Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jul 2013
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2013 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Authors: Kim Nursall and Vivian Luk
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?132 (Heroin Overdose)

MONTEITH DIED FROM HEROIN-BOOZE COMBO

B.C. Coroner Releases Autopsy, Toxicology Tests

VANCOUVER - Cory Monteith, star of Glee, spent his last evening out 
on the town with three friends before returning to his luxury hotel 
room alone where he took heroin and died early Saturday morning from 
the effects of the drug combined with alcohol.

When police arrived hours later, there were no signs of a struggle 
and no evidence of foul play. Police were sure they knew what had 
happened. "There was evidence in the room that was consistent with 
drug use," Const. Brian Montague, of Vancouver police, said at a news 
conference Tuesday after the B.C. Coroners Service announced the 
results of an autopsy and toxicology tests.

"It was the opinion and belief of our investigators at that time that 
this was going to be a drug overdose."

The service's Barb McLintock said the coroners' investigation will 
continue. Police say the unanswered questions McLintock's office will 
investigate include the levels of alcohol and heroin in Monteith's 
system and whether the 31-year-old was the victim of a bad batch of 
heroin, something that turns up from time to time in Vancouver.

"There's absolutely nothing, no evidence to suggest this is anything 
other than the most sad and tragic accident," McLintock said in a 
news release, noting the coroners' service will not comment further 
until its final report.

Montague said the police investigation is finished. He said the two 
women and another man Monteith was with last Friday night co-operated 
fully with police and investigators believe they know exactly what 
the group was doing and where they were. He wouldn't elaborate and 
said officers won't pursue where Monteith might have gotten the heroin.

Monteith played the role of football player and singer Finn Hudson on 
the popular television series Glee. Before becoming an actor, he 
worked as a Walmart greeter in Nanaimo, B.C., as well as a taxicab 
driver, school bus driver and roofer.

He also played drums for the California band Bonnie Dune and was an 
avid supporter of the Project Limelight Society, a Vancouver charity 
that offers a theatre program to at-risk youth. His family has 
requested donations in his name be made to Project Limelight and two 
other charities.

On his Twitter feed, Monteith describes himself as a "tall, awkward, 
Canadian, actor, drummer, person."

For days, a memorial of cards and flowers has been visited by fans, 
friends and at least one relative outside the hotel where he died.

Monteith had spoken publicly in the past about his struggle with drug 
addiction and had reportedly entered rehab earlier this year, but the 
role of drugs in his death still came as a shock to his fans.

"Just hearing about it, I was shocked," Tyler Gibbs, 21, said from 
the sidewalk shrine. "It wasn't something I expected. I hear he just 
completed rehab... and all of a sudden this happens. I can't even 
come up with words to describe it.

"I didn't expect to hear about the heroin at all. That blows my 
mind." Marcela Zuniga, 17, said she couldn't believe the news at 
first, but was left deeply saddened by the cause of Monteith's death.

"I've known many people who have fallen to addiction, and I just 
stand by my views that I think when you do drugs, you're sort of 
being controlled by demons, so he just fell to that."

Added Shirley Sadler, who broke into tears: "It's just something he 
got into. It's hard to get out."

Industry Minister James Moore, who represents B.C. in cabinet, 
tweeted Tuesday he hopes the death prompts "a discussion of the 
complex health issues of addiction and recovery."

Dr. Evan Wood, who works in addiction treatment at St. Paul's 
Hospital in Vancouver, said a study by the Centre for Urban 
Epidemiological Studies suggested accidental overdose deaths rise 
substantially when opiates and alcohol are combined.

The study focused on deaths in New York between 1990 and 1998.

"It's essentially the toxic effect of two depressant substances in 
combination being really hazardous," said Wood, who is also a 
professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, where he 
holds the Canada research chair in inner-city medicine.

A candlelight vigil for Monteith is planned for Friday outside the 
Fairmont Pacific Rim. Before the coroners' announcement, invitations 
to the evening were spreading on websites and blogs across the Internet.

A separate vigil is also being planned for friends and fans of the 
actor on Friday at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom