Posted on 07/08/2003 2:31:17 PM PDT by 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.
War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.
cut back on the drugs. I never said "pot was never legal." We DON'T put kids in jail for "smoking pot," and, for the purposes of a "legalize drugs" debate alcohol ISN'T a drug. It's already legal. Next?
I don't know about drug users, but reality and facts show that the War on Drugs has not reduced usage by adolescents, which has in fact risen. Please read post #884, which cites statistics and links, including Federal gov't info.
I thought marijuana legalization was the subject.
You are losing this battle because:
You say I am losing this battle. Fine, if you are in such a deluded state that you wish to believe that, who am I to stop you. Please keep deluding yourself
(A) You have yet to make a valid point.
I've made several valid points, as many other clear-thinking individuals have done here. You are just too stupid hard-headed to understand the points being made.
(B) we want you to keep bumping this silly article from MTV. Thanks for being dumb enough to comply.
No problem, I'm sure the lurkers can find the truth and have a good laugh at your posts while doing so.
The bottom line is if you back the use of government force to attempt to prevent people from eating, drinking, smoking, or otherwise ingesting substances of their own choosing, you have a severe ethical problem that I don't associate with conservatism in any way.
And when did I ever say anything about backing the use of any drug whatsoever, legal or illegal?
"Posession" is not "smoking pot," and how many of those are kids?
I had a really clever and scathing response to this idiotic statement, but I think I'll just say : BWAHAHAHA!
Is is your contention that the possession of marijuana - while smoking it - is not a criminal offense which subjects one to incarceration?
Is it your contention that alcohol is not a drug?
BS alert for the impending doublespeak.
It's a very simple distinction, one that those calling me a "drug crazed hippie" don't seem to grasp.
Check out my Yahoo profile and let me know if I look like a hippy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.