Lamar Odom opens up about how his drug addiction started
Quote: “Pot. A lot of people don’t have addiction genetically passed down to them. My father was a heroin addict. Pot ain’t getting you high no more than your like ‘lemme try some cocaine.’ Started smoking at 14⁄15. It’s trauma too. My mom died when I was 12 years old… You’re gonna explode after you lose your mom, my mom was my best friend… I remember at 10 years old telling my mom I was going to NBA and buying her a big house, then at 12 she wasn’t there anymore.”
Damn, I didn’t know about his mom.
We grew up in the same section of the city and remember hearing about this kid (we were 12yo) that was mad nice and had college scouts looking at him, nba blah blah.
One day him and his crew came to our park and we balled. He was everything they said, remember his handles and drives were effortless. But he played angry in a way that seemed overkilled for a pick up game among 12,13 year olds.
He was also arrogant and a dickhead which makes sense. What it does to a kid when they’re called an nba talent at 12. But I hadn’t heard about his mom at that time.
I’m from Queens as well. He played against my high school and destroyed us. Such an amazing talent. Nobody was handling the ball at his size. Could have been a HOF.
Being arrogant for someone that good isn’t a surprise but most of the stories I’ve heard about Lamar were positive and about how he’s a real good dude with a big heart but has been through a lot
oh yea, in the years after that encounter, never heard a bad thing about him; that he was chill and a couple of kids I knew that went to Christ the King HS said he was super nice and funny.
Always had a bit of fondness for that Lakers 2010 championship team with Odom and Ron Artest, alot of Queens pride there.
For sure! I’m born in 1980 there a year older then me so I was always well aware of both.
I remember Kenny Anderson being the first Queens legend I remember growing up. Had a lot of friends whose brothers went to Molloy. He was a huge deal
My sister met him in NY way back and said he talked about a lost daughter or something, apparently was just a nice, spiritually damaged dude
I watched Kobe do this to my high school team. He did not need the other players on his team to beat us. He faked one way, 5 guys on our team jumped that direction, but he’s already fading the other way for 3.
Gateway drugs are real, you see the same thing with pornography – first you’re just looking for some big booty mamacitas, 6 months later you’re going deep into the archives for transgender midget wet play.
Who TF diving deep for that ? I’m still good with the Mamacitas
When you get to Brazilian fart porn, stop. Trust me.
Is that how you… sigh nevermind
…no no, you can ask. Reddit is a safe space, like 4chan or Facebook
It’s just ectoplasm!!
Haha right? And after just 6 months usage? Hahahah
Yeah, theyre talking crazy, I’m with you I assume, we never got past Mamacita scat bdsm, that’s plenty for most of us I bet.
damn I’ve been watching porn for like 15 years and still haven’t gotten past the big booty mamacitas
had to do a double take reading his comment cause I’ve never even thought about going there 😂😂
Shit made me laugh hard
Bro thought we were all just gonna agree with him lmaooo
Inversely I’ve been smoking qeed for over 10 and never once have had the urge or desire for a “stronger” high. Lamar is off here. Yes pot can be gateway, but I think in lots of cases addicts would’ve found their way to hard drugs with or without weed. If you’re struggling emotionally enough to turn to drugs that was likely to happen no matter what
I think weed smokers get defensive on the subject but the fact is, no one really jumps straight to hard drugs. They always smoke weed and/or drink first. I think alcohol is the biggest gateway drug, to be honest.
That seems like conflating two different things though. Weed is a gateway drug because it’s the most available illegal substance, not because it causes people to want to start doing coke. If coke was the most accessible then it would be the gateway drug.
I’m not saying it drives you to try other drugs. That’s a very 80’s/90’s “War on Drugs” “D.A.R.E.” viewpoint. What i’m simply saying is most people who move on to harder drugs usually start with weed/alcohol. I’m not trying go demonstrate causation. I’m just stating a fact.
I don’t disagree with you, especially as it pertains to alcohol, but you can’t say put the words ‘fact’ and ‘no one’ in the same sentence. That’s not a fact, that’s your opinion generalized to the entire population.
I mean I knew some people who had done everything, H, oxy, coke, pecs, but had never smoked weed. Everyone is different. I’m a pothead and it’s controlled unlike when I was drinking heavy. Some people smoke and it leads them to harder drugs. Everyone is different.
