Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver fans have been mourning the untimely death of singer Scott Weiland, who passed away at the tender age of forty-eight. It came as a shock in the sense that so many fans had just seen him perform with a new band and clearly, it took away a piece of our musical youth and it was time for the Grammy nominations. Now, we can officially reveal the cause of death, which occurred December 3rd. E! was able to get a statement from the Hennepin Medical Examiner which declared that Weiland died of an accidental overdose. “The above named individual died of mixed drug toxicity. Cocaine, ethanol and Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA).” To add on to that, Weiland also suffered from: “Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, history of asthma and multi-substance dependence.” His ex-wife Mary and the mother of his children Lucy and Noah, had released a statement after Weiland died unexpectedly. Her mission was to get the fans and those who were familiar with him to avoid the idea to “glorify this tragedy.” She went on to write: “I won’t say he can rest now, or that he’s in a better place. He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard and waiting for a Notre Dame game to come on. We are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated that he chose to give up. Our hope for Scott has died, but there is still hope for others. Let’s choose to make this the first time we don’t glorify this tragedy with talk of rock and roll and the demons that, by the way, don’t have to come with it. Skip the depressing T-shirt with 1967-2015 on it—use the money to take a kid to a ballgame or out for ice cream.”
Live life to the fullest seems to be her mantra and what she would have hoped for the future with Scott and their two kids. His former Stone Temple Pilots band mates shared their feelings via Facebook on December 4th, the day after the sad news of his death was revealed: “Dear Scott, Let us start by saying thank you for sharing your life with us. Together we crafted a legacy of music that has given so many people happiness and great memories. The memories are many, and they run deep for us. We know amidst the good and the bad you struggled, time and time again. It’s what made you who you were. You were gifted beyond words, Scott. Part of that gift was part of your curse. With deep sorrow for you and your family, we are saddened to see you go. All of our love and respect. We will miss you brother, Robert, Eric, Dean.” Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends but my question is: does accidental overdose sugar coat the idea of a legitimate overdose? Let us know what you think!