Drug message: They kill, period. No matter how rich and talented you are.

The investigation into actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death is becoming a web of intrigue and a story of tragedy.

And it is also a cautionary tale for all those who think that drugs are not a major problem anywhere except the inner city.

Hoffman is not the first "rich guy" to be felled by this terrible addiction -- and he won't be the last. There are many more people just like him in Hollywood -- and in middle class and wealthy neighborhoods.

So as the arrests continue, perhaps it is time for another discussion -- a warning if you will -- about what happens when we don't pay attention, when we start to think that drugs really are a victimless crime.

We get young lives lost much too soon.

It won't be long before the world has moved on to something else and Hoffman's death will just be another tragic tale of excess.

But it is a chance to start a discussion.

And if Hoffman's death makes one person think before sticking a needle in his or her arm or if someone seeks help for his or her addiction, the waste of a life will be offset by the saving of another.

Published in Editorials on February 7, 2014 10:53 AM