Elton John calls marijuana legalization 'one of the greatest mistakes of all time' after addiction struggles
Elton John has strong feelings about the legalization of marijuana.
The rock star, who was named Time magazine's Icon of the Year this week, spoke to the outlet about his storied career, which, for a period of time, was affected by his addiction to drugs and alcohol. John's experience with addiction led to his firm stance against marijuana use.
"I maintain that it’s addictive," he said. "It leads to other drugs. And when you’re stoned — and I’ve been stoned — you don’t think normally."
The singer-songwriter added, "Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time."
ELTON JOHN HAS ‘LOST MY EYESIGHT’ FOLLOWING SEVERE INFECTION
Time reported that when John was asked if he had similar thoughts to alcohol, he paused and looked at husband David Furnish, who was also present for the interview, for help in answering. Furnish then gave an answer "suggesting that while alcohol is part of the fabric of society, there are studies that find it’s much less healthy than people believe it to be."
In 1974, the same year John released hits like "Bennie and the Jets" and "Candle in the Wind," he was introduced to cocaine and eventually became addicted.
"You make terrible decisions on drugs," he recalled. "I wanted love so badly, I’d just take hostages. I’d see someone I liked and spend three or four months together, and then they would resent me because they had nothing in their life apart from me. It really upsets me, thinking back on how many people I probably hurt."
Bernie Taupin, John's longtime songwriting partner, also spoke to the outlet, saying, "I was terrified for him. It was absolutely horrible. A lot of the work that we did in the times when he was at his worst wasn’t the best of both of us."
He added, "I wasn’t able to creatively invest any time in writing material that related to him until he actually found himself, and then it was easier for me to reflect upon it."
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It was in 1990 when John got clean, and he has maintained his sobriety ever since. In July, he shared an Alcoholics Anonymous chip with the caption, "34 years clean and sober. My life has never been better."
"It’s tough to tell someone that they’re being an a--hole, and it’s tough to hear," he admitted in his interview with Time. "Eventually I made the choice to admit that I’m being an a--hole."
Later in the interview, John touched on sobriety again, beginning his statement with, "I’ve never lost the excitement of buying a new record, a new book, a new photograph."
He went on to say that given the choice between never being able to play music again or never being able to listen to it, he would give up playing, saying that listening to music has been what has "kept me going."
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John explained, "I don’t really believe in the biblical God too much, but I have faith. My higher power has been looking after me all my life; he’s got me through drugs, he’s got me through depression, he’s got me through loneliness, and he got me sober. He’s been there all the time, I think. I just didn’t acknowledge him."
He and Furnish share two sons, Zachary, born in 2010, and Elijah, born in 2013. John told Time that if he had the opportunity to give them his talent and the fame that came with it, he would not do it.
"I’ve lived an incredible life, but it’s been a hell of a life, and it’s been a slog," he said. "I wouldn’t want that amount of pressure on them."
"If people remember that we tried to change the world a little bit, we were kind, we tried to help people," John said, that would be good enough for him. "And then, apart from that, there was the music."