Drugs & Alcohol

Stressed out, anxious and depressed ... it turns out elephants are a lot like us, and a zoo in Poland is going to see if medical marijuana can help them out ... just like us.

The Warsaw Zoo lost one of its 4 elephants in March -- the alpha female named Erna -- and her death has had a significant impact on the others ... especially another female named Fredzia.

The zoo says Fredzia has displayed signs of grieving, stress and depression, and it can take months or even years for her and the others to cope with the loss and get over the behavioral issues caused by the change to the group's structure.

Unless ... medicinal marijuana can help.

The zoo and its doctors have launched a project to test whether CBD oil can reduce anxiety in the animals, starting with the elephants.

The first stage of the trial -- taking blood samples to monitor cortisol levels -- has already been completed ... so now it's time to start giving them the good stuff.

No, the elephants won't be taking bong rips, they'll simply be given drops of CBD via their trunks or mixed into their food ... and no serious side effects are expected.

Jim Belushi says cannabis is a better way for all people to manage and heal from our internal traumas ... but he really thinks legal weed will greatly impact our homeless folks, especially veterans.

The actor joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us all about his legal marijuana farm in Oregon, the subject of his new Discovery Channel show "Growing Belushi," and what he's doing to help people who are struggling on the streets.

Jim says he encounters lots of homeless vets with psychological problems on the streets of Portland, plus other desperate people dealing with all sorts of problems, and he's convinced cannabis is a better way for them to treat their issues -- certainly better than alcohol or prescription pills.

Just listen as he describes the epiphany he had while observing a homeless woman.

Jim's lucky ... he can skinny dip or use cannabis to take a load off, but he understands not everyone has access to CBD and its healing effects ... so he's planning to open a pop-up dispensary in Portland offering free cannabis to homeless and low-income people.

It's a pretty interesting conversation ... and Jim also tells us how an Iraq war veteran changed his whole perception on the benefits of cannabis.

Luann de Lesseps admits staying sober is a challenge -- especially under pandemic lockdowns -- but she says it's put her in a better headspace to cope during trying times.

"The Real Housewives of New York City" star joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to chat about her ongoing sobriety and what she's been doing to help her along ... including yoga, meditation, and making "diva" music.

Luann understands why studies show alcohol use is way up since the pandemic began in March -- people turn to booze to ease pain -- but she says, for her, it only raised her anxiety level ... something no one needs more of these days.

In fact, the 'RHONY' star says sobriety has her feeling like she has control of her life again, and she's expressing that with a new song ... "Viva La Diva."

Luann shared a preview of her latest single which drops Friday -- which makes it clear she's proud to let her diva flag fly.

Jim Belushi's enjoying his own summer of love ... he's skinny dipping on the regular and growing legal marijuana!!!

We got a hilarious clip from the actor's new show on Discovery Channel, "Growing Belushi," which gives some insight into his daily grind on his cannabis farm in the Pacific Northwest ... lots of swimming in the buff!

Jim's also got a chicken lady on his 93-acre farm -- this just keeps getting better and better -- and she shares his hilarious disclaimer for anyone who is not down with naked river dives.

Check it out ... Jim's giving a whole new meaning to Southern Oregon's Rogue River.

Ty Ruff, famous for competing on a bunch of MTV reality shows, got busted for DUI in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops pulled over Ty around 2:30 AM after officers say they observed his 2011 Mercedes Benz swerving over traffic lines and doing about 20 MPH over the posted speed limit.

Our sources say Ty bombed field sobriety tests and was well over the legal limit with a 0.12 BAC. He was arrested for misdemeanor DUI, and released without bail a few hours later.

Ex-L.A. Angels employee Eric Kay has been charged with distributing fentanyl in connection with pitcher Tyler Skaggs' death ... and prosecutors say they have text messages to prove it.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports on Friday, federal authorities just hit Kay with the charge.

In the docs, prosecutors claim to have a text conversation between Kay and Skaggs from the night of the pitcher's overdose.

