Answer Addiction

Author: The Fix

  • Authorities Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 14 Million People From Drug Ring

    Authorities Seize Enough Fentanyl To Kill 14 Million People From Drug Ring

    Law enforcement seized 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, 24 firearms and over $700,000 in cash in the massive bust.

    More than two-dozen law enforcement agencies descended on a drug-trafficking ring based in Virginia, and seized enough fentanyl to reportedly kill 14 million people.

    Federal prosecutors announced on August 29 that 35 individuals were arrested in Virginia, North Carolina and Texas for their alleged roles in the distribution organization, which was based in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Thirty kilograms of fentanyl, as well as 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, 24 firearms and over $700,000 in cash were also seized as part of “Operation Cookout.”

    Co-Conspirators

    Over 120 law enforcement officers were involved in the arrests, which were the culmination of a two-year investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.

    According to the 108-page indictment, 39 co-conspirators, ages 19 to 63, were allegedly involved in what federal prosecutors described as a “large-scale drug trafficking organization” that began in March 2016.

    The 35 defendants and unindicted co-conspirators purchased narcotics from suppliers on both coasts and in Mexico and then have them shipped to their base of operations in the metropolitan region of Hampton Roads using a variety of transportation vehicles equipped with “hidden traps.” Reportedly, one suspect also requested fentanyl from a dealer in Shanghai, who shipped the drug to them via the U.S. Postal Service.

    Inside The Trafficking Ring

    Prosecutors also alleged that the defendants and co-conspirators used locations throughout the Hampton Roads area to prepare heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base for distribution, as well as to meet and discuss future narcotics sales and distribution. 

    The co-conspirators reportedly used at least 94 different communication devices, pre-paid cell phones, as well as encrypted apps like FaceTime, to arrange locations for selling and buying drugs, as well as other “day-to-day operations,” as the indictment noted. 

    The 35 defendants arrested in Operation Cookout were charged with 106 counts of alleged offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribution cocaine, heroin, cocaine base and fentanyl; conspiracy to launder money; felon in possession of a firearm; interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises; and illegal re-entry by a previously deported or removed alien.

    The indictment only alleged that the defendants committed a crime, and are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

    “This massive interdiction of narcotics, which included enough fentanyl to kill over 14 million people, is proof positive of the power and strength of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This operation, through its seizure of scores of kilograms of illicit narcotics, saved lives in the Eastern District and elsewhere. Any day where we can do that is particularly meaningful and impactful.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • West Virginia HIV Outbreak Is A "Nightmare"

    West Virginia HIV Outbreak Is A "Nightmare"

    Approximately 74 new cases of HIV have been reported in Cabell County since January 2018.

    Despite having many public health policies in place to prevent the spread of disease—including a needle exchange program—one West Virginia county is seeing an alarming spike in new HIV transmissions largely brought about by drug users sharing needles. 

    Seventy-four new cases of HIV have been reported in Cabell County since January 2018, according to Politico. 

    “The ground is fertile,” Judith Feinberg, a professor of behavioral medicine and infectious diseases at West Virginia University, told Politico. “This is the nightmare everyone is worried about.”

    Harm Reduction Efforts

    In 2015, Cabell County started a needle exchange program. It also has drug treatment programs, STI testing and expanded access to PrEP, a treatment regimen that can reduce the risk of contracting HIV if taken daily. All of this is unusual, especially for a rural county. The fact that HIV has taken hold despite these efforts make the outbreak especially concerning. 

    Michael Kilkenny, physician director at Cabell’s health department, said he can’t explain why HIV cases are increasing, despite the county’s efforts. “I have no answer for that. At night, it’s what you ask when you are screaming at the sky,” he said. 

    Jay Adams, an HIV care coordinator at the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, said that the outbreak would have been significantly worse in any other county. 

    “I don’t think this would have been contained with any degree of success in any other county in the state,” he said. 

    High-Risk Counties

    A 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified counties that were at high risk for new HIV infections because of the prevalence of intravenous drug use. Half of West Virginia’s counties—including Cabell—were on the list.

    Other areas of the country, including Indiana and Massachusetts have seen spikes in HIV infections related to the opioid epidemic. 

