DJ AM’s Death from Prescription Drug Overdose

More than one month after the death of DJ AM (aka Adam Goldstein), the New York medical examiner has confirmed that the celebrity disc jockey died of an accidental drug overdose. The “acute intoxication” was caused by the combined effects of cocaine, Oxycodone, Vicodin, Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax, Benadryl and Levamisole, a drug used to cut cocaine.

The 36-year-old DJ and entrepreneur was discovered dead in his Manhattan apartment on Aug. 28, 2009 after missing a plane to Las Vegas, where he had a standing Friday night gig to spin records at The Palms’ Rain nightclub. Prior to his death, Goldstein had 11 years of sobriety. He was even working on a reality show with MTV that helped others get off drugs. The future of the unaired project, Gone Too Far, remains undecided. All eight of the show’s planned episodes had already been filmed and the show was scheduled to premiere Oct. 5.

Following Goldstein’s death, message boards were abuzz with speculation that the show had contributed to his relapse, while others pointed out that DJ AM had helped others toward recovery long before the show came along. His own words offer insight as well: "There's no better way to remember what it was like when I was at my bottom than to see someone at their bottom," Goldstein told the Associated Press while doing publicity for the show.

Goldstein is just the latest in a long line of recent celebrity deaths attributed to prescription drug use, following Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith. This tragedy drives home once more just how hard ongoing recovery is and that it is definitely a lifelong process.

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