Mike Tyson Says He Used Fentanyl 'Quite a Few Times'

Boxing legend Mike Tyson has revealed he used fentanyl in the late '90s to cope with pain during his career, shedding light on the hidden struggles behind his time in the ring. Speaking on the Katie Miller Podcast, the former heavyweight champ said he used fentanyl "quite a few times" during the late 1990s, describing it as his go-to for treating a painful toe. "It was a painkiller, and I used to use it to patch up my toe," he recalled.

The effects, he said, kicked in fast and hard. Tyson compared withdrawing from fentanyl to coming off 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 explained. He said he had to quit because the drug was illegal if it was caught in his 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 said.

Tyson, who became CEO of a cannabis company in April, used the conversation to call for marijuana reform, arguing that it's not a drug but "medicine," especially for athletes. He insists that athletes "play better" when they smoke and wishes he'd used marijuana during his own fighting days. He is active in the push for federal cannabis reform. Alongside athletes like Kevin Durant and Dez Bryant, Tyson signed a letter to the White House urging that cannabis be reclassified, nonviolent marijuana offenders receive clemency, and financial barriers for the industry be lifted.

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In a Fox News interview on June 30, his 59th birthday, Tyson said whether he fights again will depend on whether marijuana is legalized at the federal level. That hasn't happened, but Tyson recently agreed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., 48, in an exhibition match next spring. No date has been set for the CSI Sports/Fight Sports event. "When CSI came to me about stepping in the ring with Floyd Mayweather, I thought, 'No way this happens,' but Floyd said yes," Tyson told ESPN. "This fight is something neither the world nor I ever thought would or could happen. However, boxing has entered a new era of the unpredictable—and this fight is as unpredictable as it gets."