    John Wiesman, Washington state health secretary and co-chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, said that officials are realizing how much the opioid epidemic is impacting HIV transmission. The Trump administration has aimed to stop new HIV transmissions by 2030, but that is a lofty goal, said Wiesman. 

    “We’re recognizing every day just how big a challenge this is,” he said. “There are a lot of things making this a really difficult task, and one of those is the opioid epidemic. We’ve got all of these overlapping issues coming together, a lot of which are social factors, which is why it is so important to have both a medical approach and a larger health and human services approach to this epidemic.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Man Arrested For Giving Mac Miller Fake Oxy That Caused Fatal Overdose

    Man Arrested For Giving Mac Miller Fake Oxy That Caused Fatal Overdose

    When Miller was reported dead, the man allegedly sent a message to a friend saying, “Most likely I will die in jail.”

    A 28-year-old Hollywood Hills man has been arrested in connection to the fatal overdose of rapper Mac Miller.

    Cameron James Pettit has been charged with one count of distribution of a controlled substance and if convicted, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to a Department of Justice press release.

    “Pettit and others distributed narcotics to 26-year-old Malcolm James McCormick… approximately two days before McCormick suffered a fatal drug overdose in Studio City on September 7, 2018,” according to the DOJ statement.

    A medical examiner ruled that the rapper died of mixed drug toxicity involving fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.

    Text Messages

    Through a warrant, authorities obtained messages between Pettit and McCormick arranging for the rapper to purchase oxycodone, cocaine and Xanax from Pettit.

    “But, instead of providing McCormick with genuine oxycodone when he made the delivery during the early morning hours of September 5, Pettit allegedly sold McCormick counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin,” according to the DOJ statement.

    Investigators believe the rapper’s fatal overdose was triggered by snorting the fake oxycodone provided by Pettit.

    After McCormick was reported dead, Pettit sent a message to a friend saying, “Most likely I will die in jail.”

    He said also said, “I’m gonna get off the grid…move to another country” four days after the rapper’s death, according to Heavy.

    Other Suspects

    An investigation by the DEA is ongoing, with two other individuals suspected of supplying McCormick with drugs. They have not been charged, but a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said other charges are possible.

    “Fentanyl disguised as a genuine pharmaceutical is a killer, which is being proven every day in America,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna. “Drugs laced with cheap and potent fentanyl are increasingly common, and we owe it to the victims and their families to aggressively target the drug dealers that cause these overdose deaths.”

    More than 800 people are expected to attend a vigil marking the first anniversary of McCormick’s death at Blue Slide Park, which inspired his debut studio album of the same name. The vigil will take place at the park in Pittsburgh, his hometown, on Friday, Sept. 6th.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Brad Pitt Praises Alcoholics Anonymous

    Brad Pitt Praises Alcoholics Anonymous

    “You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” Pitt said in a recent interview.

    Brad Pitt may be one of the most famous movie stars on the planet, but when he turned to an Alcoholics Anonymous group in a time of need, he found the compassion and anonymity that he was looking for. 

    “You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” Pitt told The New York Times about the 18 months that he spent attending AA meetings. “It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”

    Sharing in a Safe Space

    Despite his celebrity, Pitt felt that he could open up in the meetings, without worrying about other people spreading his stories. That helped him heal, coming off his divorce from actress Angelina Jolie. 

    He said, “It was actually really freeing just to expose the ugly sides of yourself. There’s great value in that.”

    Pitt and Jolie reportedly split after an argument about his drinking. In 2017, six months after he got sober, he told GQ, “I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something. I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know—things I wasn’t dealing with. I was boozing too much.” 

    When his drinking was at its worst, he could “drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good,” Pitt said. 

    He had to make a change, and decided to take control of it. “I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges,” he told the Times.

    Taking Inventory

    Going through his divorce and getting sober forced Pitt to take an honest inventory and face some long-time challenges that he had been avoiding. 

    “The fact is, we all carry pain, grief and loss,” he said. “We spend most of our time hiding it, but it’s there, it’s in you. So you open up those boxes.”

    Part of that was realizing the impact that fame had on him. 

    He said, “In the ’90s, all that attention really threw me. It was really uncomfortable for me, the cacophony of expectations and judgments. I really became a bit of a hermit and just bonged myself into oblivion.”

    Now, he has learned to deal with those anxieties in a healthier way, or to put them out of his head entirely.  

