Truett Foster McKeehan: Gone Too Soon

It never seems to end. Another promising life cut short due to drugs. We’ve recently discovered that twenty-one-year-old Truett Foster McKeehan died in October 2019 due to an accidental overdose of amphetamines and fentanyl. The aspiring rapper, also known by the names TRU, Shiloh, truDog and Truett Foster, also had Adderall and marijuana in his system. He reportedly had struggles with drugs and alcohol in the past. As the son of prominent Christian rapper TobyMac, McKeehan had access to privilege. His proud father watched McKeehan perform shortly before the young man’s death, indicating that McKeehan had the support of his family. TobyMac wrote a song, “21 Years,” to honor his son. But, money, social status, and love don’t protect people from drugs. Neither does faith. Believers and nonbelievers, the rich and the poor, everyone can become addicted to drugs and die from their effects. McKeehan is another example of the deadly effects of drugs. He joins many, many people just in music alone. Fentanyl, one of the drugs that killed McKeehan, also contributed to the deaths of Prince and Tom Petty, two famous singer-songwriters. Fentanyl and other drugs have killed many other people, famous and not-so-famous. One of the many frustrating aspects of drug and alcohol overdoses is that they don’t have to happen. Addiction is treatable. Sometimes, though, people are reluctant to start treatment. They may be worried that others, like people in their religious communities, will judge them and consider their addictions to be failings. Addictions aren’t failings, though. They’re illnesses. Many kinds of assistance are available, too, so people shouldn’t worry about finding help that’s right for them. People who have religious or spiritual leanings can find support from groups with similar perspectives, or if they want a more secular approach to healing, they can find that as well. Truett Foster McKeehan shouldn’t have died. No one should die from drugs. Sources nbcnews.com – Death of TobyMac’s son at 21 found to be an accidental overdose health.harvard.edu – Is addiction a “brain disease”?

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