Robert Kennedy Jr. has been open about his past addictions to narcotics, something he says he struggled with for over a decade. He was a frequent user of cocaine and heroin until he was arrested in 1983 after overdosing on a flight. Following his arrest, Kennedy sought rehabilitation and has remained sober ever since.
A clip from his interview with Shawn Ryan has been circulating, where RFK Jr. makes an eyebrow-raising comment about the "positive effects" of his drug use: "I was doing very poorly in school until I started doing narcotics. Then I went to the top of my class."
The mainstream media has pounced on this clip, taking it out of context to smear Kennedy—suggesting he's advocating for drug use or that his history with addiction somehow disqualifies him from speaking on public health issues.
But what’s overlooked in this interview is a deeper, more uncomfortable truth: there are very real reasons why people turn to drugs and alcohol in the first place. Not to say drug or alcohol use is advisable—far from it. Kennedy himself warns, “[drugs] hollow out your life” and are “totally destructive and life-altering.”
But it’s also naïve to ignore the fact that many drugs are, at least initially, performance-enhancing. That’s often why people get hooked.
People smoke marijuana because it calms them down. They take stimulants like Adderall or cocaine to focus and boost performance. They drink alcohol or pop benzos to relax and be present. RFK Jr. talked about how he struggled to pay attention in class—something that today might be diagnosed as ADHD—and how opioids, in a twisted way, helped him calm his mind and excel in his studies.
And that’s the core issue: it’s hard work to address the underlying conditions—anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism—while drugs offer an easy shortcut. Why spend years working on yourself when you can take a pill and instantly feel better? That’s the seductive power of drugs.
Maybe that’s why some believe it’s better to outright lie about drugs—because the truth is, they do work, at least at first. And that’s what makes them so dangerous. Even the most strong-willed person can be tempted when they experience a “better version” of themselves. For some, that first high is life-altering. It’s not just about the buzz—it’s about discovering a version of themselves without insecurities, someone they've always dreamed of being.
Think about it: someone who fears social settings takes MDMA and suddenly feels confident and charismatic. Or one man who tried crystal meth, went on a seven-day bender, and said he’d never felt so smart in his life. That’s the trap. People chase that initial feeling, leading to addiction and all the physical and psychological wreckage that follows.
Even casual use exposes people to this risk. Microdosing is all the rage now—small doses of MDMA, mushrooms, ketamine—to boost mood and creativity. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with that, and the benefits outweigh the downsides. But without the lure of these quick fixes, people would be forced to seek more sustainable solutions.
The problem is, people usually take the easiest route. So, if we want to steer them away from harmful shortcuts, we have to make sure there’s only one clear path forward.