    “Those dubious thoughts, the mind chatter, the rat in the skull—that’s comedy,” he said. “It’s just ridiculous that we would beat ourselves up that way. It doesn’t matter. I spent too much of life wrestling with those thoughts, or being tethered to those thoughts, or caged by those thoughts.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Avicii To Be Honored At All-Star Concert For Mental Health Awareness

    Avicii To Be Honored At All-Star Concert For Mental Health Awareness

    The Avicii Tribute Concert for Mental Health Awareness will take place in December in the superstar DJ’s hometown of Stockholm.

    A tribute concert for the late Swedish DJ and songwriter, Avicii, has been planned for December 5th in his hometown of Stockholm. All proceeds from the event will go to mental health and suicide prevention organizations.

    The world famous DJ, born Tim Bergling, died by suicide on April 20, 2018, after retiring from touring in 2016. Bergling had been struggling with pancreatitis aggravated by heavy drinking.

    Original Music

    The Avicii Tribute Concert for Mental Health Awareness has already confirmed 19 musical artists including David Guetta, Adam Lambert and Rita Ora, and will feature some of Bergling’s original music, some of which has never been performed live. The artists will be supported by a 30-piece band during a two-hour set, with more musical guests to be announced in the coming months.

    “We are grateful that his friends, producers, artists and colleagues are coming to Stockholm to help,” said Klas Bergling, Tim’s father, in a statement. “They have all expressed a sincere interest and desire to engage in efforts to stem the tide of mental illness and lend their support to our work with the Tim Bergling Foundation. We are very much looking forward to this evening, which will be a starting point for the foundation’s work going forward.”

    Bergling retired from performing at the height of his career after suffering from deteriorating health for years. He was hospitalized in 2012 with acute pancreatitis, which was reportedly a result of his heavy alcohol use. He had his appendix and gallbladder removed in 2014. In spite of these clear and documented health issues, Bergling was sent what was described as a “flood of hate mail” when he would cancel performances.

    Early Retirement

    The artist spoke on these as well as mental health issues in a 2017 documentary titled Avicii: True Stories, directed by Bergling’s old friend Levan Tsikurishvili who spoke with Variety on the immense pressures the DJ faced before retiring.

    “In the film, you see him working from literally his hospital bed… But I think he didn’t really know from the beginning [at 19 years old] what it means to be that successful,” he said. “No one knew that he could be that successful. It has been a weight for him.”

    After his death, Bergling’s family launched the Tim Bergling Foundation to “focus on supporting people and organizations working in the field of mental illness and suicide prevention,” among other issues. The tribute concert is part of their efforts to reduce stigma around the issues that led to the loss of such an important musical artist.

    “We want this concert to help put the topic on the agenda and pay attention to the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide,” said Klas. “Policies and tools are needed to detect the risks and prevent suicide, especially among young people.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • My Family Is My Greatest Disappointment

    My Family Is My Greatest Disappointment

    Even though my aunt knows I’ve scrubbed my stepmom from my life in an attempt to stop and reverse years of psychological abuse, manipulation, and mind fuckery, it’s a reality she refuses to accept.

    HE IS RISEN!

    This was the one-line email I woke up to on Easter Sunday. It was from my aunt, my dad’s youngest sibling. Growing up, my cousins and I agreed that she was the cool aunt, the one who took us to the Philadelphia Zoo in the summer and let us drink gallons of Pepsi when our parents weren’t around. But I wasn’t thinking about that when I opened her Easter email; instead, I was silently fuming over who she publicly copied. As I scrolled through the list, my stepmother’s address appeared directly under my dad’s and if I could see hers, that meant she could see mine.

    I imagined my aunt sitting in front of her computer screen. She would have entered my dad’s email first, because he’s her oldest brother. Immediately after, she’d insert my stepmother because she’s my dad’s wife. And I had no doubt my email was added under my stepmom’s because my aunt thought of the three of us—my dad, my stepmom, and me—as a family, as if we fell into a ditch and were covered over in cement. But we’re not, and we haven’t been for more than 20 years.

    And even though my aunt knows I’ve scrubbed my stepmom from my life in an attempt to stop and reverse years of psychological abuse, manipulation, and mind fuckery, it’s a reality she refuses to accept. As a result, my email address landed, free of charge, in my stepmom’s inbox. Whether she uses it or not is not the issue, it’s that she has it when my aunt knows I don’t want her to.

