Jeff Jarrett says somas and pain pills were common in the WWF in the mid-1990s.
On My World with Jeff Jarrett, Jarrett said he first took somas the right way, as prescribed for back spasms, after a 1996 back injury.
“The pharmaceuticals in ’94, ’95, ’96 were somas and pain pills,” Jarrett said.
He said drug testing at the time pushed some wrestlers toward prescriptions.
“Road Dogg will tell you, during this time, that’s a big issue of the ’95 walkout. If you pop positive for pot, you were fined strike one, fined and suspended strike two. So every performer, I call it the adrenaline dump. When it’s over, the adrenaline dumps, and you’re coming down off of all that. Some guys use alcohol. That was me. Other guys couldn’t do pot, but if you had a legal prescription, you could pass the test.”
“Bret Hart has been very adamant that when they started testing for marijuana, that it migrated people toward pharmaceuticals.”
Jarrett, who recently marked nine years of sobriety, said he sees it differently now.
“I’ve learned now, and with my wisdom of sobriety, you got to deal with the adrenaline dump in a much safer way.”
He also said the rings of that era were hard on wrestlers.
“That was a very physical, punishing ring, and it beat people up. Not maliciously did WWE do that, but it was built that way, but man, it was tough on the body.”
Transcription by Global Force Entertainment.