Sean M.

By Sean's mom, Kathy

Sean McLarty

Austell, Georgia

My son, Sean McLarty was born on July 11, 1980, in Lithia Springs, Georgia. Growing up, he was a very happy and loving child and he carried those qualities into adulthood. Sean was always an absolute joy to be around. He had a knack for making people smile; the room would light up whenever he entered. He had two children, Caleb and Mina, who were the loves of his life.

Sean always had an aspiration for acting and went on to be featured in several films and TV shows. He had a small role in one of Tyler Perry's House of Payne episodes; played a mute crook in a movie called Three Rookies; was in the youtube series Fighting Angels; and had roles in various short films. Sean was also exceptional at repairing computers and electronics - if it was broken, he could fix it.

Prior to his unexpected death, Sean wanted to start an organization that he would name “Families Against Drugs,” to help families affected by addiction, and let them know they are not alone in this fight. He had a huge vision for this organization. However, Sean could not seem to help himself.

On March 28, 2011, Sean was found dead in a motel room just south of Atlanta, Georgia. The autopsy report determined the cause of death to be from the toxic effects of Methamphetamine. However, even the police officer in charge of his case, didn’t believe there was enough meth in Sean’s system to cause death.

After speaking to someone close to him, we found out that Sean had been in possession of a drug called 1,4-Butanediol, which is comparable to the drug “gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid” (GHB); and acts as a stimulant and aphrodisiac, enhancing euphoria. This drug is what is believed to have killed our son. 1,4-Butanediol is odorless, colorless, and extremely difficult to detect in toxicology screening.

Sean was never a regular drug user, he used more casually. When Sean died from an overdose, it seemed unreal that it would happen to someone like him, with so much potential and life left to live.

This devastated our entire family, friends, and broke the hearts of his children. We, as a family, decided to carry on Sean’s legacy by starting “Families Against Drugs.” On the one-year anniversary of Sean’s memorial service, Families Against Drugs 4 Sean, Inc. was formed into a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

This organization provides educational links and promotes support to individuals affected by addiction to find the help they need. Our hope is to remove the stigma associated with addiction by making it easier to ask for help. When we are contacted, we do all the research for them. We help find treatment, support groups, and other organizations that are accessible and in close proximity to the individual requesting help. After all of our research and experience, we found that there is a great need for more facilities that can help people right away- especially those who have no insurance or can’t afford to pay out of pocket.

You can view our website here: familiesagainstdrugs.net. Help us erase the stigma!

I am incredibly thankful for the 185aDay web page - so many stories, so many broken hearts. Do not let their lives be in vain! By sharing your loved one’s photos and stories, you are showing others that these precious individuals were loved and are more than their addiction. They were real people and their stories need to be heard. There are still so many people who view someone struggling with addiction as horrible, nasty, and possibly homeless. People find it hard to believe that someone who was a wonderful loving father, son, grandson, brother, and friend actually died from an accidental overdose. This is the stigma that is keeping so many from asking for the help they so desperately need.

Fly High my darling son. You are missed more than you could ever imagine.

My Sean: 7/11/1980 ~ 3/28/2011