Throughout the past 20 years, heroin deaths around the country have been on the rise. The opioid epidemic is claiming more lives than ever. The sad reality is heroin has been claiming lives long before the opioid epidemic started.

Heroin is commonly mixed with cocaine and referred to as a Speedball. Cocaine use is common in Hollywood and the showbiz scene. When someone uses excessive cocaine they want something to “come down”, this is where heroin comes into the mix. Many great talents have been lost far before their time due to Heroin.

Here Are 18 Celebrities Who Died From A Heroin Overdose:

1. Chris Farley

Chris Farley was an over the top entertainer, comedian, and actor. Farley’s loud and energetic style gained him a reputation around the comedy world. He was known to seriously injure his body if it would get laughs from people. Farley is most famous for his time on Saturday Night Live as well as movies such as Black Sheep, Tommy Boy, Coneheads, and Beverly Hills Ninja. Farley died in Chicago at the age of 33 due to a drug overdose. The official report concluded he died from a cocaine and heroin mixture (speedball). Farley’s idol John Belushi died at the same age also from a speedball years earlier.

2. John Belushi

John Belushi was at the peak of his career at the time of his death. He was known as one of the funniest people in Hollywood. He was visited by friends Robert Deniro and Robin Williams the day before his death. Sources say they were there to talk to him about his drug use. Belushi was found dead in bungalow 3 at the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, on March 5th, 1982. His death was caused by speedball (my drug of choice during my addiction). Speedball usually refers to the combination of cocaine and heroin which is what Belushi overdosed and died from. The term speedball can also be used to refer to any combination of drugs when one is an upper (stimulant) and one is a downer (depressant).

** Redbull and Vodka (any energy drink combined with alcohol) is technically considered a speedball and can be very dangerous for your heart. The Redbull or energy drink is a stimulant and speeds your heart rate up, while the alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and slows your heart rate down.**

3. Kurt Cobain

Although Kurt Cobain officially died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound he is being put on this list because of his ongoing struggles with heroin and other drugs. His autopsy revealed Cobain had heroin and Diazepam (Valium) in his system. By all accounts and facts surrounding the case, it shows Cobain was high on heroin during the time of his suicide. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer and lead guitarist of the band Nirvana which exploded on the music scene in the ’90s. Cobain gave a voice to a whole generation of youth who related to his struggles and powerful music. Almost immediately Cobain struggled with the fame that came from being a rock star. He started using drugs and alcohol to cope with the fame and subsequent depression it caused him.

4. Cory Monteith

Cory Monteith was a Canadian and American actor who is most famous for his role on Glee. Monteith struggled with addiction from age 13 on. He had periods of sobriety followed by relapses. On July 13, 2013, at age 31 Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room. His death was ruled accidental overdose from heroin and alcohol. Morphine and codeine were also found in his system. Monteith’s death was very public because this was the center of the opioid epidemic and many youths knew who Monteith was.

5. Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison was the lead singer of the Doors. He was known for his eccentric music and wild unpredictable performances on stage. Over the past 40 years, Morrison has become a legend in the world of Rock N Roll. On July 3rd, 1971 at the age of 27 Morrison was found dead in the bathtub of an apartment in Paris. The official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but an autopsy was never performed. Multiple stories have come out but they all have the same common thread of alcohol and drug use, specifically heroin. Morrison’s music has lasted decades and is still widely played and used in movie soundtrack’s to this day.

6. Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious (John Simon Ritchie) was a musician and vocalist who gained fame as a member of the punk rock band The Sex Pistols. Sid Vicious had a history of drug use and was on a methadone detox. It’s reported that while being on a methadone detox in February of 1979, he had a friend deliver him heroin and the combination is what caused him to overdose and die. In most cases when people come off heroin with medications they get either methadone or suboxone and suboxone was not around when Vicious died.

7. River Phoenix

River Phoenix was an up and coming star in the ’80s and early ’90s. He was considered a teen idol with an extensive body of work under his belt by age 23. River is the older brother of Joaquin Phoenix. River died on Halloween night 1993 on the sidewalk in front of The Viper Room, a West Hollywood club. He was at the club with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Depp, Gibby Haynes, Al Jourgensen, Samantha Mathis (River’s girlfriend), Joaquin Phoenix, and Rain Phoenix.

