French Montana inspired to launch addiction help service after Mac Miller's death
French Montana was inspired to launch an addiction help service after Mac Miller's death.
The rapper passed away in 2018 aged 26 after suffering an accidental drug overdose while French himself battled his own addiction issues over the years before getting sober in 2019 - and he's now revealed the loss of his pal pushed him towards creating a partnership with Guardian Recovery Services and NAQI Healthcare to provides a medically supervised in-home detox program for addicts.
Speaking on the 'PEOPLE Every Day' podcast, he explained: "It (Miller's death) touched me because I'm in that space and I consider these artists as my brothers and my family. And when we lose one, it's like damn near losing part of us.
"I've been thinking about this for a very long time. What can I do to help?"
"They say (alcohol) is the easiest thing to get into and it's the hardest thing to get rid of. It's a slippery slope. Every time you celebrate, you're having to drink. You have your own vices and after a while, that becomes an everyday thing. It becomes an addiction.
"(Pills) can sneak up on you, too - when you go to the doctor for a pain in your leg or your tooth is hurting, they give you Vicodins or Percocets. Before you know it, you're feeling good, and you keep taking them (when you don't need them anymore). And opiates are one of the most dangerous things to get addicted to - oxys, all of those."
French went on to explain addicts trying to detox on their own can end up in danger so he hopes his new venture treating people at home will help save lives.
He added: "You can't shake it off yourself, because it's dangerous (to detox cold turkey) ... I'm very excited and very happy that we can cure people, especially in the comfort of their homes. A lot of people are private. When you go through your problems, you want to stay private and you want to be taken care of wherever you're comfortable. We want to help people stay alive as much as we can, wherever they're comfortable."
The 36-year-old rap star has been sober for more than a year after spending time in hospital in 2019 for exhaustion and substance abuse.
Speaking about his recovery, he said: "It was just overdoing something for too long. "And, to the point where, now sober is becoming my new high. People were saying I was out of control. Not me, you know what I'm saying?" French - who previously dated reality star Khloe Kardashian - now considers overcoming his addiction to be one of his biggest achievements in life. He explained: "[I] stepped back, took two steps back, didn't drop no music, detox from social media ... And I think that was like the hardest thing I ever did in my life, to snatch myself back. So, for me to stop everything and just step back, that was like one of my biggest accomplishments."
