Montel Williams talks about opioid addiction

Montel Williams speaks openly about his opioid addiction. The former talk show host said it was easy for him to get opioids from doctors because of his celebrity status.

The 68-year-old was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, and in a recent interview, Williams explained how he was able to get his prescriptions while traveling.

Williams noted that a simple call to the hotel concierge would result in him getting the drugs during his trip.

Williams said during an interview with that celebrities “could get whatever we want.” Maria Menounos on her podcast: “Healing Squad” on December 17th, according to PEOPLE.

The former television star hosted “The Montel Williams Show” between 1991 and 2008 and said that while he traveled around the country promoting the show, he was able to “name the array” of medications he needed, including Morphine, like he said.

“We didn’t have oxycodone back then,” Williams said. “We had things like Talwin, we had things like morphine. “I found that I could call the hotel doctor and get a 10-day prescription of any drug I wanted and they were just happy to give it to me.”

Williams told Menounos that he had started stocking up on prescription medications and was taking up to 13 pills a day.

“So I started stockpiling. There was a point where I needed about 12 to 13,” Williams said. “Some of these drugs have a purpose.”

The Daytime Emmy Award winner added that he doesn’t believe opioids have a purpose for long-term use.

“I don’t think any of the opioids have a purpose for long-term use. They are intended for short-term use only. This is how they should be. That’s why they were invented. That’s what they were created for,”

He added: “However, I got to the point where the more you take, the less it works.”

Williams also told Menounos that his primary care doctor refused to fill his prescriptions for opioids and even threatened to call the talk show host to the DEA.

“Dude, you’re done. “I won’t write to you about it anymore,” said Williams’ doctor.

“‘I’m literally going to send a message to the DEA and tell them you’re looking for a doctor,'” Williams recalls. “’I will put you on the national registry, you should not be prescribed these medications.’”

Williams added that his primary care doctor recommended cannabis instead of prescription opioids to treat his multiple sclerosis symptoms.

“’If you want relief, I’ve heard from some other patients like you that this marijuana thing seems to be working…You’re a smart guy. Look, find out.’ And that’s exactly what I did.”

Williams said: “Forbes“that he now uses cannabis daily to manage his multiple sclerosis symptoms and that his body is “saturated with cannabinoids” to manage pain and flexibility. He said the drug also helps promote nerve-protective neuroplasticity in the brain.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological and autoimmune disease that is usually diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 40. Williams was diagnosed after retiring from military life and began exploring options shortly after. He added that marijuana had a bad reputation before it became a prescribed drug.

“Cannabis should have been treated like any other herbal medicine for the last hundred years,” he said. “Find the best proportion of this medication and use it in the best possible modality.”

Williams founded a cannabis brand called Inspire by Montel after partnering with Primitive Group Boston. The brand offers THC and CBD vapes, and Williams says marijuana has helped him relieve his symptoms better than any other opioid he’s tried.

Accordingly Boston.comWanting to make sure others felt the same relief he felt from marijuana, Williams began advocating for the drug.

“I’m trying to ensure that other patients like me across the country have access to effective medications,” he said. “There were hardly any celebrities or people in the public who came forward like me to talk about my use of cannabis.”