# why do drug casualties like Brian Wilson, Ozzy, and Anna Nicole appear retarded? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009 "2005-01-16T08:17:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/21 "2005-01-16T20:02:52Z")
Lets not forget that Ozzy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, which is a genetic disorder, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/22 "2005-01-16T20:09:36Z")
I thought Ozzy was clean now. Am I wrong? (I don’t watch his show.) ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/23 "2005-01-16T21:27:52Z")
Ozzy’s slurred speech, etc, are a product of his current medications, I’d reckon. Did he “do a lot of drugs” in his time? Sure, but from the evidence, his consumption doesn’t seem to be particularly noteworthy amongst the rock set. Ozzy’s got (and has had his whole life) some debilitating mental illnesses, and he takes some fairly potent medications to combat them. His slurred behavior is probably due to him being on an “antipsychotic”-type drug, which often has that sort of side-effect. Ditto Brian Wilson, he’s been pretty strongly bipolar his whole life, and I suspect his behavior has to do with either the effects of this, or of the medications he’s taking. FWIW, I don’t believe Wilson was ever particularly associated with drugs; my guess is that people who come off as “constantly inebriated” are retrofitted with “oh man, he did a lot of drugs back when”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/24 "2005-01-17T00:04:27Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > But, I guess the only way to get some real answers would be to dissect Anna Nicole’s brain. Someone might get a medal for doing that. They could start tomorrow, it’s not like she’s using it. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/25 "2005-01-17T00:13:01Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > I thought Ozzy was clean now. Am I wrong? I happened to flip through channels a while back and caught Ozzy on Larry King (probably was the same interview previously referenced). Ozzy mentioned going on a week or two long drinking binge and only coming out of it when Sharon threatened to kick him out for good. I got the impression he tries to stay clean but falls off the wagon quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/26 "2005-01-17T00:17:21Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > It was my impression that Brian Wilson’s mental problems are genetic (i.e., a mental condition he was born with) and not caused by any drugs he took. He may have made them worse by taking drugs. That’s actually quite common. Someone with a mental problem takes drugs or alcohol because they offer temporary relief for their problems, although they make them worse in the long term. > > Anna Nicole Smith’s baby talk voice isn’t caused by drugs. Partly it’s caused by the natural range of her voice and partly it’s a way of talking that she picked up. It’s my impression that some women talk like that in the belief that men find it sexy. (Do any men find it sexy?) I don’t know any men that do, [but I know one female SDMB member who just loves it to pieces](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=131975&highlight=pwecious). ---
**Author:** ![mcbiggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@mcbiggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcbiggins)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/27 "2005-01-17T02:57:15Z")
Biran Wilson is deaf in one ear. I don’t remember which one. His Dad hit him in the side of the head and the force messed up his ear pretty bad. He talks out of the side of his mouth now, having learned to favour the side he can hear from. That accounts for **some** of his slurred speech. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/28 "2005-01-17T03:26:46Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > Lets not forget that Ozzy suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, which is a genetic disorder, IIRC. No, I think the current theory is that it’s an auto-immune disorder ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/29 "2005-01-17T04:18:56Z")
As others have suggested, Brian Wilson’s drug use was minimal compared to other “drug casualties” like Ozzy or Syd Barrett. Always hypersensitive and withdrawn, he had the misfortune of a) growing up in an abusive household (all the Wilson boys had shit to deal with, psychologically) and b) finding success in a business that demanded an incredible amount of productivity and competitiveness from him (Capitol had the Beach Boys on a three-album-a-year grind until 1967). Most of his mental difficulties stemmed from one or both of those sources; drugs certainly didn’t do him much good, but he probably did more damage to himself by smoking and overeating than he did by abusing chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/30 "2005-01-17T05:21:13Z")
I would guess that a big part of Ozzy’s problem is alcohol. IIRC, Ozzy had pretty well cleaned up by the late 1980’s, was clean for over a decade, then a couple of years ago Sharon developed colon cancer and he was so freaked by the thought of losing her that he started drinking again. I do have to say that it didn’t seem to have a negative effect on his songwriting ability. Of course, I haven’t checked in a few years, but after he pulled out of the slump he fell into when Randy Rhoades died (_Bark at the Moon & The Ultimate Sin_ are two of the worst albums I’ve ever heard, and they were the first two studio albums he put out after what may be the stupidest accident a famous musician has ever died in) he seemed to be at the top of his game, lyrically speaking. So, I don’t know, maybe there’s some kind of disconnect between the part of the brain that formulates concepts and his speech center. It wouldn’t be an uncommon problem, and not necessarily drug or alcohol related, although in Ozzy’s case it most likely is. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009/31 "2005-01-20T06:40:20Z")
> [@mcbiggins](#): > > Biran Wilson is deaf in one ear. I don’t remember which one. His Dad hit him in the side of the head and the force messed up his ear pretty bad. He talks out of the side of his mouth now, having learned to favour the side he can hear from. That accounts for **some** of his slurred speech. I hear that he got the hearing problem fixed in the last ten years. I think it was a bone or something that was messed up. I agree that some of his mannerisms are similar to the way retarded people act. He does overall seem to do better over time though. I saw him in concert last september and he was a little weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-drug-casualties-like-brian-wilson-ozzy-and-anna-nicole-appear-retarded/285009.md?page=1)