I'm puzzled

I don't have enough interest for a full on rant, but one aspect of the Patrick Kennedy scandal does puzzle me. Here's a quote from Kennedy:

"I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening," he said during a brief news conference at the Capitol. "But I do know enough that I know I need help."

Here's what puzzles me, isn't it his claim that the whole thing was caused by the interaction of two medications -- a sleep aid and a stomach medicine? If that is the case, then why does he "need help" and how's this related in any way to an addiction to pain killers? I just don't see how making the mistake of taking two drugs that interacted with each other can be cured by a trip to the Mayo Clinic.