That’s a rare occurrence. Few people jump straight into harder drugs without first smoking weed and/or drinking.
Rare…there’s billions of people so rare is still millions of cases of this. Also I said weed, I wasn’t talking about alcohol. My whole point is everyone is different and has different situations and different bodies that are affected differently by different drugs. That’s all.
Who can take out alcohol and the point still stands. And i’m not disagreeing with your point. It’s a valid point.
You’re speaking confidently as if you have some data to back up your point
It’s been years since I actually looked at the numbers, over a decade even, but yeah, the data tradionally supports what i’m saying.
No it doesn’t.
Drugs drive you to an altered state. If you like that altered state, you’re more likely to other drugs that will take you into different altered states.
I dont think its a gateway for literally everyone. The same way we have functional coke heads, sports betters, alcoholics and so on.
I also dont think its as simple as addicts are cursed to find their way to it. If being high is a part of your routine, whats the difference between sparking up and trying something stronger? (Theres a lot in practice but thats the mentality)
I don’t think he’s off. He said that he had addiction genetically passed down to him, and that he had addictive tendencies and that weed isn’t a gateway drug for everyone. He also mentioned that he lost his mother and that was another factor for him trying other drugs since weed wasn’t working like he wanted it too.
Makes sense. A lotta people just smoke weed too haha
JUST WAIT. they never said how long the gateway will be. But it’s coming
I see your point….but…
You’re oversimplifying this by looking at weed as the gateway drug. Much more important are the fact that he had serious psychological trauma from his mother dying and neurodevelopmental effects from drug use as an early adolescent with a developing brain.
It doesn’t really matter if it’s weed or alcohol, it’s just about something that is easily accessible introducing you to what it’s like to get a buzz. A lot of people will stop at weed and alcohol, but some people will crave a bigger buzz and go on to harder stuff.
Weed just got its rep as a gateway drug because as a teen, weed is usually way easier to get even than alcohol, although legalization is changing things some (although it’s a slow change). Weed almost any dealer will sell to a teen, while alcohol you usually have to bug someone you know to get it and they won’t do it all the time, or you have to shoplift it which you’ll usually get busted for eventually.
“Almost any dealer will sell to a teen” What? Stealing a drink from a parents bottle is actually the most common form of gateway. But sure bud any teenager can just buy drugs sounds like someone who was never a teenager trying to buy drugs.
Dude, people in my high school were smoking crack. Getting weed was child’s play, you just asked another student that you know smoked for some weed and overpaid. Or you went into the city where teenagers were selling weed on the street and got a better deal but risked having the dealer run off with your money. Some communities might be different.
At my high school it was definitely a bigger deal if you could reliably get alcohol than if you could get weed. Everyone could get weed like all the time. But being able to pull up on demand with alcohol? That was different
Experiences inform your reality. I believe you in that where and how you grew up, alcohol was easier to access cause it was in your home.
As someone who grew up in a rough area of Chicago, and whose parents didn’t drink often so didn’t keep bottles at home, I had no easy way to access alcohol. But my classmates were smoking weed in 7th and 8th grade so I had way easier access to weed.
Just cause you had one experience growing up doesn’t mean that was everyone’s experience.
Yeah most parents I knew would eventually figure out their kid was stealing booze and put an end to it. Like yeah you might’ve gotten drunk a handful of times that way but you couldn’t build a consistent habit that way.
I didn’t know a single drug dealer when I was a kid but I damn sure had easy access to alcohol from a very early age.
Idek how kids get weed here anymore. I was lucky enough that it went recreational at the right time for me. I definitely do not miss buying it from some sketchy dude in a plastic bag.
if thca/thc is legal, you can just order it online and text the business a fake ID.
WE all relate to this
“We? Whose we?”
Yes bro, YOU and ME
mfs be speaking french
We’re all guilty but mostly YOU
everyone on this site just HAS to be a comedian
I dont think he’s joking
It’s a cry for help for sure.
JAV BBW lezdom is REAL and I’m tired of pretending it doesn’t exist.
Nah brother that’s just you.
Excuse me?!
Oddly specific
Hell nah lmao
That’s an exaggeration.
Only 6 months?
What’s “wet play”? Like pee pee?
