Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed his decades of recovery from alcohol and substance abuse during an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast “This Past Weekend” that aired on February 12. Kennedy disclosed that he had snorted cocaine off toilet seats, reflecting on an era he has described as driven by compulsive drug use before his recovery.
Kennedy said he met podcaster Von during morning recovery meetings before the COVID-19 outbreak, and they later formed a “pirate” group that continued meeting during the pandemic. Explaining his current sobriety practices, Kennedy stated: “I’m not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats. Like, if I don’t, if I don’t treat it, which means for me going to meetings every day. It’s just bad for my life.”
Earlier Disclosures of Addiction
Kennedy has previously spoken about his addiction struggles in public forums. During a speech in April 2025 at the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit in Nashville, attended by thousands of health care, law enforcement, and business officials, Kennedy discussed his 14-year heroin addiction and how it shaped his policy perspectives. At that event, he stated: “I know that the only way I stay sober is through taking responsibility for my daily actions. I accept the things I can’t control and try to practice gratitude for them.”
Path to Recovery
Kennedy described his first drug experience as occurring in the summer following his father’s assassination in 1968, when he took LSD at a party. He was later introduced to methamphetamine by neighbors, describing the moment: “They said, ‘Try this,’ and it was a line of crystal meth. I took it, and all my problems went away. By the end of the summer, I was shooting heroin, which was my drug of choice the next 14 years.”
His recovery began after his arrest in 1983, when he sought treatment and underwent what he described as a spiritual awakening. Kennedy credited faith in God as central to his recovery, though he initially struggled with religious concepts until discovering psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s perspective on spirituality. He emphasized that maintaining sobriety requires intentional daily practices, stating: “I make the bed every day, which is insane. I do it because what I’m trying to do is build character.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/12/rfk-jr-cocaine-toilet-seats-theo-von-podcast-substance-abuse-recovery/88650599007/