STEVEN TYLER Says Doctors Are The New Drug Dealers

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Steven Tyler appears today (September 10) on the syndicated "The Dr. Oz Show" and talks frankly about his long battle with addiction. Tyler recalls key moments in his journey, hitting rock bottom, and checking himself into the Betty Ford Center. He credits Dr. Harry Haroutunian — the physician director of the center — with helping him recapture his life. Dr. Haroutunian touches on how the AEROSMITH frontman has written the foreword to his new book "Being Sober", and explains the message he wants readers to take away.

On the show, Tyler explains how he came to fall off the wagon after years of being straight: "I had a bunch of operations and simply didn't follow my program and I kept the drugs by the side of my bed so I just did more instead of doing what was prescribed. Remember, I'm a very good drug addict because I've done it for so many years."

On today's show, Tyler makes a bold claim as to who's to blame for getting drugs out to the masses these days: "Y'know who the new dealers are? They're doctors. The dealers aren't on the street. It's not a shady guy on the street. Y'know how many doctors I've gone to and said, 'I, I, I'm in a 12-Step program, I've been sober for. . .' He goes, 'Ah, good for you!' On the way out he says, 'You need something to sleep tonight?' And I'm trying to tell him that I can't take anything that's mood altering, 'cause if I do, I like to ride it. We all do, right? You get on a water ski, you wanna go again next week. Kiss her — I wanna do it again [laughs]! It's 'euphoric recall,' it's not so odd. It's what humans — y'know, we're all touchy-feely; even those that say that they're not and men that don't cry, they still want to be touched by their mothers. Skin is the biggest organ in the body. So, we like that feeling of, y'know, opiates."

Steven Tyler admits that he was left ravaged on every level from his years of addiction: "My sobriety cost me nothing less than everything. . . It's serious when you lose your kids, your children, your wife, your band, your job and you'll never understand why, because you're an addict. You can't figure that out."

Check your local listings for "The Dr. Oz Show" stations and times.