    This wasn’t the first time my aunt casually glossed over a boundary I erected to preserve my health and well-being.

    Years ago, there was an incident at my grandmother’s funeral. After the burial, everyone headed back to my aunt’s house for lunch. Both my dad and stepmom were there, and by that point, I’d been estranged from my stepmom for nearly a decade. As I climbed out of the car, my aunt, with camera in hand, corralled the three of us together on the front lawn. Looking at me she pulled her arms apart as if holding an accordion.

    “I want a picture of the three of you.”

    I looked at her and shook my head, “What?”

    “Please.” She said firmly. “I need a picture of the three of you.”

    My stepmom stood next to my dad, and I watched as she slowly rolled her shoulders in towards her chest and puffed her bottom lip out like a child on the verge of sticking her thumb in her mouth. Feeling outnumbered, I glared at my aunt, hoping she would give up and back off. But instead, she got angry. In a petulant fit, she slammed her arms down, stomped her right foot, and demanded, “I want a picture.”

    At that time, I didn’t know how to defend my boundaries. Saying no or walking away from my aunt at that moment would’ve been a blatant act of disrespect. I didn’t want to offend my aunt, but today I can’t help but wonder why it was okay for her to offend me.

    In the end, I did what I felt was the right thing to do; I walked over and stood next to my stepmom. Immediately, my body flared up in protest. My stomach cramped, my hands trembled, and my breath got caught in the back of my throat. My aunt raised her camera and took the shot. I don’t know about my dad or stepmom, but I know I didn’t smile.

    Back at my computer, I hit reply (not reply all) and mentally wrestled with my response. I was angry, but I didn’t know what I could tell my aunt about my relationship with my stepmom that I hadn’t already said before. And as my fingertips rested on the keyboard, I acknowledged, for the first time, what I was feeling was beyond anger. It was disappointment.

    I wanted to tell my aunt how disappointed I was in her. But then I realized it wasn’t just my aunt who let me down. It’s also my dad, who drank himself stupid, and my brothers, who in their fifth decade of life have yet to kick their drug habits. It’s a cousin who overdosed on heroin, and every uncle who died of alcoholism. It’s all the other addicts I’m related to who through the years traded blowjobs for crack. And it’s every other family member who, like my aunt, continues to look the other way because they don’t have the guts to acknowledge reality. I want to ask my aunt if she’s ever looked at the miserable picture she took of my dad, my stepmom, and me at my grandmother’s funeral and I want to know if she can see the truth now.

    As I mulled over my response, I decided the email I wanted to send—about how our family has been my greatest disappointment—wasn’t worth the effort. So, I replied to my aunt with a question I knew she’d be happy to answer.

    WHO’S RISEN?

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Violence, Death Toll Rising in Mexico's Drug War

    Violence, Death Toll Rising in Mexico's Drug War

    Thousands of lives have been lost in Mexico’s ongoing war against the drug cartels.

    Since 2006, the Mexican government’s war against drug cartels has claimed about 150,000 lives, with some 29,000 homicides in 2017 alone.

    But as reports by Time noted, the violence has spread from northern cities like Tijuana to Gulf Coast states like Veracruz. The number of casualties has also grown, and include children among the victims.

    But public response to these grisly increases has been muted, as Time‘s coverage indicated. Approval ratings for new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador remained at 70%, which it suggested was an indication that either public faith in his non-violent approach was intact, or that the Mexican people have grown inured to such catastrophes.

    Homicides in Mexico neared 35,000 in 2018—a sizable increase over the 2017 statistics—but less attention appears to be focused on the killings.

    Innocent Bystanders

    Even the murders of children do not appear to have raised much concern. As Time noted, the shooting deaths of three young children and their parents by a cartel in Coatzacoalcos, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, drew headlines across the country. But when gunmen attacked a home in Ciudad Juarez in August 2019, killing three girls between the ages of four and 14, the press coverage was decidedly reduced.

    “It seems like we are becoming accustomed to this, to people killing children,” said activist Lenit Enriquez Orozco, whose own brother has been missing since 2015. Though the cartels’ tactics have gone unchanged since the dawn of the drug war in 2006—bodies are still left in public, attacks on social gatherings continue to amass huge casualties—public response has dwindled.