In the exchange, Kay asks "Hoe [sic] many?" ... to which Skaggs responded, "Just a few like 5."

Law enforcement officials say in the docs they believe Kay and Skaggs are discussing drugs ... clearly implying the exchange proves Kay is the one who supplied the pitcher with the lethal dose of the pills.

In the docs, law enforcement claims Kay provided "30 milligram oxycodone pills" to Skaggs on multiple occasions.

There's more, and it could spell out more problems for the Angels organization.

Investigators say they learned during the course of the investigation that "several individuals" who were associated with Kay and Skaggs "knew" that Kay was providing pills to the pitcher.

Investigators also say Kay would distribute pills to others "in their place of employment and while they were working."

Investigators do not say if these "others" worked for the Angels organization ... but it seems to be what they're pointing to.

As we previously reported, Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room in Southlake, TX in July 2019 ... hours before the Angels were set to play the Texas Rangers.

In the toxicology report released by the ME, the cause of death was a mix of "alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents."

The Angels released a statement Friday, saying, "It has been more than a year since the tragic passing of Tyler Skaggs, and all of us affected by this loss continue to grieve. The circumstances surrounding his death are a tragedy that has impacted countless individuals and families."

"The Angels Organization had fully cooperated with Law Enforcement and Major League Baseball. Additionally, in order to comprehensively understand the circumstances that led to his death, we hired a former federal prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation."

The statement continued ... "We learned that there was unacceptable behavior inconsistent with our code of conduct, and we took steps to address it. Our investigation also confirmed that no one in management was aware, or informed, of any employee providing opioids to any player, nor that Tyler was using opioids."

"As we try to heal from the loss of Tyler, we continue to work with authorities as they complete their investigation."

Here's the cheat sheet for our clip with "Suga" Sean O'Malley:

1. He's got a big orgy planned for when he wins the UFC title

2. He thinks the fact marijuana is still outlawed in MMA is "ridiculous" and "embarrassing"

3. He REALLY wants to fight Cody Garbrandt once he gets past Marlon Vera at UFC 252 next weekend.

First things first ... O'Malley is very open about the fact he's in an open relationship and has been for a while.

So, we asked the 25-year-old if the couple brings in other people to celebrate after a big UFC victory and he told us he's saving the big group bash for when he becomes the champ.

"Yeah, that's after a title fight win. That will happen."

Next, weed ... O'Malley is a big proponent of marijuana -- both medical and recreational and thinks it's ridiculous that UFC fighters like Luis Pena and Tim Elliott were just hit with suspensions after testing positive for weed.

"It's ridiculous that they get suspended for it. It's embarrassing that's even a rule. We're in 2020."

O'Malley says he knows the rules will eventually change -- "it's got to" -- but until then, he's being smart about his own THC usage.

"For me, I've gotta diet, I gotta not be snacking at night so I gotta quit anyway. I can't fight the munchies, they always win."

When it comes to life inside the octagon, O'Malley is on fire -- with 2 impressive knockouts in a row in 2020.

He's been trading verbal jabs with Cody Garbrandt -- but tells us he's dead serious about fighting "No Love" if the UFC offers it up.

"It's a fight that I'm not gonna turn down. If UFC says 'hey you wanna fight?', it's a yes for me."

O'Malley adds, "I think it's a good fight for me. It's a striking battle and I'm a better striker so obviously I'd like that fight."

But first, O'Malley squares off against Marlon Vera -- a 27-year-old from Ecuador who's won 5 out of his last 6 fights.

Takeoff's just been sued by a woman claiming he raped her at a party in L.A.

The woman, who's filed the lawsuit as a Jane Doe, claims the Migos rapper made her extremely uncomfortable at an L.A. party back in June before he raped her in the bedroom of the person she says invited her to the party.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the woman claims Takeoff stared at her while at the party and that made her extremely uncomfortable. She also claims he offered her weed later in the evening, but she snubbed him.

