Drugs & Alcohol

Jon Jones told police he had vodka before getting behind the wheel of his Jeep Thursday morning -- and needed to get out of the house because he was going '"stir-crazy" during the coronavirus pandemic.

It's all on police body cam footage from Jon's DWI arrest in Albuquerque, New Mexico ... with the UFC superstar calmly trying to explain to officers why he drank and then drove.

"I literally just got stir-crazy," Jones said ... "I just wanted to have a drive. This is my first drive in 2 weeks. And, I saw these homeless guys. I was being nice to them, having conversation with them, treating them like humans.”

During the stop, Jon said he has "really bad" short-term memory -- and blamed it on the fact he's a UFC fighter who gets "punched in the head" for a living.

"My short-term memory is really bad."

Jones was given multiple field sobriety tests including balancing, counting and reciting the alphabet. It did not go well. He struggled mightily.

Jones was ultimately arrested and booked for aggravated driving while intoxicated, negligent use of a deadly weapon and possession of an open container.

As we previously reported, cops say he fired a black handgun at some point during the evening -- which is why they were called to the scene in the first place.

Cops say they found a gun and a half-empty bottle of booze in Jon's car while searching the vehicle.

While officers are putting Jon in the car, he's overcome with emotion and begins to weep -- telling the officers, "I'm scared for my family."

At one point, Jon tells one of the officers, "I love you guys so much. I actually wanted to be a police officer when I grew up."

The coronavirus pandemic is not stopping substance abuse centers from offering inpatient care ... but precautions are in place and one center is even testing for the virus.

Centers from across the country are all telling us the same thing ... they aren't turning folks away unless they have symptoms associated with coronavirus. They're also exercising their pandemic contingency plans, remaining cautious and have so far steered clear of the virus' spread.

Honchos at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, which has inpatient care at 5 residential sites across the country, tell TMZ ... they're screening anyone who comes in seeking help for substance abuse, and staff is monitoring patients' temperatures and checking for symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath.

If a patient shows symptoms common with COVID-19, they will be discharged with a bundle of resources and information to get the proper treatment for the virus.

Hazelden Betty Ford tells us they see this as fighting 2 diseases: addiction and COVID-19 ... and the vast majority of their patients are saying they feel safe despite the looming threat of coronavirus.

The residential sites are also making sure staff wash their hands, disinfect the clinics and maintain physical distancing. Auditorium lectures have been replaced with video streams, and a virtual outpatient program is launching soon.

Meanwhile, the main campus of Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville, PA is running at close to max capacity with 150 in-house patients ... according to Dr. Joseph Garbely.

During recent screenings at Caron, we're told triage nurses isolated 3 patients who were coughing and doctors tested them for the virus, out of an abundance of caution, but the results all came back negative.

While awaiting results, we're told the patients were held in isolation and given iPads to stream group classes and work on group therapy. They were also monitored by nurses in full protective gear.

The main campus is also practicing CDC guidelines ... social distancing, hand washing and no sharing of toiletries. We're told doctors are using livestreaming to interact with patients.

Aging whiskey's cool and all, but not when there's a shortage of hand sanitizer ... enter Copper Fiddle Distillery.

The Lake Zurich, Illinois-based company has seen its whiskey, rum and bourbon sales dry up but it's stepping up in a huge way to help first-responders fight the raging coronavirus pandemic ... by turning its alcohol into some much-needed hand sanitizer, free of charge.

A state senator reportedly asked owner Andrew Macker last week if he'd be up to the challenge. So far, there have been more than enough donations made to help the company crank out the supply in droves.

Macker told The Daily Herald, they've so far made around 100 bottles with another batch coming hopefully by the end of the month. They reportedly used about 45 cases of unsold bottles of rum -- converting them from 80 proof to 160 proof -- to get the first batch done.

BTW ... tons of other distilleries across the country are also jumping in to help. Tito's Handmade Vodka also announced it'll do the same. Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff will also donate more than 500,000 gallons of neutral grain spirit that'll be converted into 8 million bottles of hand sanitizer.

NBA star-turned-marijuana mogul Al Harrington says his Viola company's sales are through the roof since the coronavirus scare took over the U.S. ... and now he's scrambling to meet the demand.

Of course, Harrington has turned into a highly successful weed advocate and entrepreneur in his post-playing days ... sharing the medical benefits for athletes, as well as, the average folk.

We spoke with Harrington about the insane demand for cannabis products right now -- after all, EVERYBODY is stressing out over COVID-19 -- and he says his sales have DOUBLED.