What does the last sentence even mean
Bro
Pot is a very dangerous drug. I’m glad I didn’t get addicted to it until I finished college. Feels much better to get high knowing you have a job lol
Facts 😂 once I left the military, smoked like never before. Not even in my college days lol.
SAS from 20 years ago would have a field day with this.
WHO WAS ON CRACK
Beginning of the end of SAS for me. Not the literal end, obviously, because he has printed money for himself and the network since then, but I lost a lot of respect for him. He was just speaking from emotion as a Knick fan but it was a low blow.
“Stay off the wee-duh”
Maybe the marriage with Khloe really did save him
I’ll always respect her for how she cared for him during that time. The whole situation was sad all around at the time and I remember TMZ kept trying to get updates on him and she tried to stop it.
situation so sad it had Kanye acting normal for a week.
Kanye played his new album to Lamar Odom in hospital. (December 7, 2015)
That’s why you always go for the ugliest sister. Simple game theory really. She knows she’s the ugliest so she puts more effort into the relationship. Nashian equilibrium my good sir 🎩
I thought it was still a thread about mamacitas and I was very confused by your comment.
Uhhh. I think u got the timelines mixed up a little bit haha. Khloes a real one and im not saying its her fault but he was doing fine too before their relationship.
yeah right lol. not sure it was her fault but it might have been a catalyst.
Bro is really reminiscing there about those cocaine summers
Sometimes i wanna try it people be loving it
It’s nice in the moment, but you’re essentially just delaying the comedown
Now the next day you have an even bigger headache and a clogged nose, just ruins your day even more honestly lol
Comedown off of cocaine? Naw you just drink a couple beers and bed time. Only reason why I loved it so much
First time I tried coke, I had a bad experience with it, but then I got my hands on the best coke around town and holy shit did I love it. And I tried almost every other major stimulant before it and never got on w stims like that. When you’re a partier like I was back in my twenties, you don’t understand how much of a game changer coke can be until u get good shit. But trust me, you find out very quick, some quicker than others, but still fast – that the life of the party can die real quick.
It ain’t worth it. Trust me. I lost three friends in one year from fent ODs from blow. After number two, I never touched it again. Still haven’t (this was like ~10 years ago).
good coke being a game changer is so true lol. The bunk shit is awful but that fish scale makes for the best nights out.
What was really sad to me was losing friends and witnessing my friend group be like, “Maybe we need to leave this shit alone,” only to continue doing blow.
Don’t. You’re borrowing happiness from the future and eventually the bill has to be paid.
I’m really struggling with it at the moment.
5 years sober. Just stop now man
At the stage where I’m still hoping I don’t have to give everything up. But I know that’s the case.
When you feel like god himself has thrown you a way out, take it. I know how it goes, but that moment will come.
Sleep through the withdrawls and anxiety, root it in your brain that sleep comes before drugs
Much love
Be careful with withdrawals. Alcohol despite being so accepted has pretty dangerous withdrawals for folks who are extremely heavy users. It can kill you.
It really depends on the person but if you’re at the level of drinking where you’re shaking when you don’t have it, absolutely do not quit cold turkey. Or at least don’t do it without supervision.
Coke is such an ass drug
Because it leaves you with the feeling of “thats it?” So some people chase more coke
I was just like “I can take a shot of tequila and get 60% of this”
That’s because you haven’t had good coke. The real deal is euphoric
Still overrated.
Idk bro i’ve known people that loved they didn’t say that’s it at all
It kinda is that tho. That guy is off, nothing like drinking, but there is always a feeling of empty and coke hangovers are the fkin worst
Maybe im not saying it the best.
I just felt like coke was to hold you over until you get more coke
Like ive never had coke and then been like this is an elite high
Sounds like you might have ADHD. Shit famously doesn’t work on us.
I have ADHD, and it makes me more focused, more aware, and more chatty. You get more in the mood to dance, but I never ever get really energetic whenever I’ve done it. But what it does make me want to do is more of it. I’ve never had a problem with it, deliberately never had dealers numbers just incase, and I’ll never touch it again.
The key for my friend group was the strategy, ie finding the sweet spot. Do a line, drink for 2 hours, do a line, drink for 2 hours, etc. Never would black out, never had a hangover. We were addicted to the partying and lifestyle more than the actual substance.
