Boxing legend Mike Tyson admitted he once experimented with fentanyl during the late 1990s, describing it as a short-lived but difficult experience.
“It was a painkiller, and I used to use it to patch up my toe,” Tyson said on The Katie Miller Podcast.
The drug’s effects were intense, he said.
“It was like heroin — once it wears off and you take the Band-Aid off, you start withdrawing, throwing up, just like if you were on heroin,” Tyson recalled.
Tyson eventually stopped using fentanyl because of the legal risks.
“It was illegal if it [was] caught in my bloodstream. It was a narcotic, my friend told me. It was brand new. I told my friend ‘could I use this?’ No one ever heard of it,” he explained.
Marijuana advocacy for athletes
While reflecting on his past, Tyson again made a strong case for marijuana use, especially in sports.
“It’s not a drug. It’s medicine,” he said, blasting its criminalization. “Politicians are afraid of a little flower.”
Tyson argued that cannabis offers real benefits to athletes, helping them cope with pain and stress.
“Athletes play better when they smoke,” he said. “I wish I had smoked during my fighting days.”
Calls for policy change
The former heavyweight champion also urged federal action to reclassify marijuana, saying he expects progress soon.
“I’m expecting good news on the issue,” Tyson said.