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.

[mvpel]

And all you've got left is fales accusations that a child could investigate. Son, cut back on the drugs. They're messing with yout mind.

Care to respond to post 626? Thanks!

[MEGoody]

"If the war on drugs is working why do we dump more money into it year after year? Shouldn't the war be over by now?"

By your logic, laws against murder aren't working either, so we should just do away with them. Think of the money we'd say on prison costs!

[mvpel]

Nope. I think it is a good law, and society agrees with me. You seek to change society's mind. Go ahead, try doing so without making an idiotic comparison to alcohol. Thus far, you haven't been able to do so.

Care to respond to post 626? Thanks!

[AxelPaulsenJr]

"Drug facts organization" Oh wow, like I bet there is no bias there!

[MEGoody]

"Plus the constitution doesn't give people rights to do or not to do anything."

Ah, I see. So constitutionally, there shouldn't be any laws against murder or rape?

[Xenalyte]

Coffee leads to Red Bull, which leads to crank? How does that make sense? If it were true, my entire office would be amped all the time.

[presidio9]

OK. What's you point. If pot was legal Jack would not have used those other drugs?

[Xenalyte]

You are not . . . my dog is VERY visible. And so is the methane cloud that follows him around. ;)

[Xenalyte]

Trust me . . . your blood pressure will be far better now.

[lugsoul]

Yep, and under your hero Ozzy's logic, coffee, alcohol, stimulant drinks and a whole raft of prescription drugs should also be illegal. Oh, yeah, you are really accomplishing something.

Why don't you just go ahead and tell all the FReepers that you think they are just sheep whose minds will be influenced on this issues by a headline stating Ozzy's view?

[presidio9]

Denied access to drugs is the same type of civil liberties crime as slavery.

[Xenalyte]

No, merely pointing out that the term "legal drugs" does not mean "alcohol."

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Arguing with drug obessed libertarians. $6.95

Electrons used in argument. Minimal

Thousands of lurkers getting exposed to the fact that Ozzy says drugs are bad----------Priceless!

[toothless]

We’ve been fighting this fight for 30 to 40 years, and the problem never goes away....

Don't just talk about education. Don't just talk about eradication. Don't just talk about killing people like Escobar, who’s gonna be replaced by somebody else.

Let's talk about what would happen if we started addressing how to get the profit out of drugs.

Rep. Dan Burton

http://www.thememoryhole.org/drugs/burton-drugs.htm

But I guess he is biased too. So is the commission tasked by Nixon that recomenden legalization of cannabis.

[presidio9]

See post 901 idiot.

[AxelPaulsenJr]

Yep, and under your hero Ozzy's logic, coffee, alcohol, stimulant drinks and a whole raft of prescription drugs should also be illegal. Oh, yeah, you are really accomplishing something.

Yep, and like they are really going to read all 900 lame arguements from you anti-wodders. All the lurkers are gonna see is that a big time drug user, Ozzy says that pot leads to more serious addiction.

[RockyMtnMan]

You are comparing drug use to murder? Let me check the ol' ten commandments... oh yeah their it is, thow shalt not use drugs. Are you forgetting about all the drug related murders caused by the WOD? I believe God gave us a mandate to not kill one another, it was man that created the mandate that his fellow man not use drugs.

[presidio9]

Care to respond to post 626? Thank you!

See post 901 idiot.

[lugsoul]

Why don't you just go ahead and tell all the FReepers that you think they are just sheep whose minds will be influenced on this issues by a headline stating Ozzy's view?

[lugsoul]

Why don't you just go ahead and tell all the FReepers that you think they are just sheep whose minds will be influenced on this issues by a headline stating Ozzy's view?