Michael Douglas has opened up about the harrowing ordeal of his son Cameron’s drug addiction, and admits he thought he’d ‘lose’ his eldest child to the disease.
Cameron, 40, began taking drugs as a teenager starting with marijuana before moving onto harder substances like heroin and cocaine.
In 2009, Cameron was handed a prison sentence after he was busted in a DEA sting operation.
A judge sentenced him to five years in prison for conspiracy to distribute meth and cocaine but that was extended when he was charged with possession while incarcerated.
As a result Cameron spent almost eight years in prison but he was released in 2016 and is believed to have been sober since.
Recalling how he coped in the height of his son’s drug addiction, Michael told People magazine: ‘There were moments when hope dwindled… and then it’s just a train out of the station.
‘Life became a series of crises. I thought I was going to lose him.’
Cameron, whom Michael shares with his first wife Diandra Luker, explains how his drug use spiralled and he found himself struggling to stop.
‘I hated the wreckage I saw in my life because of drugs, but I just couldn’t stop,’ he explained.
‘It’s the sneaky power, the stranglehold that addiction has when you’re in the throes of it.
‘When you get that far down the rabbit hole, there are a couple options: there’s prison and then there’s death.’
Michael, 75, is also father to daughter Carys and son Dylan, whom he shares with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Cameron has completely turned his life around and is himself a father to 22-month-old daughter Lua, whom he shares with his longtime girlfriend Vivienne Thiebes.
He’s now hoping to relaunch his acting career following previous roles in films like National Lampoon’s Adam & Eve and Mr Nice Guy, but most importantly hopes his happy-ending can inspire others to seek help for their drug addiction.
Cameron Douglas’ new memoir, Long Way Home, is set for release on 22 October.
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