Hunter Biden Opens Up On Crack Addiction And Alcohol In Candid Interview

In an intensely personal and seldom-granted interview, Hunter Biden offers an inside look at the battles that nearly destroyed his life. Six months after the presidential pardon granted by his father, former President Joe Biden, the 55-year-old son is sharing the sobering truth behind his struggles with addiction and the toll it took on him emotionally.

Facing Channel 5 creator Andrew Callaghan in a feature on July 21, Hunter had no filter. In stunningly frank terms, he painted a picture of a yearslong battle with addiction, one that had ensnared him with both crack cocaine and, he said, an equally "damaging" vice: alcohol. "I was drinking so much alcohol, almost a handle of vodka a day," Hunter shared. "And alcohol is the most destructive drug not just to your body, but it puts you in more danger than any other drug I've ever experienced."

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The interview represents some of the only occasions when Hunter has spoken publicly of his addictions in such frank terms. For others, it's a stark reminder that addiction doesn't discriminate, not when it comes to last names or political legacies. "I don't know anybody who hasn't been affected by drugs and alcohol in a really significant way. While it's so universal, it's something we rarely talk about." Hunter's battle wasn't limited to the physical ordeal. The father of five children recounted how emotionally tumultuous and distant those years felt.

The chase for crack, he said, was often riskier than the drug itself. "And crack cocaine in terms of your physical health is not as dangerous as the situation you put yourself in to be able to obtain it," he said. Now sober and in search of peace, Hunter Biden is making his voice heard to dispel the shame and silence that frequently envelop addiction. In doing so, he's forcing the country to face the fact that recovery starts with truth and that even for the most powerful of families, healing is never out of the question.