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.

[RockyMtnMan]

Even though this is from the declaration of independence it shows what types of "rights retained by the people" the founders had in mind.
-- RockyMtnMan

That's a fools arguement, what if I bought a gun that might cause harm to someone else? What if I bought a car that could run someone over? What if... let's create an amendment banning all what ifs.

[jayef]

There are some tragic things in my life, my occasional use of marijuana is not one of them.

[presidio9]

What ever happened to Leroy? I love him on these threads!

[presidio9]

There are some tragic things in the lives of others directly related to your "harmless" marijuana use.

[toothless]

such as?

[toothless]

"What ever happened to Leroy? I love him on these threads! "

He is able to state his points and not get sucked into constant 'i know you are but what am i'

I wish I had that power.

[jayef]

Why does anyone have to prove that pot is not harmful? Prove that cheeseburgers and fries are not harmful. Prove that automobiles are not harmful. Prove that fireworks are not harmful. Pesticides, high tension power lines, extreme sports, etc. Do you not understand the company that you keep? Do you not understand the inconsistency of your logic?

[RockyMtnMan]

There are some tragic things in the lives of others directly related to your "harmless" marijuana use.

Primarily turf battles created by the WOD

There are some purely tragic cases of crack babies and deformities. But then how many children are born with Down's syndrome because of alcohol intake while pregnant.

[toothless]

I know a couple people who have webed toes that they swear are a result of their mother's MJ use.

[presidio9]

Prove that cheeseburgers and fries are not harmful.

This is classic.

Riiiight... legalizing pot will make cheesburgers stop being harmful. Either that or we need to outlaw cheesburgers dammit!

giggle

bump

[toothless]

LALALALALALALA - presidio9

[presidio9]

I wish I had that power.

From the sound of things, you are actually looking up to Leroy as your intellectual superior. Amazing.

[RockyMtnMan]

I know a couple people who have webed toes that they swear are a result of their mother's MJ use.

LOL! So they can thank their mom for giving them a natural advantage over other swimmers. Legal or not it will happen to others.

[toothless]

Leroy has powers of comprehension that you will never understand.

[lugsoul]

Liar. You said it was MY logic. And I challenged you to point to any post - any post - where I present or rely on such logic. And you can't. You are a simply a liar.

[presidio9]

LALALALALALALA - presidio9

Hmmmm.... maybey Leroy actually IS your intellectual superior. Facinating.

[lugsoul]

Answer the question, Clair.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

What ever happened to Leroy? I love him on these threads!

I suspect that this is one thread that LeRoy does not want to get a lot of exposure.

[presidio9]

To refer you back to your original statement: You asked where did anybody but me (P9) make that assumption. I gave several examples. It was easy. Want to know why? Because that logic is central to the legalize drugs enviornment. No lie there. Just the truth, which hurts, don't it?

[lugsoul]

C,mon, coward. Without reference to alcohol, I asked you to articulate your arguments why pot should be illegal. Without regard to whether alcohol is legal or not. And you run from the question like a French soldier. And then you spew lies about what I have posted. Step off.