Stanley Williams - Williams' Drug Use

Williams' Drug Use

Williams began dabbling in street drugs around the age of twelve. As a preteen, Williams befriended a neighborhood pimp who, in return for Williams performing errands for him, would reward Williams with money and drugs—particularly quaaludes, barbiturates (then known as "Red Devils") or marijuana. After being shot, Williams began smoking angel dust: marijuana joints or cigarettes dipped in PCP (also known as "sherm" or "wet daddies"). PCP served two purposes for Williams; first it gave him a psychotic edge in street fights against rival gang members, secondly PCP gave Williams freakish strength and he used the drug as a performance enhancer in order to lift heavier weights when working out.

Williams' personal life began to unravel: His maternal grandmother with whom he was very close died in 1976; he lost his counseling job in 1977 after being implicated in a robbery that was committed by two youths from a group home that Williams supervised; he was denied an opportunity to compete in an amateur bodybuilding contest after it was discovered that he was a gang leader (Williams would later appear on the 1970s variety show The Gong Show performing a posedown routine); and his gangbanger lifestyle was beginning to take a mental toll on him, which included a brief stay in the psychiatric ward of a hospital after Williams experienced a bad trip while high on PCP. With each of these setbacks, Williams found himself using PCP more and more. To support his drug habit and obtain PCP, Williams would intimidate and/or rob drug dealers in South Central L.A.. Williams' addiction to PCP would prove to be his undoing.He was doing cocaine at the age of 12.