Stacey Dash, an American actress, who is known for her role in the 1995 film, ‘clueless,’ has recently opened up about her previous addiction to Vicodin and her success in achieving sobriety. On the ‘Dr. Oz Show,’ last Thursday, Dash shared her ‘deepest, darkest secret,’ admitting that during her decade-long addiction, she was taking 18-20 pills a day at her worst of times!
Vicodin is a prescription opioid that is made up of Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol). It’s a painkiller, developed for the relief of moderate to severe pain, and has a high risk for addiction if misused, since the feeling of euphoria can often accompany certain doses. It’s generally prescribed as one pill to be taken every 4-6 hours, although addicts will exceed the recommended dose.
Stacey Dash revealed that she first tried drugs as an eight-year-old. As a child of addicts, her mother gave her cocaine when she was 16 years old. ‘My home was unstable, and my father was a heroin addict. I knew he loved me. He just couldn’t give up the addiction.’ Dash developed a drug addiction which lasted well into her twenties, and eventually became sober. After being prescribed Vicodin to help relieve the pain of her fibroid cysts, she relapsed. During her interview with Dr Oz, she said, ‘I’m not blaming doctors at all because it was my choice to take that extra one even though I wasn’t in pain.’
Dash shared how the Vicodin ‘filled that hole inside of me. It filled that anger. It calmed that anger down. It slowed my brain down. It gave me the ease so that I could deal with life. That’s how I became addicted. It’s no-one’s fault but my own.’ Dash, who is now 5 years sober, claimed that she ultimately quit taking the drugs when she ‘almost died’ from a kidney infection. In her own words: ‘my kidneys were so infected that my blood was septic, and my organs were shutting down…so, I got rushed to the hospital and I had to have a full blood transfusion and I was in there for three weeks. And by the grace and mercy of G-d, I lived.’
Despite the life-threatening episode, Stacey Dash’s drug abuse continued, and ‘that again was when I thought, ‘OK Stacey, then give up. You can’t do this life.’ She called her sister to ‘come over right now’ and then asked her attorney for help - but was ‘sent away.’ “Within eight hours, there was an intervention guy at my house and I was on the plane to Utah to go to rehab… it wasn’t until the last 10 days that I said, ‘Oh snap, I’m an addict’.”
Dash said that her recovery has now enabled her to understand her parents, who both struggled with addiction. She claims, ‘the greatest blessing is that not only have I been able to be honest with myself and become a better person… I’ve been able to understand my parents and that they did love me, and that they were doing the best they could and they were just sick. They were addicted.’
The New York native said that at one stage in her life, she was taking 18-20 pills a day. The Fox News contributor estimated that Stacey Dash’s drug addiction was costing her $5,000 to $10,000 a month. The cost of 1 Vicodin tablet is $1.26. But it’s about 5 times more on the street - $6-$8. In some areas, it’s being sold for $10. If taken 10-18 times daily like Stacey did, it can total $180-$200 a day! This totals $73,000 a year.
There are several factors that can impact the cost of Vicodin in the USA:
Oxycodone (another opioid), if taken three times daily, can cost a person $3,285 a year when purchased illegally. Someone who is addicted to opioids will need to continuously increase their dosage to get the same effect, thus raising the total significantly.
Substance abuse causes tremendous financial loss; over the past decade, drug abusers in the United States have spent around $150 billion annually on illicit drugs. The high prices of drugs cause grave financial hardships.
Dash attributed her sober success to her support system and belief in G-d. She wrote in a Facebook post, which was published after the ‘Dr Oz Show,’ ‘I am so blessed to be surrounded by people who have loved and supported me through my most challenging time.’ She added that being honest about one’s past can have a wide-ranging impact. She concluded, ‘I encourage anyone who has a story they are scared of telling to share it with the world… you never know who will be able to relate to you and who it could help.’
Stacey Dash was on drugs, and she managed to achieve sobriety. Although her drug addiction was on an extreme level she managed to escape its grip and go on to enjoy a healthy, wholesome life.
If you are struggling with addiction, take inspiration from Stacey Dash and know that recovery is possible. Our experienced and highly trained addiction therapists at Avenues Recovery are waiting to help you change your life around. We have helped thousands of people break free from their addictions, and we can help you too! No one deserves to struggle with addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, contact us today, to begin the journey to a brighter, healthier and addiction-free future.