There are several accounts of famous people’s kids making poor decisions. Typically, these tales finish with a stay in recovery and a promise to avoid making headlines in the future. Cameron Douglas, the oldest son of Michael Douglas, had a difficult time.
In 2010 Cameron received a five-year prison term for selling methamphetamine and possessing heroin. Time was added to his sentence after it was learned he had brought drugs into the prison undetected. 2017 saw the release of Cameron. Cameron and Michael are thinking back on the former’s fight with addiction two years later.
In 2019, the father-son team sat down for a People interview. Their friendship is stronger than ever. In the conversation, Cameron was candid about how his juvenile drug and alcohol experimentation developed into a full-fledged addiction. As Cameron explained how he ended up in jail, Michael shared how helpless he and Cameron’s ex-wife Diandra felt.
Although having a famous father in Hollywood may seem like an easy existence, Cameron Douglas found it to be difficult. Cameron Douglas, Michael Douglas’ eldest child, has spent the most of his life battling addiction.
With time, Michael has come to realize that he wasn’t really active in Cameron’s upbringing. In 2016, Michael stated, “When you’re constantly occupied, you don’t think about a whole lot of stuff other than the reality that are in front of you.”
At that time, Michael was paying Cameron twice-monthly visits in a jail in New York. Almost eight years in prison would come to an end for Cameron. In a sit-down with Michael, Cameron discussed his fight with addiction after being sober for two years.
Like many other stories, Cameron’s began when he experimented with alcohol and drugs as a teenager. But things swiftly got out of hand. He was trafficking methamphetamine and carrying a gun when he was in his 20s. He said, “I despised the devastation I saw in my life because of drugs, but I just couldn’t quit.”
It was distressing for Michael and his ex-wife Diandra Luker to see their kid sunk deeper into this environment. Cameron rebuffed their attempts to seek him assistance. There were times when hope wained, Michael said, “and then it was like a train out of the station.” “The crises in life started to pile up. I was afraid I might lose him.”
In 1999, Cameron was detained for the first time after being found in possession of cocaine in New York. That didn’t stop him from using, though. A few years later, he was prosecuted for a different offence, but he persisted.
When he was at his worst, Cameron was quietly managing drug-induced seizures while he shot up cocaine. When you’re in the grip of addiction, it has a sly power and a stronghold over you, as Cameron pointed out. “When you fall that deep down the rabbit hole, there are only two outcomes: death or incarceration.”
Although Cameron’s addiction did not lead to his demise, it did land him in jail. He received a five-year term for methamphetamine sales and heroin possession following a 2009 DEA sting operation.
Later, when it was revealed that Cameron was bringing drugs into the prison, his term was prolonged. The heaviest sentence ever issued for procuring a modest quantity of drugs for personal use while incarcerated, he was given a further four and a half years.
Michael was horrified by the sentence extension even though he does not believe his kid should have received preferential treatment and agrees with the initial sentence. He vented his annoyance in a 2013 interview.
“Lady Justice’s blindfold is really slipping,” Michael said. “I have gone from being a very disappointed but loving parent who believed his son got what was due him.” “I’m not supporting Cameron as a drug dealer or addict, but I think he’s been made an example of because of his last name,” the speaker said.
Cameron jumped at the opportunity to start anew after being released from jail and placed in a halfway home in Brooklyn. He is currently co-parenting his infant daughter Lua with his longtime partner Viviane Thibes.
Cameron is also gradually reentering the family business. Between 2003 until the time of his arrest in 2009, he made appearances in a number of films. He’s also expressing gratitude to a family that never stopped believing in him.
Cameron wants to support other recovering addicts. Inspiring people to “get help – and maybe save a life” is his goal. In his autobiography Long Way Home, he begins by telling his own story.
