Jamie Lee Curtis says she'd 'be dead' if she hadn't overcome her opioid addiction: 'I'm lucky'
- Jamie Lee Curtis believes she would "be dead" if she didn't get sober.
- The "Halloween" actor, 64, has long been candid about her struggles with opioid addiction.
Jamie Lee Curtis believes she would "be dead" if she didn't get sober.
The "Halloween" actor, who has long been open about her struggles with opioid addiction, discussed her sobriety journey in an interview on MSNBC's "The Morning Joe" on Friday.
"I was an opiate addict, and I liked a good opiate buzz," she shared. "And if fentanyl was available, as easily available as it is today on the street, I'd be dead."
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration states that the drug is involved in more deaths of Americans under the age of 50 than heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide, and other accidents.
Curtis said that she feels "lucky" that she "didn't make terrible decisions" under the influence of drugs that she would "regret" for the rest of her life.
"There are women in prison whose lives have been shattered by drugs and alcohol, not because they were violent felons, not because they were horrible people, but because they were addicts," she said. "I am incredibly lucky that that wasn't my path."
Back in December, Curtis, who has previously said her opioid addiction stemmed from a plastic surgery she underwent over 30 years ago, said she wants her sobriety from drugs to be her legacy.
"You're stopping what has been a generational issue in my biological family," the 64-year-old actor said during a conversation with Colin Farrell for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series. "It will be the single greatest thing I do, if I can stay sober. I mean, without question."
"Generations of people have had their lives ruled and ruined by alcoholism and drug addiction," she added. "For me, sobriety first. Always."