Artie Relapse Redux

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Robin started off the show noting how hard it was to wake up for work this morning, and Howard replied that Artie probably had a harder time. Artie said, “My plane crashed into the side of the mountain” over the break, explaining that he “fell off the heroin wagon” about seven weeks ago. Howard tried to keep things light, joking that he now knew why Artie went to Afghanistan: to be closer to the poppy fields. Artie replied that he’d actually been hanging out with the wrong crowd in Jersey “and one thing led to another and I ended up with heroin.” Artie said his relapse was triggered by a night out drinking – a night in which he skipped his Subutex dose – and when he was drunk at the end of the night, he was offered heroin.

Artie bought a couple bags for $40. After he returned from Afghanistan, he scored again. Howard was surprised: “This is dark, bro.” Artie agreed, noting that he was saved when his mom and sister began suspecting he was in the middle of a relapse – and when Richard Lewis called him up out of the blue to recommend an addiction doctor/specialist who saved his life.