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Stephen Gately: Overdosing On Cannabis And Speculation

7912453STEPHEN Gately: Anorak’s look at Stephen Gately in the news: with drugs, death, Louis Walsh, the X Factor and a burial…

The Sun has news. It’s front–page news: “Gately used dope.”

TRAGIC BOYZONE star STEPHEN GATELY smoked cannabis on the night he died, police revealed yesterday. Forensic experts discovered evidence of the drug in the singer’s urine after he was found dead at his Majorca holiday flat.

The Sun has more news:

Stephen’s gay partner ANDY COWLES, 32, also admitted to detectives the star had been smoking the drug, a police source said.

Gay? Is that relevant? Admitted? Cannabis is illegal in Spain but the police do not see it as big deal. The use of “admitted” suggests guilt.

The insider revealed: “Although we know Stephen smoked cannabis on the night he died, that was not the cause of his death.”

No kidding. Has there been any case of someone Od-ing on cannabis? This story is shaped to cast a shadow over Gately’s death, to feed the media beast.

Get this in the Star:

NEW RIDDLE OVER DEATH OF STEPHEN

BOYZONE star Stephen Gately smoked drugs in the hours leading up to his death, it was reported last night. Mallorca newspaper Ultima Hora claimed autopsy tests found traces of cannabis in the singer’s urine.

It raises questions over the official statement by Spanish authorities that drugs were not a factor in the death.

And this wonderful piece of journalism from Richard Peppiatt:

Gately, who battled an addiction to prescription drugs after Boyzone split in 2000, is thought to have downed cocktails and white wine at gay nightspot Black Cat in the hours before he died. Studies of cannabis use show its effects can be greatly accelerated when mixed with alcohol, causing dizziness, vomiting and even unconsciousness.

It has also been linked to lung problems such as Chronic Respiratory Tract Syndrome.

Peppiatt cites no sources. But you can read this by the British Lung Foundation:

The evidence concerning a possible link between cannabis smoking and COPD has not yet been conclusively established. A number of studies indicate a causal relationship between the two, whereas others contradict these findings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 15th, October 2009 | In: Celebrities | Comments (6)


Boyzone Give Stephen Gately A Dignity The Media Cannot Handle

home-keySTEPHEN Gately is not long dead. The Daily Mail has led the tabloids’ charge to bury him not praise him, peppering a report of the former Boyzone singers early demise with suicide, drugs, depression, domestic violence and his sexuality.

Today the post-mortem will discover if Gately died from being gay, Irish, or whatever else pushed him to the margins of what Mail readers would term ‘decent society’.

Police in Majorca says there were “no signs of suspicious circumstances”.

Which brings us to the Sun’s front-page headline:

“I FOUND STEPHEN PALE AND COLD.”

Well, he can’t get on with everybody, nor be orangey-brown as the Simon Cowell pop factory paints its uniform acts.

It’s turns out that a Georgi Dochev says Gately was pale and cold when he had died. The singer was “very cold and white“.

As front page shockers go, news that a dead body was cold is right up with news that Katie Price sleeps on her back, the Pope has a balcony and the BNP is not keen on immigrants.

But here’s Dochev to deliver his “I was there” moment:

“I almost have not slept since this happened. I found Stephen dead and I woke his husband. I am still nervous and really upset.”

He tells the Sun. As for the background story:

Mr Dochev is believed to have accompanied Gately and his partner, Andrew Cowles, back to the apartment in the resort of Port Andratx in the early hours of Saturday. He confirmed he had spoken to police who are investigating the death.

The tabloids chip away. But there appears to be a quiet dignity surrounding Gately’s death. His former Boyzone bandmates Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch flew out to the scene to pay their respects.

A spokesman tells us:

“All the boys are home now. They went there to pay their respects and start dealing with the fall-out of the situation. However, it’s clear that them being there at the moment is bringing a lot more attention to the situation.”

So they left. They did not announce a comeback your, call for an urgent investigation, speculate on Gately’s state of mind, talk to the media nor grandstand and make themselves the centre of attention. They came. They saw. They left.

It’s more than the media can handle…

The Media Destroys Stephen Gately With Drugs And Suicide

Stephen Gately – a life in pictures…

Posted: 13th, October 2009 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts | Comments (5)