    “It’s politics as usual,” said security analyst Alejandro Hope. “This should generate generalized indignation” against the government and the cartels, he noted, but so far, it appears to have had little to no impact.

    Waging War On Cartels

    Though President Lopez Obrador acknowledged that violent crime is his most significant hurdle, he has kept to his campaign promise of focusing on unemployment as a solution to the cartels’ grip on the public. He has also avoided violent confrontation—an about-face from predecessor Felipe Calderon, who initiated the government’s war against the cartels in 2006 upon taking office.

    Obrador’s policy has resonated with the public. The Time feature quoted Carlos Angel Ortiz, whose niece was one of 28 people who died in a fire at a nightclub in Veracruz, which cartel members set on fire after blocking the exits as punishment for an infraction by its owner.

    “It is like the president says, ‘Only the people can save the people,’” said Ortiz. “We have to look out for each other, and report crimes more.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Michigan Becomes First State To Ban Flavored E-Cigarette Products

    Michigan Becomes First State To Ban Flavored E-Cigarette Products

    The ban will also affect the marketing of flavored e-cig products in the state.

    Michigan just became the first state to ban flavored e-cigarette products, including menthol.

    Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the move will protect young people from the potential harmful effects of vaping. E-cigarette companies have been accused by health officials of targeting young people, enticing them with colorful packaging and candy flavored e-juice like “Sour Double Rainbow” and “Cinnamon Roll.”

    “My number one priority is keeping our kids safe and protecting the health of the people of Michigan,” said Whitmer on Tuesday (Sept. 3).

    Michigan is the first state to issue a ban on certain e-cigarette products, but in June San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to ban the sale, distribution and manufacturing of all vaping products, CBS News reported at the time.

    Rising Number of Vaping-Related Illnesses

    Authorities are investigating a growing number of lung illnesses that have been tied to vaping both nicotine and THC products. The Washington Post reported last Friday (Aug. 30) that there are now up to 354 possible cases being investigated across 29 states.

    The sudden onset of “mysterious” cases that have cropped up this summer have led some health experts to suspect that adulterants are the common denominator.

    The CDC and FDA issued a statement last Friday warning e-cigarette users against purchasing these products “off the street,” and to avoid modifying e-cigarette products in a way not intended by the manufacturer.

    Young people like Maddie Nelson have become the face of these sudden and severe illnesses. The 18-year-old from Utah was healthy until she began experiencing nausea, vomiting and chest pain in July. Then, it was severe back and kidney pain.

    “My temperature was so high, my brain just totally shut off,” she told Fox 13.

    X-rays revealed severe lung damage, and she was placed in a medically-induced coma.

    She was diagnosed with acute eosinophilic pneumonia, a rare lung illness. “I had fat particles growing inside my lungs that were related to the glycerin in vape juice,” she said. “My lungs were full of fluid and they said that my chest x-rays were some of the worst that they’d ever seen.”

    Nelson said she had vaped every day for three years.

    Nelson is not the only such case in Utah, which has reported at least 21 possible cases of these illnesses.

    Sean Bills, 31, was also placed in a medically-induced coma this summer after falling ill with lipoid pneumonia, which doctors also suspect is tied to vaping. His wife, Tiffani Bills, said the couple had vaped every day for two years.

    Discouraging New Users

    Even the CEO of Juul, Kevin Burns, who has faced a barrage of criticisms regarding his company’s marketing of e-cigarette products to young people, warned people against picking up the habit in August.

    Addressing people who “don’t have a preexisting relationship with nicotine,” Burns said, “Don’t vape. Don’t use Juul… You’re not our target customer.” Burns also acknowledged that the long-term health impact of vaping is unknown.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Hurricane Dorian Washes Drugs Ashore, Officials Warn

    Hurricane Dorian Washes Drugs Ashore, Officials Warn

    Kilos of cocaine have been found on Florida beaches in Hurricane Dorian’s wake. 

    As Hurricane Dorian rips through the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern coast of the United States, it is washing ashore shipments of cocaine that were meant to be smuggled into the country, officials say. 

    Cocaine On Cocoa Beach

    In Cocoa Beach, Florida, one storm watcher found a package with 15 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $300,000 on Friday (Aug. 30). A few days later, one brick of cocaine was found on a beach in Melbourne, Florida, about a half hour away from Cocoa Beach. That package of drugs was labeled “dinamitar,” which means “dynamite” in Spanish.

