I never liked speed, and that’s probably why I go more for depressants, because my natural energy is very high. In the old days I really didn’t want to deal with being a star every day and you could kind of hide inside heroin, it was like a cocoon; a soft wall between you and everything else. Probably not the best solution to the problem, but at the time I didn’t think about that. It’s an experiment that went on too long - getting heavily busted, blowing it for the Stones and for my family. I had to stop so I did.

People talk about cocaine addiction all the time, but I know what addiction is: opium, heroin, you know? That’s when you’re climbing the walls and you see your own fingernail marks ‘cause you think there’s something behind the wall.