Elton John Reveals Marijuana Stance

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Elton John isn’t blowing smoke when it comes to his firm stance on the legalization of marijuana.

“I maintain that it’s addictive,” Elton tells Time, which just named him the publication’s 2024 Icon of the Year. “It leads to other drugs.”

“And when you’re stoned — and I’ve been stoned — you don’t think normally,” the “Rocket Man” singer continues. “Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time.”

Elton reportedly first experimented with cocaine in the mid-1970s and found the drug initially helped him cope with his shyness. Substance abuse, however, eventually began to destroy his life and career.

“You make terrible decisions on drugs,” he tells Time, explaining that his romantic relationships especially suffered. “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.”

Today, Elton, 77, is sober, and he and his husband, David Furnish, will celebrate their 10-year-anniversary on December 21. The couple share two sons, Zachary, 13, and Elijah, 11.

The “I’m Still Standing” star has been a longtime advocate of helping others break free from addiction— including Eminem and Robbie Williams — and supporting them on their sobriety journeys. “It’s tough to tell someone that they’re being an a–hole, and it’s tough to hear,” he says.

The entertainer recently faced a different health crisis when he suffered optic nerve damage from an infection in his right eye, leaving him nearly blind. Despite the setback, Elton credits his “higher power” for looking after him his “whole life.”

“He’s got me through drugs, he’s got me through depression, he’s got me through loneliness, and he got me sober,” the hitmaker notes. He adds, “He’s been there all the time, I think. I just didn’t acknowledge him.”