Montel Williams recalls using his celebrity status to amass a stockpile of opioids: ‘We can get whatever we want’

Montel Williams has revealed how easy it was for him to obtain opioids due to his celebrity status during the height of illegal drug use.

Williams, 68, detailed his past abuse of prescription drugs Talking with Maria Menounos Tuesday’s episode of her podcast “Heel Squad”.

“As celebrities, we can get whatever we want,” he told Menounos, 46.

From 1991 to 2008, the star hosted “The Montel Williams Show” and traveled across the United States to promote the daytime program. While on the street, he was able to obtain opioids by calling the concierge at whatever hotel he was staying at and requesting an appointment with a doctor.

Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and used his condition to take medications. He said he would “name the set” of opioids he desired to help manage his MS symptoms, and the doctor would provide him with prescriptions.

“Back then we didn’t have oxycodone, we had things like Talvin, we had things like morphine,” he explained. “I found I could call the hotel doctor and get a 10-day prescription for any drug I wanted and they would happily give it to me.”

“So I started stocking up,” he recalled. “There was a time when I was taking about 12 to 13 (pills a day).”

Williams did not name all the medications he took at the time, saying, “Some of these medications have a purpose.”

He added, “I don’t think any opioid has any purpose for long-term use. They are objects of short-term use only. They should be like this. That’s what they were invented for. That’s what they were created for. However, I was at the point where the more you take, the less it will work.

Ultimately, his primary physician intervened and threatened to report Williams’ activities to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

“‘Dude, you’re done. I’m not writing you any more about it,'” Williams remembered his doctor telling him over the phone.

“I would literally send a message to the DEA and tell them you are looking for a doctor. I will put you on the national register, you should not be prescribing these medicines,” his GP reportedly warned.

The doctor then suggested Williams try medical marijuana to help manage the pain she suffered from multiple sclerosis.

“If you want relief. I’ve heard from some other patients like you that this marijuana thing seems to work,'” Williams recalled the doctor saying. “‘You’re a smart guy. Look at this, figure it out.'”

Williams added, “And that’s what I did.”

Today, Starr advocates the use of medical marijuana for pain relief and promotes the use of other cannabis-based products.