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.

[vin-one]

thanks AP, now I can go home,!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[presidio9]

Hardly. I am adult enough to recognize where government intervention is necessary. Drugs is one of those issues. So is the military.

[eyespysomething]

I am adult enough to recognize where government intervention is necessary. Drugs is one of those issues

Why?

[mvpel]

Presidio9 wrote: $1,000 worth of pot fits neatly in my pocket Einstein.

Mvpel wrote: Upon legalization, you'd need a suitcase to carry a thousand bucks worth of pot. Hello?

Presidio9 wrote:
Geeze is that a stupid rebuttal. Think about the potency of pot versus a comparable ammount of beer. If they were priced similiarly per dosage you could still carry and conceal a lot more pot. And you don't need to carry as much around. If you have an interested underage buyer, you can always walk to the pot store and buy more.

The potency issue is why Al Capone dealt in whiskey instead of beer. Prohibition and the price and volume pressures that resulted from it made whiskey and its other hard liquor cousins far more practical in illegal trade than beer.

For the very same reasons, the War on Some Drugs has resulted in crack cocaine and BC Bud (hybridized in British Columbia, a couple of puffs will knock you back to the stone age). In the absence of prohibition, such high-potency variants would likely be as common and sought-after as Everclear or bathtub gin is (not) today.

As for the "dose" issue - you'd have to be a pretty hard-core stoner or have amazingly weak weed to consume an entire pot cigarette by yourself and not fall fast asleep for a few hours.

As for the price issue - at Low-Price-Cigarettes.com, a thousand dollars worth of Marlboro Lights (King Size Box) represents about 60 cartons, or 12,000 cigarettes - a nearly two-year supply for a pack-a-day habit.

Marijuana is vastly easier to grow and process than tobacco. It grows like a weed, because it is a weed. Thus, it would be plausable to expect that pot cigarettes in the absence of prohibition would be even cheaper than tobacco cigarettes.

So the only reason that $1,000 worth of pot might fit neatly into your pocket today, Einstein, is because of the prohibition that you are attempting to defend with this assertion. Ever heard of "circular reasoning?"

[presidio9]

Because drugs harm not just the user but those around him.

[commonerX]

What happened there. Double vision.

[toothless]

Because it is one of the enumerated powers in the constitution! see, its right there in the commerce clause!

http://www.sierratimes.com/03/03/06/greenslade.htm

[vin-one]

because Drugs are Bad MMMMMMkay.......

and the Nanny State should tell you what and when you put into your body,

sorry couldn't resist........have fun with Presido9
time to go have a nice cold amber colored beverage which the Gov't says, I can enjoy legally.......

[AxelPaulsenJr]

LOL, hit the button twice, but hey, she is worth a second look.

[commonerX]

Because drugs harm not just the user but those around him.

Is that why it should be illegal?

Why doesn't that reasoning apply to Alcohol.

Because if you don't think alcohol harms those around him. I have a few personal experiences with my family and relatives for you.

[presidio9]

You are fixated on the overall all value of the drug. For the street pusher, the value of pot is the value of the transaction. If a street pusher is currently marking up an ounce $20, he will continue to do so when his sale of legalized pot to minors is still illegal.

[presidio9]

You are fixated on the overall all value of the drug. For the street pusher, the value of pot is the value of the transaction. If a street pusher is currently marking up an ounce $20, he will continue to do so when his sale of legalized pot to minors is still illegal.

[vin-one]

never ever have I questioned the Gov'ts responsibility to protect us against anyone attacking our rights

I do question the gov't responsibility to protect me from Myself.......
If I violate someone else's rights, then the govt can and should step in
I don't see how smoking a dubbie locked in my basement is anyone's business.

[commonerX]

No complaint

[lugsoul]

Oh come on, commonerX. If you had been reading this thread, you would know that the issue of alcohol prohibition has absolutely nothing to do with drug prohibition. Because... um... well... because... well just because it doesn't.

[Xenalyte]

I feel for her. I'm glad I'm not at UH anymore, although I do miss teaching, which is probably why I do the Festival - teaching is a performance art, after all. ;)

[eyespysomething]

Because drugs harm not just the user but those around him.

So do a lot of things. Should the government control everything? My 3 y.o. was swinging and kicked my 2 y.o. when the latter walked in front of the former. Now, either I need to go to jail for being a negligent parent, or swings need to be outlawed because they can cause harm to those around them.

And what about guns?

[jayef]

The military is one. To a lot of us, the only one. Tell me how my interests are served by incarcerating non-violent drug offenders. Tell me how my interests are served by an increasingly militarized police force shooting innocent people. Tell me how my interests are served by asset forfeiture.

[mvpel]

In some other people's humble opinion, the fact that her naked wrist is showing makes it pornography. Goes to show the dangers of having some peoples' humble opinions backed up by the bludgeons and guns of the police, courts, and jails.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

If you wanna see a nice looking girl, check out Xenalytes home freeper page.