Fame, Friendship and Drug Addiction

Fame, Friendship and Drug Addiction

Jason Mewes known for some of his roles in Clerks, Dogma, and half the duo of Jay and Silent Bob speaks out about his addiction to heroin and prescription drugs.

Mewes grew up in a home with an addicted mother and pretty much stayed away from drugs and alcohol due to experiences in his childhood. He began his drug addiction in his 20’s after his career took off. His mother, who was diagnosed with AIDS while he was filming Dogma, gave him OxyContin to help him kick his heroin addiction which resulted in his prescription drug addiction too. In 1997, Mewes went to his first drug treatment center. In 1999, he was arrested for heroin possession, in 2002 his mother died, and in 2003 he spent 6 months in a drug rehab center. Reportedly, Mewes has been sober since 2006.

Currently, Mewes does podcasts with his friend Kevin Smith (Silent Bob). Smith has been friends with Mewes from the beginning of Mewes’ career. He has encouraged him to remain sober and even sent him to rehab the first time Mewes went. He took Mewes in to live with him but kicked him out after he found that he was using drugs again.

How to be supportive of recovery and not put up with the disease of addiction is sometimes hard to discern, especially when there is a close bond of friendship. Smith’s friendship is a good example of how to be supportive of a friend’s recovery and setting healthy boundaries when they are actively using.