How Painkillers Dragged Pete Townshend Back Into Addiction at 80

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00:00How Painkillers Dragged Pete Townsend Back Into Addiction At 80

00:05Pete Townsend's prescription pain management has become as treacherous for aging rock stars

00:09as the substances that defined earlier eras.

00:12The 80-year-old who guitarist described his post-surgery depression and subsequent dependence

00:16on prescribed painkillers in stark terms during a New York Times interview.

00:22This is the way rock stars die.

00:24OxyContin, Townsend warned, connecting his personal struggle to a broader epidemic that's

00:29claimed countless musicians.

00:31Rather than hiding behind euphemisms, he contacted a friend connected to a Spanish recovery clinic.

00:37He got my head sorted out.

00:38I'm feeling really good at the moment, Townsend shared, reflecting on his successful treatment.

00:44The guitarist's willingness to seek help immediately demonstrates how recovery experience from

00:48decades past equipped him to recognize the warning signs early.

00:53After battling severe alcohol and narcotics addiction earlier in his career, he'd maintained

00:57sobriety for over 30 years before this medical setback.

01:01The relapse wasn't about rock star excess or touring pressure.

01:05It was about legitimate pain management gone wrong.

01:08This highlights how prescription opioids can derail even the most committed recovery efforts,

01:13regardless of previous success.

01:15This revelation comes as the who navigate their farewell North American tour, though Townsend

01:20signals uncertainty about the band's future.

01:23He's expressed reluctance to continue extensive touring, preferring home life over the stage

01:28deaths he's witnessed too often.

01:30As rock's founding generation enters their 80s, routine medical procedures carry addiction

01:35risks that younger artists rarely face.

01:39Townsend's experience illustrates how prescription medications prescribed for legitimate medical

01:43needs can become as dangerous as any street drug.

01:47Townsend's brutal honesty cuts through rock mythology to expose a stark reality.

01:52Aging musicians face prescription drug dangers that dwarf the street drugs of their youth.

01:57His recovery story offers hope, but his warning resonates louder.

02:02Medical addiction doesn't discriminate based on sobriety length or celebrity status.

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