John Lennon Heroin Smoker.

Doesn't change my opinion on the guy. Heroin is an awful drug, my younger brother struggled with it. I think it can destroy a lot of good things in a person's life, but I don't know what makes people turn to such a drug when they know how horrible the consequences can be. Still, I don't judge because people have different paths than I've walked. This drug never defines a person, but I feel bad for whatever reason they chose to take it. John Lennon will always be music royalty.

 

Going back a few decades and middle class people were casually smoking heroine in the jazz scene but it was all sophisticated and historic so it was okay…certain narcotics get so polarised these days..but the truth is, some people are just more prone to addiction than others..there’s plenty out there who have dabbled with heroine and didn’t become an addict. People just don’t like thinking about that..easier to just put it in a box…I’m obviously not saying heroine is good though!! It’s just one of many symptoms of poor mental health..but no didn’t know about John, and doesn’t change my opinion of him in the slightest…RIP…x

 

I always just assumed all the Beatles dabbled in (but never got addicted to) every drug ever made. But recently I stumbled on a George Harrison interview on Dick Cavett where he said he never tried heroin and had no interest in it. This interview was post-Beatles so maybe John’s heroin use had something to do with George avoiding it?

This is just my largely uninformed opinion, but I think different drugs affect creativity in very different ways. Weed, acid, or even going back to absinthe for Victorian writers & painters, seem to expand creativity or at least free the mind in interesting ways. Heroin on the other hand doesn’t seem to be linked with too many creative bursts. John’s music post Beatles was still enjoyable but I don’t think he had that music bending edge he had earlier. Whether that’s due to heroin or other life changes I don’t know. Someone above commented that heroin might’ve killed the hippy movement, and I think that’s an interesting thought. The drug seems to be associated more with despair than with hope and exploration. Me personally I’ve never tried it because I know it’s a hole I’d never escape. So all of this is just guesswork.

But it’s definitely interesting to know about John, in light of his fellow Beatles’ anti heroin stance.

 

Exactly! I think George is the unsung hero of their defining years, a lot like John Paul Jones the quiet member of Zeppelin who did all the cool keyboard/orchestral arrangements like Kashmir. Maybe the recipe for a great balanced band is to have creative visionaries/divas in front but also have a quiet shadow lurker driving the engine. They really had the perfect formula with the John/Paul dynamic in front with George gluing things together. And of course Ringo who just seemed like a swell guy

It’s a shame that John went down the destructive path of hard drugs, but I guess it’s good that he managed to pull out of it at the end. As tragic as his death was, imagine how awful it would be if he ended up as just another strung out rockstar overdose story.

 

Literally had thought of fentanyl in the mall yesterday... a gentleman in a maroon sweatshirt did it to me; though how a arrived at that conclusion from those perceptions is not abundantly clear.

This post perplexed me when I first saw it, but I think I get your drift. Still, heroin = bad, John Lennon = good. I make a distinction there. *

 

I lost 5 folks to ODs. Too sad for words. Yes, I had heard that John Lennon had problems with heroin. I am pretty sure that by the time they had Sean, it was ended.

I think he was an amazing musician and songwriter and person also. But, you know, he had problems. I would guess that today he would have been diagnosed as bi-polar. He had some basic problems with depression.

He got into counseling way back when that was completely taboo. He clearly worked very hard to overcome his problems and be the best person he could possibly be.

I think he was a guy who was also filled with a tremendous amount of love for his friends. He was a great visual artist. And his comedic chops were easily fully professional.

I think he worked out his demons in the public eye. I think most folks have as many demons as him.

 

John Lennon's creativity took a hit during his dance with heroin.
He went from a Day in a Life / I am the Walrus to Honey Pie.
That's a serious decline.

Across the Universe was John Lennon's greatest song ever.

No wonder why George Harrison and Paul McCartney had to step up on the last three LP's.