Peter Doherty says he would have to ‘lose a hand’ in order to quit drugs

The Babyshambles frontman discusses his ongoing addiction to heroin

Peter Doherty has said that he would have to “lose a hand” before he could give up drugs.

Speaking to NME in an in-depth interview in this week’s issue, available digitally and on newsstands from today (July 24), Doherty confirms he is still using crack cocaine and heroin and explains what happens when he tries to stop. “I don’t think it’s possible to sustain a healthy, for want of a better word, cocaine and heroin dependancy, and then call yourself healthy by any stretch of the imagination,” he says. “You’re a fool unto yourself if you think that. Getting over 30… it’s reached a point now where there’s no way round it. It’s like, either curb it or stop it, or lose your health.

He added: “To get better you have to get worse. When I stop smoking crack, which I have done recently – I am smoking a lot less – my lungs, all of a sudden, start churning out all this horrible shit. Which, while you’re smoking you don’t get the chance to do. It’s almost that the first thing about giving up drugs is to descend into a pitched toe-to-toe street fight with your health.” Asked what would have to change in order for him to stop, Doherty replied: “Probably my sex drive will have to go. Or I’ll have to lose a hand.”

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Babyshambles release their new album on September 2 with a single, ‘Nothing Comes To Nothing’, out on August 26. Speaking to NME about the album, Doherty recently said: “I don’t want this to be half arsed, I want to get up there and really fucking smash it out. Babyshambles aren’t back – this band has always been here.”

BLOG: Read Matt Wilkinson’s account of his attempts at pinning Pete Doherty down for this week’s cover interview.
GALLERY: The highs and lows of Peter Doherty.

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