    Both were found while the hurricane was still well offshore, and police warned that more drugs could wash up in the coming week as Dorian passes. 

    “There is a possibility that more will come onshore. Especially now with these conditions. It could be coming from anywhere,” said Manny Hernandez, a spokesman for the Cocoa Beach Police Department, according to USA Today. 

    Alert Authorities

    Hernandez said that people who find suspected drugs or other suspicious packages should not touch them, and should immediately alert authorities. 

    “We’re telling people to be cautious and not to grab or handle it because if there is an opening, it can go into your pores and you can overdose,” he said. 

    The Cocoa Beach Police Department initially responded to the call about the 15 kilos of cocaine, and later got federal customs agents involved in the investigation. 

    It’s not wholly unusual for cocaine and other drugs to wash up on Florida’s shores, since many drug cartels smuggle products into the U.S. using boats and submarines. In January of this year a fisherman in the Florida Keys found a bale of cocaine bobbing in the water when he returned to the dock after a day of fishing. The package contained about 20 kilos of cocaine, worth half a million dollars. 

    In June, two fishermen in South Carolina snagged an even bigger catch, when they found a bundle of cocaine worth $1 million. 

    “We trolled past it. Every time we passed it we caught a fish,” one of the men told WCSC. A school of mahi-mahi fish were swimming alongside the bundle. The North Charleston Police Department met the men at the pier and estimated the value of the cocaine. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Phillip VanderWeit said that finding drugs that far north of fairly uncommon. 

    “It definitely doesn’t happen off the Charleston coast every day,” he said. “It’s a bit more common further south, whether in the Caribbean or the south Pacific.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Robert Downey Jr: I Was Once Detained At Disneyland For Smoking Pot

    Robert Downey Jr: I Was Once Detained At Disneyland For Smoking Pot

    The “Iron Man” actor described being detained at the park for his pot use at a recent award ceremony. 

    Last month, when actor Robert Downey Jr. received the Disney Legends achievement award at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, it was a very different experience from his first trip to the park, when he was apprehended for smoking pot on the gondola ride. 

    “Here’s a bit of trivia for you. The very first time I went to Disneyland, I was transported to another place—within moments of being arrested,” Downey said, according to Marijuana Moment. “I was brought to a surprisingly friendly processing center, given a stern warning, and returned to, if memory serves, one very disappointed group chaperone.”

    Clearing The Air

    Downey said that the moment had stuck with him for years, and receiving the award was the perfect opportunity to clear the air. 

    He said, “I’ve been sitting on that shame for a while and I‘m just going to release it here tonight.”

    Then he took his moment in the spotlight to say sorry, and to crack a few jokes. 

    “I would like to make amends to whomever had to detain me for smoking pot in a gondola without a license,” he said. “And I don’t wanna further confuse the issue by insinuating that pot smoking licenses for the gondola are in any way obtainable or for any of the other park attractions.” He continued, “Maybe for the Imagineers, but that’s their own business.”

    A Former President Got Caught Smoking There Too

    Downey isn’t the only celebrity who has admitted to getting high in the Happiest Place On Earth. Last year, former President Barack Obama implied that he had also been kicked out of Disney for smoking marijuana during his college years, although he wasn’t as blunt as Downey, later backtracking to say he was smoking cigarettes on the ride. 

    “As we were coming in, these two very large Disneyland police officers… say ‘Sir, come with us,’” Obama recalled. “This is a true story. I was booted from the Magic Kingdom.”

    As for Downey, his marijuana-smoking days are well behind him. Not only has the sober actor been embraced by Disneyland, he also received a full pardon by then-California Governor Jerry Brown in 2015 for charges he faced in 1996 when he was pulled over and found to be in possession of cocaine, heroin and a loaded gun. 

    “Job one is get out of that cave,” he told Vanity Fair in 2014. “A lot of people do get out but don’t change. So the thing is to get out and recognize the significance of that aggressive denial of your fate, come through the crucible forged into a stronger metal… But I don’t even know if that was my experience.” 

    Downey has since watched his own son battle with drug use.

    “Pick a dysfunction and it’s a family problem,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com