By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-28 17:21:53 | Updated at 2024-11-28 20:00:09
2 hours ago
Robert F Kennedy Jr. claimed heroin made him smarter and a better student during a candid discussion about his addiction issues.
The former presidential candidate opened up during an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast while he was still on the campaign trail.
'I did very, very poorly in school, until I started doing narcotics,' Kennedy, 70, said on the podcast.
'Then I went to the top of my class because my mind was so restless and turbulent and I could not sit still. It worked for me and if it still worked, I'd still be doing it.'
Kennedy made the shocking claims back in July, while he was still in the race for the White House as an independent.
They have resurfaced since his decision to withdraw in order to endorse Donald Trump, who recently named him as his pick to oversee the health department.
Kennedy has been open about his struggles with substance abuse and in particular his use of cocaine and heroin.
In 1983, he was arrested for possession of narcotics while on his way to a detox program in Minnesota.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. claimed heroin made him smarter and a better student during a discussion about his addiction issues
He described the incident as the 'the best thing that could have happened to me' as the embarrassment led to him becoming sober.
'The most demoralizing feature of that disease was my incapacity to keep contracts with myself,' he said of his struggle to get clean.
The former independent candidate described his addiction as a 'compulsion' which 'hollows out your life'.
A former Harvard University classmate accused Kennedy of selling cocaine as a student.
The bombshell claim came from author Kurt Andersen in scathing column for The Atlantic on the same day Kennedy suspended his presidential election bid.
Andersen claimed as a Harvard student in the 1970s he purchased cocaine from Kennedy and his brother Joseph P. Kennedy II for $40 in a dorm room.
Kennedy will need the support of the Republican-controlled Senate in order to be confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary.
Kennedy was arrested in 1983 for narcotics possession while on his way to a detox program in Minnesota. He's pictured in 1982 while battling his addiction issues
He has been frank about his addiction struggles, which plagued him throughout college in the 1970s. The political heir is pictured in NYC during the disco years
However, his selection by Trump has already proved controversial due to some of his unorthodox health views.
Kennedy is an anti-vaccine campaigner who thinks fluoride in the public water system is causing a myriad of health problems.
He claimed, without evidence, that the mineral is, 'associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease'.
Dentists widely regard the addition of fluoride to the water supply as one of the greatest medical benefits of the 20th century.
Kennedy has also expressed concerns that common chemicals could be triggering gender dysphoria in children, denies that HIV causes aids and suggested cancer could be caused by WiFi.
He would also like to restrict the use of weight loss management drugs such as Ozempic saying users are 'hooked' and 'addicted'.
