Ozzy Says He Now Believes Pot Leads To Other Addictions

MTV ^ | 07.08.2003 | Robert Mancini, with reporting by Gideon Yago

[presidio9]

Ozzy Osbourne may have weathered the lowest lows that drug addiction has to offer, but the news that his son Jack was seeking treatment for substance abuse taught him a lesson that his own decades of addiction never did.

"I used to think they should legalize pot, but you know what? They should ban the lot," Osbourne told MTV News, addressing Jack's battle for the first time. "One thing leads to another. Coffee leads to Red Bull, Red Bull leads to crank.

"When I found out the full depth of him getting into OxyContin, which is like hillbilly heroin, I was shocked and stunned," Osbourne continued. "The thing that's amazing was how rapidly he went from smoking pot to doing hillbilly heroin."

Ozzy's son entered a California rehabilitation facility in April to battle what was later revealed to be an addiction to the prescription painkiller OxyContin (see "Jack Osbourne Reveals He Was Addicted To Painkiller OxyContin"). Jack also said that he was drinking and using a variety of substances — including Vicodin, Valium, Xanax, Dilaudid, Lorcet, Lortab, Percocet and marijuana — before his trip to rehab (see "Rehab Helps Jack Osbourne Get To Root Of Addiction Problems").

Jack's laundry list of controlled substances made his father painfully aware of just how readily available drugs are. "When I started doing drugs years ago, they were hard to get, but today it's everywhere," Osbourne said. "It's not just America. It's not just California. It's not just Beverly Hills. It's not just downtown New York. It's not just London. It's all over the world" (see "All About OxyContin, The Pills Known As 'Killers' ").

This relatively easy access to allegedly "controlled" substances is especially hard for Ozzy to swallow given his firsthand experience with the damage that drugs can do.

"I'm 55 years old, and I didn't get off scot-free," Osbourne explained. "I have to take medication for the rest of my life because I've done so much neurological damage to my body," Osbourne said.

We'll have much more from our interviews with Ozzy and Jack in an "MTV News Now" special report, premiering Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET/PT (Jack's complete interview will appear on MTVNews.com when the show premieres). The show will be followed the next day by a repeat of MTV News' "True Life: I'm Hooked on OxyContin" at 6:30 p.m.

[Xenalyte]

But alcohol and pot are not the same thing, as you have pointed out. Please cite some relevant statistics.

You need statistics to explain this to you?

Here's something to ponder: why do cancer patients never seem to tie one on to relieve their nausea?

[MrLeRoy]

Paging presidio9 ....

The argument is that since we are prospering with (despite?) legal alcohol---which is more addictive than pot, and, unlike pot, increases violence and leads to fatal overdoses---therefore we can prosper with legal pot.

By your very own observations, people are dying like flies due to alcohol. Some of these people have never had a drink in their lives and they get killed/harmed by association. That's prospering?

Compared to Prohibition---with its deaths of innocents in turf wars, deaths of users due to impurities, enrichment of criminals, corruption of the justice system by enriched criminals, and lessened respect for the law in general---yes, that's prospering. Utopia is not an option.

[vin-one]

I can't think of anything more pathetic than making one's principal political issue the legalization of a mind-destroying drug.

Who's principal political issue is Legalization
and further more MJ is not a mind-destroying drug

I am a hard core conservative, who votes republican,
I have worked for the Bush campaign as a volunteer, and many other Republican's here in VA.
I am active in the community, work in the IT field, and am raising two wonderful, smart, beautiful teenage daughters.
My politcal beliefs go way past the WOD
Which I think is mis-directed, and one of the gov't's biggest wastes of money in the history of the world
MJ should be legal...........

so get off your high horse and stop making assumptions about me and the others on this forum.

[presidio9]

am a hard core conservative, who votes republican

Sorry, but you are a Libertarian who votes Republican. There's a difference.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

I think that department head went on to teach journalism. Judging from the difficulty that I have in making sense of many articles in the newspapers of today.

[toothless]

He is the one arguing for prohibition, he has to support it. MrLeRoy has pointed out the negative consequences of prohibition already.

[Xenalyte]

It's entirely possible. She was off-center enough to write for the NYT.

Come to think of it, most of the department was wack. Bunch of man-hating feminists who despised me because I wore makeup, therefore signaling my devotion to my patriarchal oppresors. Or something.

[toothless]

http://www.lindesmith.org/news/mccaffrey2.cfm

there are some stats for you. the dutch have had decrim for 30 years. They have lower teen drug use then the US.

[jayef]

I idolized Ozzy when I was 16. Now that I'm 34, I pity him. Does that answer your question?

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Well now I know that I am out of the loop. I would never have thought that a woman wearing makeup was a signal of subservience to me or any other man.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

In post #466 no question was asked.

[commonerX]

Oh I get it to be a real Republican you have check with presidio9 first to see if your thoughts fit into his definition first.

[bird4four4]

didn't you get that memo?

[Xenalyte]

Well now I know that I am out of the loop. I would never have thought that a woman wearing makeup was a signal of subservience to me or any other man.

According to the Man-Hating Feminists, anything a woman does to make herself more attractive (ergo, to attract) is aimed at men - makeup, styled hair, hose, heels, and so on. Attempting to attract a man signals that you can't do without one, and therefore you are subservient to the patriarchy.

I know . . . I got many a huge laugh out of it. Other teachers would walk by, check out my makeup and skirt (which was usually short), and tell me I was a sellout who deserved nothing more than to be subjugated by some caveman.

I've purposely left my hair longer in hopes that Xena's Guy will drag me around by it, but no luck so far.

[presidio9]

Nope. But if you support legalized drugs, you are a Libertarian.

[jonalvy44]

from www.tvguide.com:

JOHNNY DEPP says falling in love with French pop star VANESSA PARADIS and the birth of their children was his saving grace. He says they gave him "a reason to live." "A reason not to be a dumb-a$$. A reason to learn, a reason to breathe, a reason to care. It gave me everything." In GQ, on stands July 22nd, Depp also admits that he spent many of his younger years confused and self-medicating. Now 40, he considers himself lucky to have survived, unlike his former colleague RIVER PHOENIX, who died of an overdose outside Depp's Los Angeles nightclub. Armed with the wisdom of hindsight, Depp has pondered his own kids' possible future drug use, telling GQ that if they want to smoke pot he might score it so they don't get something laced with PCP.

what a great dad, huh?

[Xenalyte]

[AxelPaulsenJr]

According to the Man-Hating Feminists, anything a woman does to make herself more attractive (ergo, to attract) is aimed at men -

I am missing something here. Is it not possible that a woman could also want to make herself attractive for the purpose of attracting other women?

[presidio9]

Yep. I bet he's a Libertarian.

[MEGoody]

"telling GQ that if they want to smoke pot he might score it so they don't get something laced with PCP."

And how is Depp going to know? Is he going to test it?