John Frusciante was thought to be completely sober at this point as fans know about his very storied past with drug abuse and needing to be on drugs to function. This, however, seems to be false as John was spotted drinking out with someone as a photo was taken.
John Frusciante is the very legendary guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and he has spoken out so frequently about his sobriety and what it took to get him to a point of no longer needing drugs. As such, many followers of John and the rest of the band just assumed that he was totally off of anything mind altering at all. This just isn’t the case.
You see, John has actually spoken out a lot about his addiction. John has stated in the past that yes, he has quit very hard drugs like heroin, but he still has, in the past, smoked cigarettes, smoked weed, and drank alcohol.
It’s hard to tell if John still smokes weed or smokes cigarettes at this point, but it’s clear that he does still enjoy drinking in moderation and he can control himself around drinking and smoking it seems. Many fans feel that Anthony Kiedis’ addiction and John’s addiction were two different things. Fans noted that Anthony’s was much harder to stay off of, where John’s was like a switch he could turn on and off at his own accord.
On Reddit, fans stated the following…
YaBoyIcedCoffee stated: “John was only 100% sober for a very short period from 1999 until the By The Way tour when he mentioned smoking a bunch of weed in an interview, but I can’t even say that to a certainty. For all we know he has relapsed on substances and recovered since then and we’d never know. After all, he’s the most private guy in the band.”
jenet-zayquah went much deeper mentioning that the pic is older than thought to be: “This pic is actually from mid-2018 (Source) and shows him “Cheers!”ing with Indonesian guitarist Dewa Budjana, who had tapped John for a collaboration on his album “Mahandini” (2008). I think John does some vocals and also guitar fills on one track.
I have heard that he’s into craft beers (<raises her glass>), so it’s not surprising to see. Also, if a collaborator offers to buy you a beer, are you gonna be an asshole and ask for chamomile tea?
I also know he’s always liked red wine and likely still enjoys it, but c’mon, he’s Italian! (Fun fact: His great-grandfather was from Benevento in the province of Campania, a wine-producing region inland from Naples and Salerno. So yeah, it’s in his blood. X-D
He absolutely needs to quit smoking if he hasn’t already. His voice in recent interviews sounds pretty awful, very husky and scratchy. Just a guess, but I would be shocked if he can still hit all of his usual angelic falsetto notes. Perhaps he’s planning to quit so he can work on getting his singing where it needs to be for the tour.
Generalized (a)moralist rant (optional reading):
Deffo not attacking OP at all, nor am I minimizing the sobriety struggle that many folks wrangle with (I have addiction on both sides of my family and lots of friends too), BUT there’s a huge difference between having a beer with a friend on occasion and speedballing 24/7 for 5 years straight. Yes, it’s a gateway drug, blah blah, but some addicts only have trouble with certain substances while others are not a problem for them (e.g., LSD is not addictive in the same way crack is). For some people, substituting a less harmful or less problematic substance (that they can keep under control) in place of a problem substance (that they can’t handle in moderation) is a workable solution; at any rate, it’s a positive step.
This is not to say that for some people, complete abstention isn’t a good option; it’s all what the individual is comfortable with and what works for them personally. Nobody (not even a recovering addict) has a crystal ball to be able to predict if somebody else having a drink once in awhile is going to quickly spiral into them picking up a pipe or needle. Yes, it might happen, but that’s not your battle to fight.”
