many people that anyone can fall victim to addiction! Don’t neglect the signs and if you see anyone that is In need of help please reach out to them! You might just save their life!