EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Drew Talks Hayden Panettiere & The Reality of Addiction

Tawanda Robinson (0:08)

Welcome to The TMZ Podcast, I am Tawanda Robinson. Today, we are going to be talking about something that we just seem to not be able to escape.

And that is seeing that celebrities have been dying from overdoses, have been addicted to drugs. We know that there is a huge drug crisis here in Hollywood. So my guest today is going to help us break down why this is happening, what's going on, how do we stop this crisis, if we can't even stop this crisis. I'm joined by Dr. Drew Penske. Thank you so much for joining me. Happy to have you, Dr. Drew.

Drew Pinsky (0:40)

Happy to be here. Good to see you.

Tawanda Robinson (0:41)

Good to see you as well. So I guess let's just start. How does a drug crisis get to the point where it is in Hollywood, whether it be celebrities or just going down the streets and seeing people folded over from fentanyl? How does a drug crisis get to the point where we're seeing it right now?

Drew Pinsky (1:01)

Well, you sort of put your finger on the right presentation of this, which is that as usual, Hollywood and young people, particularly in Hollywood, are really just a reflection of what's going on at large in our culture.

And then we've had a bad run lately of tragedies. But the fact is this is not something unusual and it's not something new. It, however, is something that is getting worse, primarily for two reasons, maybe three or four, if we really dig into it. One is that people are getting exposed to more addictive substances. I think people understand that fentanyl is one of the most addictive chemicals that people have ever been around, and it is hooking people early and often. Add to that, cannabis in states where it's legal, the THC content is now approaching 100 percent. So that is catching people early and often. And on top of that, we are not treating drug addiction. We are not treating people with mental illness. We have taken a position that somehow people that are dying of brain diseases are living their best life, just leave them alone. I will tell you, I was in San Francisco two weeks ago, and they are finally taking action up there. I've been advising them for a couple of years, and this last year, they are finally creating programs, taking people off the streets, putting them in treatment, getting them through care, and guess what? They're returning to the workforce, and they're thriving. And homelessness in San Francisco is down 22%.

Treatment works, but we have to treat people. You cannot just leave people to die, or really, you're committing what I would call negligent manslaughter.

Tawanda Robinson (2:38)

Why do you think drugs are so popular right now? Why do you think there's such an interest or an intrigue to do drugs and harder drugs? You brought up weed.

Do you consider weed to be a gateway drug?

Drew Pinsky (2:51)

You know, I did used to consider it that, and now it's so powerful. It's actually not a great gateway drug. It's becoming a full on drug of addiction.

In my own family, I have a drug. I have people in recovery from weed addiction. My daughter hasn't missed a meeting in like four years and had her life and health nearly ruined by this drug because of the concentration of weed. People don't understand what they're getting into with that. So gateway, not gateway, these are sort of not even important questions. I mean, the ultimate gateway drug is alcohol and tobacco.

Let's be fair.

Those are the entry drugs. But these drugs are just highly addictive. I don't see anything unusual going on. It's just awareness is up because we've had a run of death. So here's the one thing I'm hoping that gets through to people. The incidence of drug addiction is not somehow markedly increasing, okay? But you have to understand that people don't seem, for some reason, cannot get this through their head. Opiate addiction is a progressive illness that ends in death, period. That's it. And even with treatment, his prognosis is worse than most cancers. So, and poor Presley Gerber is a great example of this. It looks like he's been struggling for a long time. It looks like he's had good care. And in spite of that, you end up with a bad outcome. It is a terrible illness and it kills people routinely. Thank God we've at least taken care of the pharmaceutical excess. I don't know if you remember the 90s and the early 2000s, when doctors would hand every patient left the ER 60 Vicodin. 90% of the Vicodin prescribed on the earth was prescribed in the United States. And that's how we got in. And that was our entry into the opioid crisis.