"The challenge is gonna be making sure that we can keep up with the demand at this point," Harrington tells TMZ Sports.

"Everybody is stocking up on their favorite brands. I feel like the 'canna-curious' is really steppin' up right now, especially when you're stuck in the house with your kids 24 hours a day."

Harrington says the weed industry is booming just like toilet paper ... with people stocking up and worrying about when they'll be able to get more.

Harrington says his employees are following all the restrictions and taking extra steps to make sure they're safe during the pandemic ... but hopes the government continues to allow them to stay open as an "essential" business.

No one's gonna call the coronavirus pandemic good news -- but folks in the legal marijuana biz will at least say there's a silver, or green, lining for them.

THC Design, one of the largest cannabis suppliers in the game, tells TMZ ... they saw a 300% increase in sales this week -- a spike they attribute completely to the outbreak.

THC Design supplies 275 dispensaries and 20 delivery service platforms in Cali, so yeah ... they're in high demand.

Despite the huge consumer demand, THC Design says it's not hiring new employees ... at least not yet. Sorry to burst your bubble, recently-unemployed stoners.

As for its current workforce, THC Design tells us it's taking extra steps to keep the workplace safe -- the main facility in Downtown L.A. has a new sterilization procedure for all employees entering the building.

Among the new safety procedures -- handwashing with isopropyl alcohol to completely sterilize, separating the workforce and allowing office staff to work from home, scrapping communal lunches, and making everyone enter from the same entrance to make sure they're sanitized.

Which reminds us ... wash your hands AND your bongs, too!!! Oh, if Dr. Fauci would only say that at the next White House briefing.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a lifeline for thousands and thousands of people struggling to keep their addiction in check ... and the org is adapting to the drastic changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic ... AA meetings are going virtual thanks to some pretty cool tech.

People across the country have relied on AA as their daily gut check for years, but traditional meetings have fallen by the wayside due to the outbreak ... and luckily, local chapters are now holding meetings online.

Here's how it works ... AA chapters are using services like Zoom, allowing members to have video chats at their regularly scheduled daily times. There are also dedicated phone numbers for folks to call into.

AA's General Service Office in New York City, which serves thousands of people, has already been closed to visitors and tours because of COVID-19, making these virtual meetings a much-needed support system for folks to stay sober.

Lots of people in AA also have sober buddy systems, which they can't use right now, so online forums and video chats are a huge help.

The run on toilet paper and wet wipes has nothing on seriously hard alcohol -- 'cause people fearing a full coronavirus outbreak are snatching up booze to cook up their own sanitizer.

Everclear, the potent 190-proof grain alcohol college kiddos traditionally use for Jell-O shots, is in crazy demand now that enterprising DIYers know it's one of few alcohols potent enough to kill nasty bugs like COVID-19.

The craze for the specialty booze is coast-to-coast. The good folks at Seattle's Downtown Spirits tell us they're fresh outta Everclear. A clerk says customers aren't hiding their intentions -- "They're buying it for the sanitizer." The price tag's a mere $20, but he told us it wasn't a commodity until this week.

We're told they sold 40 bottles in 2 days -- more than twice what they normally sell.

Ditto for Broadway Spirits in Manhattan's posh TriBeCa 'hood where they've had customers calling in to make sure Everclear's still in stock. A clerk there told us it's about to go on backorder.

As you know, brand-name germ killers like gels and wet wipes are vanishing from stores -- and the homemade craze started when the World Health Organization released a few recipes to help out newbie chefs.

They suggest folks pull isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and glycerin (if you have it) from cupboards and start whisking to attempt a homemade Purell, if you will. Everclear would come in handy if you're short on isopropyl A.

The Center for Disease Control prefers washing hands. But if soap and water aren’t “readily available” the agency suggests using a hand sanitizer containing “60% alcohol.” Grain alcohol to the rescue!!!

Buyers should carefully read the label because some spirits don’t pack enough punch. Tito’s Handmade Vodka admitted on social media it "does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC."

Post Malone squarely addressed fans who worried he was in a pharmaceutical tailspin ... saying he's clean as a whistle -- never better.

Post performed Friday night at the FedExForum in Memphis and told the crowd he was not using ... no way, no how. In fact, he said he's never felt better.

Fans got super-worried earlier this week after he appeared to fall on stage during a concert and then writhed around on the floor. Post explained last night ... that's not someone who's high -- it's someone who is trying to give his fans an awesome performance and nothing more.