“I did very, very poorly in school until I started doing narcotics,” RFK Jr. claimed, sparking controversy with his remarks about using heroin to treat his ADH

RFK Jr. Sparks Controversy After Claiming Heroin Helped Him Excel in School

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is back in the spotlight after a resurfaced clip of him crediting heroin for improving his academic performance went viral. The remarks, made during a June interview with podcaster Shawn Ryan, have reignited criticism of RFK Jr.’s controversial health views.

“I was at the bottom of my class,” RFK Jr. said in the clip. “I started doing heroin, and I went to the top of my class. Suddenly, I could sit still and I could read.”

The video, widely circulated this week, has sparked a flood of memes and criticism online. Many pointed out the irony of RFK Jr.—an outspoken critic of vaccines—praising the benefits of heroin.

“RFK Jr. thinks vaccines are unsafe, but he couldn’t stop doing heroin,” X user @Out5p0ken quipped.

Did RFK Jr. Use Heroin to Treat ADHD?

In the interview, RFK Jr. speculated that he may have had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a child, describing himself as restless and unfocused in school. He suggested that heroin may have temporarily alleviated his symptoms.

“I would probably today be diagnosed as ADHD. I was bouncing off the walls,” he explained. “I couldn’t sit still. I just wanted to get in the woods, turning over rocks, catching animals, and fishing. That’s all I thought about all day.”

He described heroin as a self-medicating tool that initially helped him concentrate.

“In school, I was non-compos mentis, and I had no idea what was happening. I started doing heroin—I went to the top of my class,” he said. “Suddenly, I could sit still, and I could read, and I could concentrate. I could listen to what people were saying, and things made sense to me.”

However, RFK Jr. acknowledged the devastating consequences of heroin use, both in his own life and for his family.

“It starts great, but then it begins exacting a cost,” he said. “The cost gets worse and worse, and it kills you. It killed my brother, and it destroys your relationships. It destroys your whole life.”

Criticism and Online Reactions

Many critics highlighted the inconsistency between RFK Jr.’s admission of self-medicating with heroin and his opposition to pharmaceutical treatments for children. He has previously blamed prescription drugs, particularly antidepressants, for societal issues like school shootings, despite a lack of evidence to support such claims.

Others took a more sarcastic tone, mocking the bizarre nature of his statement.

“All you kids out there, listen to RFK…support your local heroin dealer, and you will excel in the classroom,” joked X user @rummy15.

Amid RFK Jr.’s history of conspiracy theories and controversial claims—including strange anecdotes involving animal experiments—his heroin confession is now being called one of the more peculiar chapters in his public persona.