In the suit, she says things went south after that -- she claims she was going upstairs with the man who invited her to the party when Takeoff, who was coming down the steps, got pissed. She says Takeoff and the man got into an argument, prompting her to go into the man's bedroom to wait it out.

She alleges that's when Takeoff entered the bedroom and started touching her buttocks. She claims she very clearly refused his advances, but Takeoff then flipped her over face-down, pulled down her clothing and raped her. She claims after he finished he immediately left the room.

After getting over the initial shock, the woman claims she went to a nearby hospital the same day where she claims hospital staff observed physical evidence of forceful rape. She claims hospital staff notified LAPD.

She's suing for sexual battery, assault, emotional distress and more and wants damages.

We've reached out to Takeoff for comment, so far no word back.

Diddy’s son, King Combs, got smoked in his Ferrari by a Tesla, and though both drivers were okay, the guy in the Tesla got taken away in cuffs.

King was involved in a car accident a little after midnight in Bev Hills, when cops say a man in a Tesla speeding down Sunset Blvd. lost control and smashed into King's red Ferrari.

We're told Diddy's son suffered injuries, but was treated at the scene and didn't need to be taken to the hospital. He's super lucky, because both cars were totaled.

Law enforcement sources tell us the Tesla driver -- who can be seen taking a field sobriety test in the video -- was arrested for DUI.

King is the 22-year-old son of Diddy and Kim Porter, who died tragically in November 2018.

Racism ... it ain't just an American problem, as this pissed off white Canadian guy proves with a wildly racist and unhinged rant against a liquor store employee.

As happens these days, it all started because the white guy was asked to wear a face mask while inside the store. That ticked him off, and his racial bias against the clerk -- a person of color -- came pouring out.

He launched into this tirade, accusing the worker of being stupid and brainwashed, apparently by his religion ... in the racist's eyes. The best part is as he's screaming racist crap, he says his country of Canada was great before "you people" showed up, and "Canadians are the nicest f**king people in the world!!!"

All evidence to the contrary.

First Roy Jones Jr. ... then Conor McGregor?!

Mike Tyson says if the UFC superstar was his next opponent in his return to the boxing ring ... he'd beat the hell out of The Notorious -- saying, "I'mma kick his ass!"

Iron Mike went on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on Monday to promote his new huge comeback fight with RJJ ... when Jimmy decided to play a little "Who Would Win?" game.

Rocky? Mike says he'd dominate. Ivan Drago? Tyson says he'd beat that ass too. Drago's too bulky and too damn slow.

As for McGregor? Mike says that'd be no issue ... as long as they played by boxing rules!!

The clip is funny ... Tyson says there IS one opponent who'd beat him -- the 'Karate Kid' -- saying, "I'mma have to surrender to him on this one."

By the way, a fight between Conor and Mike would almost certainly never go down ... the age gap (54 to 32) is huge, and the two are great friends these days. They even smoke weed together!

Post Malone is taking steps to turn his favorite drinking game into big biz ... we've learned the wheels are in motion for a world beer pong league!!!

The "Beerbongs & Bentleys" rapper is looking to lock up the rights to "World Pong League" ... and Post and his legal team have gone so far as to file for a trademark on that name.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Post wants his "World Pong League" to operate official beer pong tournaments, competitions, events and exhibitions.

And, just like the NFL, MLB or NBA ... ya gotta have merch! Post plans to put the league moniker on beverage glassware, drinking glasses, plastic cups, game tables, cup racks, balls and every piece of casual sportswear -- including boxer shorts -- under the sun.

Basically, everything you could possibly associate with sport of (drinking) kings and queens.

As you know ... Post is a huge beer pong fanatic, and he loves to raise the stakes. PM won $50,000 playing pong with Tyla Yaweh.

We're told the "World Pong League" is the brainchild of Post and his manager, Dre London, but the idea is only in its infant stages -- meaning, all you amateurs still have time to practice.

Aim well and drink wisely, friends.

Ex-UCLA player Craig Lee -- a key piece of one of the school's best recruiting classes ever -- is breathing easier today ... the former Bruin just cut a plea deal with prosecutors in his attempted murder case, and is only getting probation.

