Mike Tyson issues grim warning about dangers of drug use, fentanyl
The legendary boxer, who knows his fair share about elicit drug use, spoke out about fentanyl during a tour of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) lab in New York City earlier this week.
Tyson toured the facility with Alina Habba, the acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, and even donned a DEA lab coat as he learned about the deadly narcotic.
'One pill can kill,' Tyson told the New York Post.
'I just found out that a pin of fentanyl can kill somebody. I was never educated on fentanyl and this is new to me. I'm just here to be educated on the laws.'
The 58-year-old former heavyweight champion owns a legal cannabis company, TYSON 2.0, and touted the safety of its products compared to street drugs potential laced with deadly narcotics.
According to reports, nearly 70% of recent overdose deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to illegally manufactured fentanyl and New York City saw nearly 2,200 fatal overdoses last year.
'There is a real toxic problem and that's the truth of it,' said Habba, who became friends with Tyson and his wife Kiki after meeting at a UFC event.
'They are such proponents, the Tysons, of safe use. And making sure it's not from China or a pesticide.'
During the tour of the lab, Tyson was shown huge amounts of evidence collected in DEA seizures, including massive bags of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, vapes and a bag filled with orange-coloured fake Adderall.
A scientist showed off a fentanyl brick that also contained carfentanil, 'which is more potent than fentanyl,' Tyson was told.
'We have kids where they take a pill from God knows where or smoke a vape or take a gummy and they don't know where it came from and next thing you know you are on the floor because of that little piece of fentanyl,' Habba told Tyson.
Tyson's history with substance abuse is well-documented and a big reason why he became interested in legal, safe cannabis.
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'It's mostly because I was in a lot of insane asylums, believe it or not,' he said. 'I did a lot of drugs, a lot of cocaine and a lot of drinking and then I started smoking and it changed my whole life.
'I haven't been smoking (cigarettes), I haven't been drinking, I haven't done cocaine in nine years,' he said. 'Now, I'm trying to make the whole cannabis universe safe.'
The boxing icon also said that he'll 'never' return to the ring after his high-profile fight last year with influencer Jake Paul — a widely criticized bout that saw Paul holding back from hurting the aging pugilist.
'That's why I did the last fight, so I never have to do it again,' Tyson said.
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