8. Jimi Hendrix

Just like some of the previous names Jimi Hendrix was and is considered one of the best guitarists of all time. Hendrix was known for taking drugs to heighten his experience, write better music, and play better music. By self-admission, Hendrix smoked weed and took psychedelics to enhance his music writing skills. In 1969 Jimi was arrested at Toronto International Airport for possession of heroin and hashish. There are many questions surrounding his death in September of 1970, but drug use was definitely involved. Jimi Hendrix was infamous for wearing a headband when he was on stage performing. Legend has it that he would make a little cut in his forehead with a razor and then put an acid tab over the cut. The headband kept the acid in place and would hide his cut. This method would allow the acid to seep into his bloodstream during the performance.

9. Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a great actor. He was from my hometown of Rochester NY. Seymour Hoffman was in dozens of movies including Boogie Nights, Along Came Polly, Pirate Radio, The Master, Twister, Hunger Games, and Capote for which he won multiple awards. Hoffman was public about his struggles with heroin and other drugs but was said to be clean for over 20 years. Many believe Hoffman was clean up until the day of his death. This may or may not be true but is not uncommon to hear. Addicts who relapse on heroin have a significantly higher chance of overdosing because they have a very low tolerance for the drug, but still think they can use the amount they used to when they were actively using daily. Police found him dead in his Manhatten apartment on February 2, 2014, with a syringe in his arm and heroin and other drugs in the apartment.

10. Paula Yates

Paula Yates was an English television writer and presenter. She was in a relationship with musician Bob Geldof for a long time. Yates was also the author of numerous books. Yates died on September 17, 2000 on her daughter Pixie’s 10th birthday. It was officially ruled that Yates dies of an accidental heroin overdose. She was believed to have been clean for almost 2 years before her death.

11. Peaches Geldof

Peaches Geldof was the daughter of Paula Yates (above) and musician Bob Geldof. Peaches was an English columnist, TV personality, and model. Peaches struggled with the overdose death of her mother Paula Yates and said she was numb for a while until she was 16 and started to grieve. Peaches was found dead on April 7th, 2014 at her home in Kent from a heroin overdose. Just like her mother she was said to have been clean for 2 years prior to her death. Apparently, she had relapsed weeks before her death.

12. Jonathon Melvoin

The keyboardist for the Smashing Pumpkins died at 34 after mixing alcohol with an especially deadly type of heroin known as Red Rum. July 1996, he was in NYC at the time of his death with another member of the band.  Melvoin was already fired from The Smashing Pumpkins at the time of his death but was continuing the tour until it was over. Melvoin was fired from the band because he had apparently overdosed multiple other times.

13. Hillel Slovak

Hillel Slovak was a founding member of the band The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Slovak battled addiction specifically heroin addiction and tried to quit multiple times before. Cops found Slovak dead in his Hollywood apartment in June 1988. Autopsy results indicated Slovak had died two days earlier from a heroin overdose.

14. Bradley Nowell

Brad Nowell was a founding member, lead vocalist, and guitarist for the band Sublime. Nowell struggled with heroin addiction throughout the band’s career. Nowell got sober after his son was born but then relapsed and was using heroin again. Nowell died in a San Francisco hotel room in May of 1996 from a drug overdose. Sublime was on a tour in northern California. Sublime recorded 2 albums while Nowell was alive and released one after his death.

15. Pete Farndon

Pete Farndon was an English bassist and a founding member of the rock band The Pretenders. Farndon played bass and guitar for the band as well as sing back up vocal’s and also co-wrote multiple of the band’s songs. Farndon died in April of 1983, at the age of 30 after overdosing on heroin and drowning in the bathtub.

 16. Dee Dee Ramone

Dee Dee Ramone was one of the founding members of the rock band The Ramones. Dee Dee died in June of 2002, at age 51 from a heroin overdose. Dee Dee struggled most of his life with drug addiction and was back and forth between being sober and using. Dee Dee was responsible for writing much of the band’s songs and also sang lead vocals on occasion.

17. Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin was a rock and blues singer. She is widely regarded as one of the most unique and famous female voices in rock n roll. Joplin has been inducted in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and has been included in the 100 greatest artists of all time list at number 46. On October 4th 1970 Joplin was found dead in a motel room in California. Police believe she was given heroin that was much more potent than she was accustomed too because multiple other customers of Joplin’s dealer also overdosed that week.

18. Lenny Bruce

Lenny Bruce was a very loud outspoken comedian that helped pave the way for many of today’s stand-up comedians. The famous standup comedian abused drugs through much of his career. He was found dead on the bathroom floor of his Hollywood Hills home in August of 1966, from a drug overdose with a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby.