Drugs & Alcohol

The man accused of killing NHL superstar Johnny Gaudreau and his little brother with his car on Thursday night admitted to authorities he drank "5-6 beers" before getting behind the wheel ... this according to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, cops say 43-year-old Sean Higgins admitted to officers he slammed his Jeep Grand Cherokee into the backs of the Gaudreau brothers -- who were on bicycles -- on a rural road in Salem County, New Jersey at around 8 PM.

Cops say Higgins told them he was attempting to get around an SUV on its left ... but when he thought the vehicle made a move to block him from passing -- he pivoted to try to get by it on its right. Seconds later, he collided with the brothers ... causing fatal injuries.

It's been nearly 5 months since "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star Lauri Peterson announced the passing of her son, Josh Waring ... and TMZ has learned what caused his death.

California's Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department tells TMZ ... the Bravo personality's late son died from the combined effects of fentanyl, methamphetamine and olanzapine -- with the death officially ruled "accidental."

Lauri hinted drugs may have played a factor in Josh's death when she disclosed his passing on Instagram back in April.

Mariah Carey did NOT have any contact with her sister before she died ... because an alleged drug addiction drove a massive wedge between the two siblings.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Mariah never once contacted her sister, Alison, before she passed ... and instead spent the past week with their dying mother, Patricia.

Mariah was estranged from Alison ... and our sources say it's all because Alison suffered for many years from addiction. We're told Mariah tried supporting Alison, both emotionally and financially, but it wasn't enough to get Alison back on the straight and narrow.

Eminem is bringing his daughter to tears with a couple of very personal songs he just dropped, and Hailie Jade Scott says the music videos are too much to watch -- but also very eye-opening about her childhood.

Hailie opened up about the tracks -- "Somebody Save Me" and "Temporary" -- on her podcast, "Just a Little Shady" ... saying she watched the 'Save Me' music vid once, but that'll be the last time.

She says, "I definitely cry every time I hear it at all. Between that and ‘Temporary’ … I audibly sobbed I think for both songs but especially ‘Temporary.’”

Donald Trump’s crash course in cocaine is taking the internet by storm -- mostly 'cause his clueless reactions made it obvious he’s totally lost on the subject!

You absolutely can’t miss the former Prez asking some hard-hitting questions about the topic ... wondering if it’s "down and dirty," or a "stronger up" than booze ... awkwardly chuckling with Theo Von on the comedian’s 'This Past Weekend' podcast.

The exchange is super laid-back -- Theo even straight-up calls Trump his "homie," and elaborates on the powder he used to take that made him feel like an "owl" -- wired and awake all night ... what he describes as a miserable feeling. Theo makes it clear he doesn't do it anymore.

Adult-film actress Sophia Leone died from a fatal overdose ... TMZ has learned.

Police in Albuquerque, NM tell us the late porn star's official cause and manner of death is an accidental OD ... though it's unclear what specific substances were involved.

As we first reported ... cops in New Mexico considered Sophia's death "suspicious" and "unique" after she was found dead March 1 in her home.

One of the doctors charged in the death of Matthew Perry is already getting back to business, almost as usual, because while he's allowed to treat patients ... there are some federal strings attached.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia can legally reopen his medical practice, Malibu Canyon Urgent Care, as soon as Tuesday -- following his arrest last week -- and his attorney Stefan Sacks tells TMZ ... Plasencia will do just that.

Here's the catch, though, Sacks says the doctor must inform all patients about his ongoing criminal case, and that the feds yanked his DEA registration ... which prevents him from prescribing any meds that include controlled substances, such as ketamine.

The 2 doctors charged with supplying Matthew Perry with ketamine before his death can no longer write prescriptions ... TMZ has learned.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tells TMZ ... both Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Dr. Mark Chavez had their registrations to write prescriptions pulled last week ... after their arrests for the "Friends" star's death.

Sources tell us that Chavez voluntarily gave up his registration as part of his plea deal ... in which he agrees to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Now THIS is a storm surge -- more than 100 pounds of coke washed up along Florida's shores in the wake of Hurricane Debby.

While Debby did not make a direct hit on the Sunshine State, she did stir several narcotics stashes that ended up on or near Florida beaches -- including 70 pounds of cocaine packages in the Florida Keys village of Islamorada.

