Presley Gerber’s Death: What Is Confirmed—and Why Accountability in Addiction Care Matters

Presley Gerber

TheGuardian.com news outlet has reported that the death of Presley Gerber, the 27-year-old son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and entrepreneur Rande Gerber, is being investigated as a suspected overdose, according to police.

Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility, Los Angeles county medical examiner records show. An autopsy was performed, but more testing was required before investigators could give a cause of death for Gerber, which the medical examiner did not immediately do.

Gerber was found unresponsive hours after being admitted to the $7.7 property known as Resolutions Living, a sober living home in Malibu California that may or may not have tested Gerber for drug toxicity upon intake. The news outlet TMZ has since reported that several sources have confirmed that Gerber was under the influence of a substance when he was admitted to the sober home, which is generally a disqualifier for sober home environments.

“Much remains unknown about Presley Gerber’s death, we need to wait until the investigation is completed for all of the facts to be confirmed, said Nico Vara, Senior Program Coordinator at Avante Ibogaine Institute in Nassau, Bahamas. I will say that Sober living environments are loosely regulated as compared to clinical treatment centers and detox facilities, so it is not required that even a simple drug screen be performed at intake.

This is purely speculation, but Presley may have ingested drugs just prior to being admitted to the Sober House. By the time it impacted him he may have been alone in his room and went into respiratory depression, added Vara.

This brings to light the importance of differentiating between the types of treatment programs and detox centers that our loved ones attend. “Sober living means just that. They are a small community of individuals living communally, typically within a residential environment. Although they are subject to regular random drug screening and held to a zero-tolerance policy for drug and alcohol use, Sober Living facilities are not required to be equipped to safely and clinically detox patients. Sober living is far different from a clinical treatment center that actually treats and stabilizes the patient for drug toxicity and alcohol intoxication following intake.

At the Avante Ibogaine Institute in Nassau Bahamas, we are a full-service stabilization facility that offers physician supervised medical drug and alcohol detox, including toxicity screening, clinical supervision, vitals and cardiac monitoring, IV electrolyte hydration and nutraceutical therapy. Full medical stabilization is required during those first crucial hours following intake. Sadly, this is another learning experience of what to look for in a treatment provider. Vara added, “At
Avante, we have no idea what a patient has ingested prior to walking into the center. Often, they may take that last dose of a drug or quickly finish whatever they had which could result in excessive dosing. That can be highly dangerous. It is imperative that all care providers carefully monitor the patient during the first 24-48 hours of intake to ensure that they are stable and safe.”

Updates will follow as the investigation is completed.