It’s when you’re doing less drinking and more powder that you see the greater diminishing returns but also when you start to see the guys who definitely had issues.
I don’t blame you for being curious, but the stuff he is talking about here is incredibly hard to come by today. It’s so frequently cut with fent and other additives now that it’s not even worth the money, let alone the fact that it can fuck up your life.
It’s overrated tbh. Just makes your throat feel all numb and fucked up so you can drink more. Don’t even get me started on the bloody/brown snot the next morning. Not worth the price.
Don’t do it. It’s not worth the fleeting fun for body, brain, or wallet. It’s a dice roll on if it’s safe or if you’ll get hooked on it too, there’s no good sides those dice can land on imo.
There was about a month-long period where me and a couple friends were really into it. We were only weekend users, though. It came to an end when, instead of the 2 grams for the 3 of us, they decided to buy 4 grams. The 2g for the 3 of us was all we needed, so when we blew through the 4 grams in one night (to be fair, a couple friends of theirs stopped by and did a couple lines) we all separately decided that was it. We had our fun, time to get out before things take a dark turn.
But, honestly, it’s not worth it. It’s a crazy expensive drug that only lasts 30ish minutes. It feels great when you’re on it but, you have the inevitable massive headache coming. And knowing you threw away a lot of money that you honestly don’t have (at that time I was a poor college aged kid who had little spending money). And these days with the fentanyl threat, that alone is enough reason to not do it.
Don’t.
Do MDMA instead. Coke’s wack unless you get the really good stuff. Might as well drink a cup of coffee.
No.
There are some substances that the media has really exaggerated the risks of. LSD and psilocybin are about as close to risk free (as long as there are no schizophrenics in your family), same with cannabis. You cannot become physically dependent on these drugs (unlike alcohol), you cannot die from them (unlike alcohol), and they have virtually no toll on your body (unlike alcohol) and no hangover whatsoever (unlike alcohol). MDMA is a little trickier but I feel that if used a few times a year, tested, and properly dosed, is extremely low risk.
Cocaine however is not low risk. Extremely addictive, terrible comedown, can kill you, and terrible on your body. Avoid it.
He had a real tough life. Lost his mom early. His kid. Was in a limo when the driver ran a kid over I think. A lot of trauma.
Saw him in HS. He was an alien able to handle the ball at his size
This is super sad
Vince: who was that person in your life? That one that said “stay focused, you can do this”
Lamar: nah. Nobody. It was me.
The thing is he is talking about drug dealers too, when you had to go to some shady mf for pot back in the day they might have other stuff sitting around they want to sell you too. In a more controlled environment pot is less dangerous than alcohol when it comes to affecting your decision making.
Trees don’t get you high then take a t-break. That’s some whole other shyt to just say fuck it and move to coke.
Some people cant stop.
Yeah blaming an addictive personality, or a choice to try other drugs because of what’s going on in your life on the fact that you were a weed smoker is sadly an easy thing to do, even though that’s just not how reality works.
The old adage about weed not being addictive is being phased out now that it’s become less stigmatized. There’s a lot more legitimate studies being performed on cannabis these days and I think the nonchalant attitude towards the various risks associated with a cannabis use disorder don’t help the discourse.
Like we can agree that weed is much much safer than alcohol and hard drugs no doubt, but I just think we’ve got people convinced that nothing negative can come from regular cannabis use and that’s simply not true.
It’s funny how society glorifies “wake and bake”, but if someone says they woke up and slammed a six pack, instant thinking is they’ve got a problem. Psychological addiction can be just as hard to break as physical. That said, weed is physically healthier than alcohol and I’d rather hang out with stoners than a bunch of drunks.
the worst parts about weed aren’t destructive like with alcohol or harder drugs, but it does cloud your thinking, promote aloofness / isolation, and detach you from your emotions / feelings, among other things.
source: i’m a big stoner
Yeah why didnt everybody just think of that? Damn bro you solved addiction
addiction solved right here on r/nba. “why didn’t he just stop, is he stupid?”
you can’t really just “Take a t-break” when you addicted bro
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Coke is only bad for those who can’t stop themselves.
Thank you for defining addiction for us.
I wish we had a better understanding as a society about drug addiction, both in education and empathy. Genetic predisposition to addiction is a huge factor for addiction and we always blame people for becoming addicts when it can often be out of their control.
I’ve done pretty much every drug aside from stuff you need to inject and I have no addiction issues so I was able to use cocaine, tobacco, or opioids recreationally and never develop any habits. I had friends who were doing the same stuff at the same time who became completely addicted and lost their path or even their lives because of it.
I’m not a better or smarter person based on this outcome. I’m just lucky.
Everything in life comes down to the genetics lottery.
Dude did one of the best Shamgod’s I’ve ever seen, glad he got back on track
https://youtu.be/r_gn8ilJznE?si=JnILXOt2nl9dU2U-
Lamar appears to be healthy and sober. Much respect to you king, for getting back on track. Dude has experienced some SHIT! 🫡
His very first move as executive was to sign Lamar Odom… Who was on CRACK!
Weed catching strays smh
Absolute madness
I read his book a while back and it was a good read. His story about his first coke experience in Miami was wild
I had a conversation on here a couple days ago with someone about drug addiction and he had no sympathy for addicts. He basically gave me the Nancy Reagan “Just Say No” line. There are so many factors that go into why a person becomes an addict that it’s shitty to be judgmental over it. I had a friend whose dad used to inject him with heroin.
Man U did dope cuz u wanted to weed don’t make u a clucker foo
Loved this dude with the Lakers. He always seemed like he carried himself well off the court too even if he was really going through it behind the scenes. Thank you for the two championship good sir.
Great questions. Real answers.
He can pray every day that Khloe saved his life
Sure she helped him after he was hospitalized and almost died but some people say that his relationship with her is actually when his drug use accelerated and her brother used to live with them and he got caught up with it and went downhill as well.
Sure make the woman the reason why he was drug addict. Such a dumb thing to say. She is the only reason he is still alive
You’re an idiot if that’s the conclusion you came to from my comment. She was known to party a lot at the time and be reckless and on top of that the reality TV show put a massive spotlight on him and their relationship as well.
Oh nooo the tv show put a massive spotlight on a nba player who also played for the Lakers who always have the biggest spotlight
There’s a difference between having a spotlight on playing basketball and having a reality tv show film everything you do and having your personal life/relationship exposed to millions of people. I was wrong to give you the benefit of the doubt, you actually are stupid lol
Edit: Just realized your username is in reference to the Kardashian family, now it makes sense
The art of nuance has been lost
Practically every man that comes close to that family goes down a bad path. He was doing just fine before he met her
I mean, outside of Lamar and Kanye, what other men have been destroyed by the Kardashians?
Wow your brain really gotta be stuck in the 1900s when you make them the reason why some of their exes are just stupid idiots or just drug addicts
hey man hold on
its the kardashians we’re allowed to hate no matter what
STAY OOOFFFFF THE WEEEEEEEEEDUH
Im thankful ian get introduce to certain things
Powerful. Real talk.
Crazy how a lot of nba players have some form of trauma in their lives. Makes you think about the ones that didnt make it
Fun fact - dude was my literal neighbor.
That’s wild because he was my figurative neighbor. Small world.
Didn’t even know T-Mac and Vince Carter had a podcast together lol.
Glad he’s doing well. Addiction is a bitch, I know!!!!
Got introduced to tree at 11 the gateway drug narrative is not one size fits all. I’ve never been interested in doing harder drugs. That being said everyone’s response to drugs is gonna be different.
The fact he is still alive proves theres something we cant see watching over him. Sure, people are gonna say “Well why is Kobe no longer here” and i dont have an answer for that but i know for a fact that lamar should be dead.
Something good happens to people, it proves there’s something out there. Something bad happens to people, it must be part of the something’s plan for them. SMH
Sounds like u looking in the mirror and fighting with yourself.
“Off rails” is a wild phrase to use
You can use cannabis without jumping to crack Lamar lol
What a lil bitch
Crack
Don’t blame pot. What a panzie
You gonna lecture me now?!? You fucking drug addict!
I dident
Sucks that people think “Once an addict, always an addict.” People stop using and can recover you know.
Mom?!? Oh great! Fuck you you fuckin whore!
Blaming “addiction “ and “trauma” is a gross cop out
You grow up around addicts and watch a parent die at 12? You a gross cop out, glad life treated u well though ig