If Michael was a drug addict, then it is not our business to judge him based on that. To even ask the question "did he let us down" is very rude and judgemental.
First, if you have never had an addiction yourself, you don't have an opinion about the matter.
Secondly, to treat people as outcasts or abnormal because they have an addiction is wrong.
Thirdly, none of you knew Michael personally, so what he was or was not is not your concern. You don't know what he took or why, all you know is that he had pain.
If you don't have a degree in psychology, medicine or have never been an addict, you are incapable of understanding what it means to be addicted. Secondly, be very careful of giving someone the label of a drug addict. Michael did not take drugs to get high, he took drugs to deal with pain. Again, if you have not suffered from pain over several years, you don't have an opinion on the matter. There is a difference between taking drugs to get high and taking drugs to deal with pain, but they can both lead to an addiction.
Just be very very careful on how you go about talking about this, because you may meet people who have been addicts and who knows what this means. If you say you feel Michael let you down because he took drugs, such people will loose respect for you.
Keep the drug addict innuendo to yourself people. Ask the questions, but don't presume to know what it is.
Sorry, but this thread pisses me off!
Regards from someone who knows the mind of an addict, AND who knows the danger of prescribed medicine.
If Michael was addicted, he didn't let anyone down. The people around him who allowed this to continue let Michael down.
We don't have the right to judge Michael in this matter