In September 1983 he was arrested on a tarmac after overdosing in an airplane bathroom while en route to treatment. He has described being addicted for 14 years, saying heroin was his drug of choice until about age 28 and that faith later helped him recover.
Now serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has spoken publicly about decriminalizing marijuana and psychedelics, expanding affordable rehab camps modeled on programs like San Patrignano, and making access to behavioral health care a priority. He has also called addiction both a source and a symptom of misery.