A&E's 'Billy the Exterminator' caught with synthetic marijuana

English: Leaf of Cannabis עברית: עלה של קנביס (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Billy Bretherton of A & E's 'Billy the Exterminator'  was found along with wife Mary Bretherton to be in possession of synthetic marijuana at a local hotel this past June. Reports indicate that the police were responding to a 911 call supposedly made from the room the couple were in.

 Bretherton and his wife Mary were issued arrest warrants after police searched the hotel room and discovered synthetic marijuana and marijuana smoking paraphernalia in the room .

Synthetic marijuana was first introduced in the US in 2008. While claiming to be a safe alternative to the actual natural version, synthetic marijuana has chemicals that are regarded as dangerous.  Both Bretherton and his wife have pleaded not guilty and posted a $6000.00 bail each.

Sage Stallone: Could he have overdosed on prescription pain killers?

English: Actor Sylvester Stallone - 66th Venice International Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stallone in happier times

Hints as to the possible cause of the death of Sylvester Stallone's son Sage Stallone have been directed to the recent use of pain killers by the deceased. Reports indicate that Sage Stallone had undergone recent dental work, including multiple tooth extractions. His mother, Sasha Czack stated that her son had been in a lot of pain.

The LA Times also reported that there were  a lot of empty bottles of powerful pain killers located inside Stallone's home. There were enough empty pill bottles to warrant an investigation by the LA Robbery and Homicide Division. An autopsy was performed on Sunday, however the coroners office is still waiting for results from the toxicology report.

Prescription pain killers are just as dangerous as any street drugs, and just as deadly. Many times the wealthy have access to far more prescription medications than the average person does and as such many succumb to either addiction or an untimely death. Taking strong painkillers can result in respiratory failure, and coronary failure. We have seen this time and time again with celebrities.

The are many representatives speaking on behalf of the Stallone camp insisting that the young Stallone did not drink, or do any drugs. This may suggest that suddenly taking copious amounts of prescription pain medication when the body has no resistance can be even more deadly. 

It is interesting that celebrities spend a lot of time and money on political causes etc. but you rarely hear or see any well known, high profile celebrities addressing drug abuse. When you consider how many of their comrades fall to this deadly problem, it seems shocking to see so little awareness and recognition being addressed by the celebrity community. How many more have to die before celebs decide this is a worthy cause?