The popular disc jockey was found dead Aug. 28, due to an apparent overdose of prescription drugs, police said.  Both pills and drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.  He was 36 years old.

DJ AM, or Adam Goldstein, played at celebrity night clubs all around the world, and is popular mostly for his compilations with Blink-182’s Travis Barker.  He and his previous band Crazy Town wrote the hit song “Butterfly” in 2001.  Goldstein is also known for his past relationships with starlets including Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore.

According to a 2007 interview with the New York Times, Goldstein admitted to having an addiction to crack cocaine in his early 20s.  However, he told the paper he had been sober for nine years.

Ironically, Goldstein recently agreed to host Gone Too Far, a reality show to air in October on MTV where young people attempt to overcome their drug addictions.

Although his cause of death has not yet been proven, it is obvious that DJ AM most likely overdosed on drugs that he claimed to have sworn off.  Yet another life has been claimed by an overdose.  Will this death cause celebrities, as well as the rest of today’s youth, to realize that they’re not immortal?  Drugs and addiction lead to long-term damage, if not overdoses, and they’re portrayed today as chic and fun “party favors”. Too many young, talented people have unexpectedly died due to drug addictions, and it’s somehow a rude awakening for everyone else?

When revered artists like DJ AM admit, unashamed, to using drugs, and having addictions, how will their young followers respond?  Many have yet to grasp the reality that drugs can take your life in an instant, and sadly, we realize this only after we lose a young person to an overdose.