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UFC Fighter Jon Jones: You Don’t Have To Use Hard Drugs To Be An Addict

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 03:49 PST, Apr 19, 2016

According to UFC fighter Jon Jones, you don’t need to take hard drugs to be an addict.

For years, his drug of choice was marijuana. Jones told USA Today that he smoked it when he woke up, before he ate, trained, slept, watched a movie, or studied.

“I was a drug addict,” Jon admitted in a candid interview. “One thing people don’t realize is that you can be a drug addict even if you are a stoner.”

“If you’re spending lots of money on it and all your friends are people who do it as well and you don’t really associate with people who are completely sober, then, yeah, you are an addict. I think that’s why people have these issues with marijuana, because they don’t really consider it a drug.”

Jon, 28, said he began smoking in high school, continued through his college wrestling career, to the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and up the MMA ranks. In the meantime, Jones encouraged “loose habits” in young fighters, something he regrets.

“It was literally what I would do in between fights,” Jones said. “I was just sitting, enjoying life and thinking that I was a hippie. I didn’t feel I was hurting anyone else, didn’t feel I was being a bad person. I thought I was preserving myself from all the negatives and evil of the world. I would pop out of my cave for fights.”

But Jon’s pot-smoking ways caught up with him. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jones has spent the last 15 months out of the ring, his dignity “stripped away” thanks to positive drug tests and run-ins with the law. His return to the ring happens on Saturday in Las Vegas, in a fight against Ovince Saint Preux.

In 2012, Jones ran his car into a pole and was found to be under the influence. In January of last year, he was found to have cocaine in his system during a pre-fight screening. He spent the night in drug rehab and denied being an addict.

By the spring, Jones was in a car accident with a pregnant woman, whose arm was broken in the crash. Jon was seen running away from the scene, leaving the woman to fend for herself after taking some cash from his car. Jon left the drug paraphernalia behind.

Jones went to court and avoided jail, but he earned 18 months supervised probation. He lost a UFC light heavyweight title and will only avoid a felony charge by completing a program of charitable and community work.

But last month, a cop pulled Jon over for drag racing in Albuquerque. A video surfaced online of him calling the officer a “liar” and “pig.” His probation was amended to require anger management classes, and he now has to ask permission to drive.

For his comeback, Jon was supposed to face Daniel Cormier, who bowed out due to injury. Ahead of the replacement fight with Saint Preux, Cormier has called Jones a “loser junkie.”

Jon’s response: “Daniel Cormier represents the people who say you can’t do anything, you can’t be anything, you can’t change your life, you can’t get your life together. He represents a future that… I’ll never make it.”

The only thing Jon Jones seems to be thinking about is “constantly trying to make good decisions.” He said he’s more mature, thinks more clearly, and finally understands consequences. And he’s thinking ahead to Saturday and getting back in the UFC ring.

“Saint Preux has had some outstanding highlights and I’m excited about the challenge. Ring rust is a small concern of mine. I’ve never been in a situation like this, never had this much time off. When I start thinking about ring rust, though, I think about my time in the gym… I know I can go five hard rounds right now and I know the longer the fight goes, the more comfortable I’ll become. I’ll get better as the fight progresses… cardio will be in my favor, as will my overall experience. I’ve been in more high-level fights than he has.”

[Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images]

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