Joshua Bassett says ketamine addiction saw him use six bags a night

Joshua Bassett has revealed he became heavily dependent on ketamine following the health crisis that left him hospitalised in 2021.

The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star opens up in his new memoir Rookie: My Public, Private, and Secret Life.

Bassett, now 25, writes in a poem titled ‘Jesus open his eyes’ that his drug use escalated after he suffered heart failure and septic shock shortly after turning 20. The actor previously said doctors gave him a 30% chance of survival following the incident.

“Instead of snorting a line, I’d down a whole bag in one whiff” – Joshua Bassett on his ketamine dependency

“My reckless addictions rapidly spiraled, relentlessly growing worse and worse and worse,” he writes. “The high highs and oh-so-low lows eventually caught up to me in New York.”

After leaving hospital, Bassett says he turned to drugs to “numb the unspeakable pain”. He describes using ketamine throughout the day and night, writing: “I was consuming six baggies of Ketamine, all by myself, every single night.”

“Instead of snorting a line, I’d down a whole bag in one whiff,” he continues. “Before even using the restroom some mornings, I’d inhale more. It was never enough.”

Bassett also details how his routine revolved around buying more drugs. According to the memoir, he would wait for his dealer to start selling each afternoon, withdraw the “max daily allowance” from an ATM and immediately buy another supply.

“My addictions reached a point, where I knew if I kept down that path, I wouldn’t make it out alive” – Bassett

The memoir touches on the intense online attention Bassett faced in 2021 after the release of Olivia Rodrigo‘s hit single ‘Drivers License’. Fans speculated the song referenced Bassett and his reported relationship with Sabrina Carpenter, leading to widespread scrutiny online.

In another poem, Bassett writes that his addiction became so severe he feared he would die if he continued.

“My addictions reached a point, where I knew if I kept down that path, I wouldn’t make it out alive,” he says.

Bassett writes that he eventually sought help after what he describes as a spiritual experience while meditating.

“After way too many weeks of this, I inevitably reached rock bottom,” he writes. “One morning, I woke up and tried meditating.”

In his 2021 Attitude cover interview, Bassett disclosed historic body image issues

“I was painfully reminded of the evil I had become; poor, wretched, naked and blind,” Bassett continues. “Instantly, I knew that I knew that I knew Jesus is the way, the truth and the life — and I desperately needed Him.”

In his 2021 Attitude cover interview, Bassett disclosed historic body image issues.

The then-20-year-old says the problem started in 2019, when the hit Disney show first started airing, and that it eventually got “really unhealthy.”

Asked if he feels better about himself these days, he replied: “I do – and not because anything has changed. Sometimes you can have a warped perception of yourself and so I’ve gotten to a state where I’m more accepting and embracing.”

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