What substances did Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly admit to using and when did he disclose them?
Executive summary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly admitted to a long past heroin addiction—describing 14 years of substance use that began in his early teens—a disclosure he reiterated in his remarks as HHS secretary at SAMHSA’s Prevention Day on February 2, 2026 [1] [2]. He has framed that history as central to his recovery story and policy approach, crediting 12‑step programs with helping him stop [3] [4].
1. The admission itself: heroin and a 14‑year struggle
In a speech marking SAMHSA’s Prevention Day, Kennedy said “I myself spent 14 years, beginning in my early teens as a heroin addict, before I found my way into recovery,” a line reported by The Hill and contemporaneous outlets that covered his February 2026 HHS announcement [1]. The New York Times and other outlets repeating his remarks likewise note he credits 12‑step programs for helping end that addiction, making the substance he publicly acknowledges heroin and the duration of his struggle public record [3] [4].
2. When he disclosed it: recent public restatement during official duties
The most recent and explicit public restatement of Kennedy’s heroin addiction occurred while he was serving as HHS secretary during an event on February 2, 2026, when he announced a $100 million “STREETS” initiative and spoke about the fragmented addiction treatment system; that speech contained the 14‑year heroin admission cited across major news outlets and HHS’s own press release [2] [5] [1]. Reporting indicates this was not a buried aside but a centerpiece of his framing for the department’s addiction and homelessness initiatives [5] [6].
3. Broader public record and related disclosures
Multiple outlets have long referenced Kennedy’s recovery narrative—he has repeatedly described overcoming heroin dependence and used that history to explain his policy preferences, including an emphasis on recovery houses and faith‑based programs [3] [4]. While contemporaneous coverage centers on his heroin admission, other background reporting documents legal episodes tied to drug use earlier in his life, such as a 1983 South Dakota arrest noted in a local investigation of his past [7]. The provided sources do not catalog every one of his past interviews, so reporting here is limited to what the cited articles record [7] [8].
4. How he frames recovery and how critics respond
Kennedy presents his past heroin use as both a personal tragedy and the foundation for his policy prescriptions—he emphasizes 12‑step recovery and “sober homes” and has pushed to open federal funding to faith‑based providers and expand access to medications for opioid use disorder in implementation plans announced as part of the HHS agenda [3] [2]. Public health experts and harm‑reduction advocates warn this framing risks privileging abstinence‑only approaches and faith‑based care at the expense of evidence‑based, harm‑reduction strategies; an APHA working‑group commentary explicitly expressed concern about his likely policy tilt and its potential for harm [9].
5. What the sources do and do not show
The cited reporting consistently identifies heroin as the substance Kennedy admits to having used and specifies the 14‑year timeframe and early‑teen onset in his own words during the February 2026 SAMHSA event [1] [2]. The sources document his use of that admission in public policy speeches and outline contemporaneous policy moves tied to addiction treatment funding [5] [6]. The materials provided do not offer an exhaustive catalog of every prior public statement he has made about other substances or dates of prior disclosures, so this analysis does not claim there were no earlier admissions beyond those recorded in these sources [8].