Steven Adler’s Mother Accuses Doctor of Prescription Abuse in New Memoir
Steven Adler's mother relives her life with the former Guns N' Roses drummer in a new memoir — and divulges details of the pharmaceutical-driven rehab she says nearly killed him.
Deanna Adler spoke with the New York Post about her book, the recently published Sweet Child of Mine: How I Lost My Son to Guns N' Roses, alleging that the techniques used by Steven's doctor to help him kick his heroin habit were ultimately more dangerous than his initial addiction.
The incident in question took place in 1995, after Adler was arrested for driving under the influence, after which he was led to the services of Dr. Howard Kornfeld — a rehab specialist whose name might be familiar to Prince fans, as it was Kornfeld who sent a member of his team to meet with Prince in the days before his death last April. According to Deanna Adler, her son's treatment courtesy of Kornfeld included being prescribed more than 60 medications at once.
"What kind of scam was this?" she recalls thinking after seeing the first pharmacy bill, which she claims came to more than $2,000. "What the hell was going on?"
Kornfeld refused comment when asked by the Post to respond, but Adler's mother is specific in her allegations — and her memory of her son's speedy relapse after spending months in Kornfeld's care.
"I could not fathom, and they never answered to my satisfaction, why they needed to have two different types of psychotics, or three different sleeping-aid medications or five different types of pain killers," writes Deanna Adler. "Even I know you shouldn’t mix Darvocet, Percodan and Tylenol with codeine."
As fans are painfully well aware, Adler has a long history with addiction — he was fired from Guns N' Roses in 1990 and spent many years struggling to put substance abuse behind him. Happily, he seems to have spent the past several years sober, and even made a handful of appearances with the band's partially reunited classic lineup last year.
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