Authorities say a total of 25 packages -- valued at more than $1 million -- were found by a good Samaritan ... and a week later another batch of the coco turned up near Everglades City.

Matthew Perry's death getting attention amid the numerous arrests made by law enforcement ... but, one of his oldest collaborators wants people to remember his life instead.

Marta Kauffman -- creator of the hit series "Friends" -- discussed the seminal series during a conversation with The Sunday Times ... and, during the convo she reflected on Perry's legacy.

Marta says there are two ways to celebrate Perry ... one being to donate to addiction treatment, an important cause to MP who tried hard during his life to sober up.

Ariana Madix's brother Jeremy is in major trouble with the law ... police say he and an accomplice were busted with suitcases filled with over 100 pounds of marijuana.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ ...  Jeremy Madix – who has appeared on "Vanderpump Rules" with his famous sis – and Jonah Ahad were scheduled to board a February 16 flight to Frankfurt, Germany, from Orlando International Airport in Florida.

But, the dudes never got past the security checkpoint. The docs say Customs and Border Protection agents searched the pair's three suitcases – two of which belonged to Madix -- and were loaded with ganja. In fact, police say Madix's suitcases contained a total of 64 bags of pot weighing a whopping 76 pounds.

Nicki Minaj is probably feeling vindicated ... because she just settled a lawsuit with a woman who made some wild statements against her ... and the woman had to apologize, admit she lied, and not mention Nicki and cocaine anymore … or else she'll have to pay a big penalty.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the settlement calls for Marley Green -- who goes by the social media persona "Nosey Heaux" -- to apologize for her false statements about Nicki ... namely, bogus claims Minaj was a cokehead.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki sued Green back in September 2022 after she posted a video claiming Nicki was "shoving all this cocaine up her nose."

Jasveen Sangha, the alleged "Ketamine Queen" arrested in connection to Matthew Perry's death, is well-versed in the world of crime ... thanks to her obsession with the Mafia.

Before she was arrested for allegedly providing the "Friends" star with the ketamine that killed him last October, Jasveen was a Mafia superfan ... who created her own website paying tribute to the life of organized crime.

Check it out ... Jasveen describes her "love" of Mafia history in a bio on the site, where she explains her fascination kicked off after viewing films like "Scarface" and "The Godfather" at a young age.

5:57 PM PT -- Jasveen Sangha, AKA "The Ketamine Queen," and Dr. Salvador Plasencia appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty.

Sangha was jailed without bond and the judge set Dr. Plasencia's bond at $100,000. Her trial is set for October 8, while his is set for October 15.

4:07 PM PT -- A third person has copped a plea deal in the case ... Dr. Mark Chavez.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Chavez pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He was facing up to 10 years in prison.

Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Plasencia ... and prosecutors claimed Chavez got the drugs by writing a fraudulent prescription in another patient's name.

10:35 AM PT -- Matthew Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming, who prosecutors say helped broker the drug deals, already copped plea deals.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Iwamasa pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury.

Fleming, meanwhile, pled guilty to a pair of charges ... conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury.

Iwamasa was facing up to 15 years behind bars and Fleming was staring down up to 25 years in prison ... but in exchange for their plea agreements, prosecutors agreed to seek reduced sentences based on their acknowledgement of responsibility and cooperation with the investigation.

Brooke Mueller has some deep connections to the Matthew Perry death case ... TMZ has learned she knew the woman who prosecutors say sold the fatal dose, and was super close to the guy prosecutors say delivered the ketamine that killed Matthew ... and she aided in the police investigation.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Brooke once spent time in rehab with Matthew and Jasveen Sangha, AKA "The Ketamine Queen," and all 3 were at the same L.A.-area facility at the same time.

Jasveen was arrested Thursday in connection with Matthew's death ... and prosecutors say she's the one who ran the stash house.

Kit Harington says until he became sober, he hated himself so much, he'd look in the mirror and call himself a c**t in disgust.

The "Game of Thrones" star told GQ Hype ... sobriety is at the top of his great achievements list.

Kit says before he got sober, "I would literally despise myself and not be proud of anything I'd done." He said substance abuse caused him to fall into deep depressions with suicidal thoughts.