No illegal drugs found in Corey Haim case

Video: Why do many child stars battle addiction?

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   >> maria menounos , thank you so much. courtney hazlett is the celebrity correspondent for msnbc.com. good morning.

   >> good morning, al.

   >> there is something kind of sad, besides this tragic, untimely death. less than 24 hours after he's dead, people are going through this is clothes to put them on ebay?

   >> that was definitely a shocking revelation that maria menounos unkouferd right there. i think it's more difficult to mourn this properly and to give the fact that this is a struggle with addiction, whether or not that was the exact cause of his death, this is a serious struggle with addiction. and in hollywood , this at play here, when you hear all of a sudden, oh, we're now putting his jacket on ebay.

   >> how would you describe corey haim , and this longtime addiction to drugs? it obviously has been a big problem.

   >> obviously been a big problem. he's been very outspoken about it, so in some respects, this should come as zero surprise to nobody. he said i will be an addict for life, i will always be an addict. so, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise, but i think because he was off the radar, because he wasn't successful throughout his entire career, he peaked in the '80s and that was about it, that was a it.

   >> is that a problem for these child actors , their careers peaked in their teens or early 20s and now they're dealing with the fact of dealing with reality.

   >> right, i think the struggle is, unlike most people who have careers ups and downs -- we all have it -- when you're a child celebrity, you go from everybody catering your every whim, putting you on planes, dressing you, making sure you have what you want to eat when you want it, to not having your calls returned. but i take issue with the comments corey feldman said, hollywood needs to take better care of his celebrities.

   >> why do you think that?

   >> because i don't think it's hollywood 's job. i don't think it's any industry's job to take care throughout their life.

   >> right.

   >> i think that's the parent's job to take care of a child celebrity.

   >> but back in the '30s, there was legislation enacted, at least to financially make sure that these kids, these young kids were protected.

   >> sure.

   >> should there be something that, at least help -- some sort of counseling that goes into effect when these kids are working and they're at the peak of their powers? because parents may not be --

   >> i think it's past the point of that. i agree completely. i think we're past the point of having new legislation, especially -- that legislation you're referring to was enacted for financial purposes only for scripted programming. now what you see so many kids on is also this unscripted program, reality, which as we know is not real reality. i think it's past time to make sure that our kids who are getting this treatment are protected.

   >> 2008 . heath ledger 's death, accidental overdose, that really kind of woke people up to this prescription pill abuse and a link to celebrities.

   >> prescription pill abuse is the worst unkept secret, whatever you want to call it, in hollywood . because it's socially acceptable to pull out a prescription pill bottle and take something.

   >> sure.

   >> right? a lot more acceptable than doing, clearly, illegal drugs in public. so, i think like you heard before, he was helping his addiction through these prescription pills. they're still dangerous. it's not safe.

   >> charlie sheen , a guy who's grown up in hollywood , grown up around all this, he's managed to keep a successful career while battling fairly publicly his addiction.

   >> sure. teflon charlie has done a fantastic job of this. i think part of the reason he's able to stay successful, he's the highest paid actor on television right now. nobody's going to step in and do some massive intervention, say you need to step aside , charlie, when he's the highest paid actor on television.

   >> quickly, michael jackson , who really brought into light the idea, there are a lot of doctors out there who just say yes to celebrities when they should be saying no.

   >> it's not only michael jackson 's doctor, i would argue it was probably corey haim 's doctors as well. it's a lot easier to phone something in than to sit down with this person who's under more pressures than we can probably ever wrap our brain around and say what's really going on here.

   >> courtney hazlett, thanks for the insight.

   >> thanks, al.

   >>> coming up next, aaron mccormick

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