Eminem is opening up about his serious prescription drug addiction that nearly killed him in a new documentary that was released on June 26 in New York, “How to Make Money Selling Drugs.”
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has never been afraid of sharing his issues with drug abuse.
The topic has been discussed in many of his songs and he made headlines throughout his career because of it, but this is one of the first up close and personal looks at the struggles Marshall faced due to his addiction to prescription medication.
According to the “Lose Yourself” rapper he “almost died” from his dangerous addiction and he refused to listen to any of his loved ones who desperately wanted to get him the help he needed.
In a preview clip on YouTube he reveals that he was almost put on dialysis and doctors didn’t expect him to make it after many of his vital organs began shutting down.
“Had I got to the hospital about two hours later, I would have died,” Mathers explained. “My organs were shutting down. My liver, kidneys, everything. They were gonna have to put me on dialysis. They didn’t think I was gonna make it.”
He also admitted that after his near death experience he didn’t sleep for about three days and soon after relapsed.
According to the “Not Afraid” rapper he didn’t think his drug problems were that serious because they were prescription drugs rather than some of the more famously lethal substances like heroine or crack.
He even turned on his loved ones in order to defend his addiction.
“I don’t know at what point exactly it started to be a problem,” he said. “I just remember liking it more and more. People tried to tell me that I had a problem. I would say ‘Get that [expletive] person outta here. I can’t believe they said that [expletive] to me. I’m not out here shooting heroin. I’m not [expletive] out here putting coke up my nose. I’m not smoking crack.’”
The prescription drugs were still just as dangerous, however, and once Mathers began mixing the substances things took a turn for the worse.
“When I took my first Vicodin, it was like this feeling of ‘Ahh,’” Eminem said. “Like everything was not only mellow, but [I] didn’t feel any pain.”
After a while he finally had a break through moment when he thought about his kids.
“I remember walking around my house and thinking every single day, ‘I’m gonna [expletive] die,’” he explained in the documentary teaser. “I’m looking at my kids, and like, I need to be here for this.”
He also admits that the road to recovery was difficult but he always had to keep his children – Hailie Jade Scott, Whitney Mathers and Alaina Mathers – in his mind to keep him focused.
“I’m growing,” Mathers adds. “I just couldn’t believe that anybody could be naturally happy or naturally function or be just enjoying life in general without being on something.”
As for anyone else who may be battling their own addictions, he wants them to know that it does get better despite all the odds they may be facing now.
“It does get better, you know,” he said. “It just does.”
The documentary focuses on celebrities, prison employees, and former drug dealers who are urging for tougher drug laws.
