Legendary rocker Ted Nugent once again discussed his lifelong anti-drugs and -drink stance during a YouTube livestream earlier today (Thursday, June 17). Speaking about why so many legendary rock musicians abuse drugs, Ted said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A lot of my musical heroes, some of the greatest, most talented, gifted people on the planet, they would get higher and higher because initially they couldn't manage the intensity of artistry. And the more you get high, the dumber you get, and the dumber the decisions you make, and then they gag on their own vomit and they're dead. "Jimi Hendrix offered me dope," he continued. "I said, 'No, thanks. No way.' Let me also mention Bon Scott — what a gifted monster, huh? Bon Scott of AC/DC offered me all his Jack Daniel's. We were at the recording studio in Miami, at Criteria Sound. I was recording 'Weekend Warriors' — it must have been '79 — and they were recording 'Highway To Hell'. We used to do gigs together all the time. And he was always drunk. He [would always go], 'Nugent, here. Have some of this. It'll loosen you up.' Like I need to be looser. [Laughs] He can't imagine how loose a human being can be because the whisky has fogged his sensibilities. I am the loose guy; you're the drooling guy. Drooling isn't loose. Stumbling isn't loose. Puking isn't loose. And dying isn't loose." This past February, Nugent revealed during a Facebook Live stream that his "mom and dad were alcoholics. I didn't know they were alcoholics. I thought they just had a Tom Collins [cocktail] every night — whatever the hell that is — or a martini with olives," he said. "So my mom and dad were smoking, drinking alcoholics. And I was surrounded, in the rock and roll world, by smoking, drinking, drugged idiots. "So what's the difference between a person that falls for that versus a person who defies that? I haven't the faintest idea," he admitted. "Because I think God gave all of us everything we need. "Some people look for an easy way out, and some people don't. I didn't. I think it was just shit luck. 'Cause my brothers and sisters smoked and drank, and they didn't even surround themselves with goofball rock and roll dirtbags. I did." Ted went on to say that most of his influences "got high — right in front of me. And I admired the living shit out of 'em," he said. "The MC5, they were all stumbling, puking, stupid drunk and stoned, and I admired them beyond description. But then it caught up with them, and I said, 'Oh.' Thank God I didn't go, 'Hey, they're smoking a lot of hashish, and they're just kicking out the jams. Maybe I'll try the hashish.' And luckily, I didn't. Luckily, I watched them blow up. I watched the drugs and alcohol destroy the energy that I admired, destroy the groove that I admired. And to this day, Wayne Kramer is a dear friend of mine. Wayne, I love you, buddy. And he knows I love him. And we have great conversations. And he's probably polar opposite of my ideologies. But not really, because he has a work ethic, and he's a family guy, he's a loving guy, he's a productive guy, he's a conscientious guy, he's a caring guy. But I think to this day, he thinks that dope is essential… I don't wanna presume — I had a conversation with him not that long ago where we disagreed on the use of marijuana and other intoxicants, or whatever category you wanna put 'em in. "The point is that lucky me, I could differentiate between the delivery of the things I admired versus the occasional and, more often than not, conduct of those that I admired," Ted added. "Jimi Hendrix offered me his drugs, and I said no. John Belushi offered me his drugs; I said no. Keith Moon offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. Bon Scott offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. I said no to everybody." Back in 2018, Nugent said that Canada was "absolutely crazy" for its decision to legalize marijuana, explaining that he has "never seen one moment of positive outcome from someone getting high." He said: "I'm all for medical marijuana, I'm all for medical anything, as long as it's really beneficial to people suffering from health issues, but to legalize recreational comfortably numb is a guaranteed script for ruined lives." Nugent has served on the boards of more than two dozen political and charitable associations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.), and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) law enforcement program.
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