Billy Idol Details 'California Sober' Lifestyle After Years of Substance Abuse
The term "California Sober" gets thrown around these days, as a recovery method that allows for cannabis and psychedelic therapy to help deter the use of alcohol and other substances. Critics assert that moderation is simply not achievable for those who struggle with addiction and that it could result in relapse. However, Billy Idol attributes the lifestyle to helping him stay away from hard drugs.
The 68-year-old rocker opened up about his relationship with substances in a recent interview with People, recalling how a serious motorcycle accident caused him to reevaluate his drug use. On Feb. 6, 1990, Idol nearly lost his leg when he was hit by a car that ran a red light while riding home from the studio one night. As a result, he underwent surgery to have a steel rod implanted in his leg.
"I really started to think I should try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore and stuff like that," the "Rebel Yell" singer recalled. "It took a long time, but gradually I did achieve some sort of discipline where I'm not really the same kind of guy I was in the '80s. I'm not the same drug addicted person."
"I mean, AA would say, 'You're always a drug addict.' And that may be true, but I don't do anything that much anymore," he continued. "I got over it somehow. I was really lucky that I could get over it because a lot of people can't."
Idol even admitted that he can partake in a glass of wine sometimes without fully teetering off the wagon. "I can have a glass of wine every now and again," he said. "I don't have to do nothing. But at the same time, I'm not the drug addict that I was in the peak '70s, '80s."
"I'm, I suppose, 'California sober," Idol explained. "I just tell myself I can do what I want, but then I don't do it. If I tell myself I can't do anything, I want to do it. So I tell myself, 'You can do anything you like.' But I don't actually do it."
Though, he's well aware that he's "really lucky," as most people who have struggled with addiction aren't able to consume marijuana and alcohol in any capacity. Idol adds that a lot of his friends from his old rock and roll days are now sober and that helps him a lot as well.
Idol previously opened about about his drug and alcohol use in his 2014 memoir, Dancing With Myself. At the time, he told USA Today that he hadn't done any hard drugs since 2003, but still smokes marijuana and enjoys a glass of wine with dinner.
"I love life and am not willing to give it up just yet. I don't want to end up brain dead, mad or in prison," he said at the time. "I did a lot of things that were good in my life but just as seriously I (messed) up a lot, and I really had to own those f--k-ups just as much as you own the good stuff."
