Hip hop artist frustrated by “drug addict” branding

One of the many challenges facing addicts on the road to recovery – and has likely been a contributing factor in countless relapses – is the stigma they may face as a result of their past drug abuse. Previously, we covered the story of a recovering alcoholic who was even looked down upon by fellow abusers for not following the same steps to overcome his habit. Now, a hip hop artist and reality TV star has spoken up against this stigma in a similar way.

In a recent interview with the entertainment website ThisIs50.com, rapper Joe Budden addressed the fact that the music industry has labeled him a “druggie rapper,” even though he no longer uses any narcotics.

Talk of his past drug abuse initially ramped up after Budden openly discussed his habit – and the danger it put him in – in an interview with the Fox News affiliate in New York. He confessed that he had spent a summer taking copious amount of MDMA or “Molly” – a variant of ecstasy.

“I didn’t see a problem with the fact that maybe five days would go by without sleeping, [or] that maybe I was hallucinating […and] just couldn’t get up and walk sometimes,” he told the news source. Fox News states that the rapper reportedly felt lucky to have lived through it.

Though that period of abuse is behind him, though, Budden said in his ThisIs50 interview that others have been quick to brand him as an addict because of it. In truth, says Budden, he considers himself “too dysfunctional and self-destructive” to take drugs, and has stopped abusing them entirely.

If someone you love has developed a substance abuse problem, a professional interventionist can help. At Intervention Services, we can help you arrange an intervention and also provide the long-term guidance and support necessary to truly overcome an addiction.

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