Pubdate: Thu, 26 Nov 2015
Source: Telegram, The (CN NF)
Copyright: 2015 The Telegram
Contact:  http://www.thetelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/303
Author: Allison Auld
Page: C8

WASTED AWAY

Family, Friends Hope Death of Ron Hynes Draws Attention to Drug Addiction

The death of one of Newfoundland's most beloved musicians should 
serve as a wake-up call to the worsening scourge of drug addiction in 
the province, say friends and family members who watched the artist 
struggle for years with the disease.

Ron Hynes died at age 64 last week in St. John's following a return 
of cancer that was first diagnosed in 2012 and which recently spread 
to his lung and hip.

But his nephew, Joel Hynes, said in an unflinching 869-word post on 
his Facebook page that while cancer may have caused his death, it was 
a persistent drug addiction that was central to his demise.

"He remained a hardcore addict right to his final days. And it killed 
him," he said in the message, intended to be a note of thanks to his 
fans and friends.

"He passed the point where he was strong enough to save himself. And 
he was surrounded by so much love, so much worry and heartache and 
concern. ... And in the end he choose (sic) drugs over everything and 
everyone he ever loved."

Hynes, an actor and writer, wrote that his uncle was destitute when 
he died, going so far as to sell his treasured guitars "for a 
pittance to feed his demons and line the pockets of drug dealers."

Sandy Morris, a lifelong friend and fellow musician, said people in 
St. John's were heartbroken as they watched the acclaimed 
singer-songwriter "waste away" from drug use over the years.

Many tried to help by encouraging him to go to rehab centres. But, in 
the end, Morris said the draw of crack cocaine and cocaine was too 
strong for the artist known for his gritty folk songs and famous 
laments about the hardships of life in Newfoundland.

"We did a fundraiser for him two years ago and we raised a pile of 
money and the emotion he got from people who were rooting for him, 
knowing he had cancer and it meant nothing to him," said Morris, who 
knew Ron Hynes since they were teens and started The Wonderful Grand 
Band with him.

"I mean, I'm sure it meant something to him somewhere, but the 
addiction had such control over him."

White, who goes by the single name and manages The Wonderful Grand 
Band, said she tried dozens of times to get Hynes to seek help, but 
without much success.

She said he did get clean for a time and spent weeks in a rehab 
facility, but started using again after he was diagnosed with throat 
cancer in 2012.

White said the drugs helped him get through cancer treatments that 
left him fatigued and sick.

"People did everything they could and Ron knew that and he did 
everything he could to avoid the people who were most trying to help 
him," she said with a laugh from her home in Avondale.

"He tried a lot to shake it, but there was not much he could do in the end."

White, Morris and Joel Hynes all say there should be more help and 
treatment services for drug addicts in the province, which they say 
has seen a spike in crime and drug use in recent years.

"Newfoundland and Labrador needs help. We are crying out for real 
leadership. We are ... dying for proper facilities to treat our 
addictions and our mental illnesses," Joel Hynes wrote.

"The whole province is privy to what drugs and addiction did to one 
of its most cherished sons. A brilliant musician who could have had 
the world in the palm of his hands, but instead chose to hide in the 
back alleys and bathroom stalls of grungy bars, who sold his life's 
blood chasing a darkness that deceived him right to his final breath."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom