Travis Barker quit smoking marijuana after being diagnosed with “precancer of the oesophagus”.
The Blink-182 drummer planned to smoke weed until “the day I die” but was forced to stop when he received the warning about his health.
“I only quit because I got diagnosed with precancer of the oesophagus,” Travis shared on the Big Bro with Kid Cudi podcast. “I loved blunts and I would smoke too much.”
Travis asked the doctor if his condition was “serious”, and the medical professional told him, “He’s like, ‘This is your warning shot. Don’t f**k around. You’ve got to stop smoking.'”
If he didn’t receive that wake-up call, the 50-year-old “would have never stopped” smoking pot.
“I thought I could be like Willie Nelson and smoke to the day I die,” he said, adding that he used to smoke 10 to 15 joints a day.
The musician candidly confessed that he misses smoking and thinks about it “all the time”.
Travis previously quit using prescription drugs in 2008 after he was seriously injured in a plane crash in which four people died.
He now turns to running to help him overcome his cravings.
“I’ve found even however many years later now, 20 years later, couple miles a day keeps the demons away. My running started getting bigger and more important to me than smoking,” he explained.
“It really helped me stay sober ’cause you can’t run you a half a marathon if you’re doing drugs. It’s going to be the hardest 13.1 miles of your life… It’s good, man. It’s like therapy.”
