The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, as a band contended with addiction for a huge portion of their career, losing their original guitar player Hillel Slovak to heroin addiction, with each member combating their own problems with substances.
Flea, one of modern rock’s most unique bassists, contributing to the band’s iconic funk-influenced sound that dominated mainstream rock for a good portion of the 90s and 00s has often been vocal about his personal journey facing serious addiction throughout his life.
Opening up in a deeply personal piece for TIME, the influential musician detailed his drug-addled childhood, highlighting the impact being surrounded by adults who failed to warn of the dangers of drugs.
“I’ve been around substance abuse since the day I was born. All the adults in my life regularly numbed themselves to ease their troubles, and alcohol or drugs were everywhere, always.”
As the letter continues, Flea details how he used drugs as a coping mechanism during trying times in life, saying, in regards to the relationship and mental health problems, he could “cop a bag of dope for $50 and fix it all in a minute”. He also highlighted the “dangerous” world of narcotics, sharing how he was followed by cops “burned by drug dealers” and was constantly surrounded by “accidental overdoses”.
The remainder of the letter takes aim at the American pharmaceutical industry, as being the reason as to why “perfectly sane” people are now struggling with addiction.
“Perfectly sane people become addicted to these medications and end up dead. Lawyers, plumbers, philosophers, celebrities — addiction doesn’t care who you are.”
Detailing how he was prescribed Oxycontin after a snowboarding incident a few years ago, Flea pleads for “big pharma” to be “more discerning” in their prescribing of painkillers, saying,
“It’s also equally obvious that part of any opioid prescription should include follow-up, monitoring and a clear solution and path to rehabilitation if anyone becomes addicted.”
