Elton John has hit out at the legalisation of marijuana in parts of North America, saying it was “one of the greatest mistakes of all time”.
The musician, who brought his touring career to an end last year and has been sober for 34 years, has helped fellow celebrities including Eminem and Robbie Williams to recover from addiction.
John, who was named Time’s icon of the year, told the magazine that it is “tough to hear” how bad your behaviour has become, and said admitting this helped him get clean.
He said that marijuana was “addictive”, and said: “It leads to other drugs. And when you’re stoned – and I’ve been stoned – you don’t think normally. Legalising marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time.”
In a 1999 interview with David Frost, John disclosed that his throat problems midway through an Australian tour in the mid-1980s were caused by marijuana, and said he had given up using the drug after advice from doctors.
In Canada, cannabis has been legal for adults, with certain restrictions including on the amount people can possess and distribute, since 2018. Many US states, including California, have also legalised cannabis for medicinal or recreational use, though it remains illegal in others.
John also discussed his “short fuse”, saying he can snap “if I’m tired, if I’m exhausted, if I’m overwhelmed”. His temper was explored in a 1997 documentary titled Tantrums and Tiaras. But John also credits his ability to create songs quickly to his impatience, saying: “It’s really effortless. If I get a lyric and I look at it, the song comes straight out.”
His husband, David Furnish, is putting out a new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, with fellow director RJ Cutler, which captures the veteran singer preparing for his final concert in North America at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where he performed two sold-out concerts in 1975.
His headline set at Glastonbury last year was his last UK performance as part of a 330-date Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which he drew to a close with an emotionally charged show in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Earlier this year, John became the 19th performer to earn the coveted EGOT status – a winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. In September, he disclosed on Instagram that his vision had been affected in his right eye after he contracted an infection in the summer.
