---
title: "Psych News Alert: Whitney Houston's Death Sends Message to Clinicians"
description: An official autopsy report released Wednesday reveals that popular singer Whitney Houston had cocaine in her body at the time of her death i...
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Psych News Alert: Whitney Houston's Death Sends Message to Clinicians](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/whitney-houston-death-sends-message-to.html)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 4/6/12 4:00 AM

<https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_88188496-Jun-24-2025-06-27-39-6034-PM.jpg> 

An official autopsy report released Wednesday reveals that popular singer Whitney Houston had cocaine in her body at the time of her death in a Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11. Houston, who recorded such hit songs as “I Will Always Love You,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” and “Greatest Love of All,” was a superstar in the 1980s and 1990s but led a tumultous personal life that included bouts with addiction and admissions to drug rehab. The tragedy is a reminder that clinicians should screen all patients for substance use disorders and help those who screen positive to get appropriate treatment; also, maintenance treatment for such patients may be needed.  For extensive coverage of substance abuse, see [*Psychiatric News*](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=113917)  and [*Cocaine and Metamphetamine Addiction: Advances in Treatment*](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62407) , from American Psychiatric Publishing.

(Image: SkillUp/shutterstock.com)

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/whitney-houston-death-sends-message-to.html)

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