We broke the story ... Lee -- a top UCLA recruit in Jim Mora's famed 2013 class -- was arrested last year after law enforcement says he was involved in an altercation at a weed dispensary that turned violent.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, officials say Lee and at least 2 other men entered Kings Palace Marijuana Dispensary in Jurupa Valley, Calif. on June 30, 2016 ... when someone from the group shot a store employee.

Officials say a security guard in the store returned fire ... and that's when they say Lee and the other suspects bolted out of the place.

After an ensuing 3-year-long investigation into the incident ... law enforcement claimed the whole thing was a robbery gone wrong, and say a key witness told them Lee's role in it all "was to grab drugs and money and run."

Lee was eventually hit with 3 felonies by prosecutors ... including attempted murder, attempted robbery, and accessory for allegedly aiding the others to flee.

But, a rep for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office tells TMZ Sports Lee agreed to a deal this month ... pleading guilty to the accessory count.

In exchange, the prosecutors agreed to drop the other 2 charges.

We're told Lee was sentenced to 80 days in jail ... but was given credit for time served and won't have to spend another day behind bars.

Lee was also hit with 36 months of formal probation ... but prosecutors say if he keeps his nose clean for two years, he'll have the opportunity to have the felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor.

As part of his probation terms, Lee, among other things, cannot possess a firearm or leave the state without first getting permission.

Great news for Ed Oliver ... the Buffalo Bills' rising star is getting his DWI and gun charges dropped because of insufficient evidence, prosecutors confirmed to TMZ Sports on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old former first-round pick -- who had a rock-solid rookie season for Buffalo last year -- was arrested back on May 16 in Montgomery, Texas after cops say he was drunk driving.

Officers claim witnesses told them they saw Oliver swerving and driving dangerously at around 9 PM ... and they say when they eventually caught up to Ed, he was doing 80 mph in a 45 and illegally passing people.

Cops say when they pulled Ed over, they noticed a "moderate" odor of alcohol and said Oliver had bloodshot and glassy eyes.

The officers also say Oliver had an open can of Bud Light in the driver's side door ... and claim the guy bombed sobriety tests.

Cops also say they found a pistol in his car after searching his ride.

Eventually, Oliver was arrested and charged with class B misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and class A misdemeanor "unlawful carry weapon."

But, prosecutors told us Wednesday they filed a motion to drop the charges after the testing for drugs/alcohol came back negative.

Oliver's attorney, Gary E. Patterson, elaborated to Fox 26's Mark Berman, saying, "The charges against Ed Oliver are being dismissed by the district attorney in Montgomery County (because of) the lack of evidence."

"The blood results came back and they were totally negative. He had no drugs at all in his system..So everybody know it's not the attorney that's getting him off. They had no evidence."

As for the gun charge, Patterson told Berman, "It gets automatically dismissed because it's only illegal to have a pistol in your vehicle if you're intoxicated or if you get charged with another criminal act. So when the DWI is dimissed, it's not illegal to have a pistol with you."

Oliver himself weighed in on the news, writing on his social media page, "Now y’all go back and read this article knowing that all my blood work came back clean!!!but I had a beer can between my legs get the f*** out of here how does a 5’8 officer see inside a window above his head anyway how do 5 cop cars show up before I take a sobriety test huh"

Clint Eastwood wants CBD retailers to keep his name out their mouth ... and now he's suing.

Dirty Harry filed a pair of lawsuits Wednesday against CBD retailers, who he says are using his good name to hawk their cannabis products online and trick customers.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Clint says these CBD retailers are propping up their products by using fake interviews with him where he gushes over their marijuana merchandise. Clint says he's never sat down with any of these companies and doesn't endorse their products.

In one suit, Clint also claims CBD retailers are using his name to lure in consumers through Google searches. Yes, this 90-year-old is hip to metadata.

In the docs, Clint says he's being defamed by the lies out there about him using CBD products and says the companies have no right to use his likeness to hawk their products.