Originally Posted by kane

Once a junkie always a junkie

Once a drunk always a drunk

Once an addicted always an addict

The difference between someone like Robert Downey JR and Hoffman is that, so far, Downey has figured out how to control the urge, so far. When you are an addict the desire to do the bad thing never fully goes away. You learn to deal with it. You develop tools to put it on the back burner so you can live your life. You may go weeks, months or even years without the urge, then one idle Tuesday you encounter something that sets off one of your triggers and you need to cope with it and make the choice not to use or to seek help to keep you from doing whatever the addiction is.

Downey's recovery wasn't some simple overnight thing. He was in and out of rehab several times before finally getting clean.

Is it a choice to do these things? Sure. Nobody starts drinking or using drugs with the intent to become a hopeless addict that one day overdoses. When Hoffman shot heroin into his arm did he intend to kill himself? Likely not, but only he knows for sure. Kicking addiction is not an easy thing. At its most simple, once you are clean it is making the choice to stay clean, but for many the desire to give into the addiction is so compelling it is hard for them to say no to it. Hoffman is a perfect example of this. He had a ton of money, a great career, a family and what would appear to be a very good life, yet he still couldn't kick this problem. It is a choice, but it is complex one.