Mike Tyson Reveals He Escaped Death After Near-Fatal Drug Overdoses and Credits Psychedelic 'Toad Venom' for Kicking the Habit
Mike Tyson claims he suffered near-fatal drug overdoses at the height of his addiction.
Oct. 14 2026, Updated 5:06 p.m. ET
Mike Tyson claims he suffered near-fatal overdoses at the height of his drug addiction, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former boxer, 60, opened up about his substance abuse in new Netflix documentary, Tyson, admitting one harrowing OD left him "bleeding out."
'I Was Bleeding Out'
Tyson gave details of one particularly harrowing OD.
"When I think about a low point, I think about this — OD'ing. I'm bleeding out, my nose is bleeding and I'm hysterical. I'm sweating," he said. "I OD'd, I've done it plenty of times, but this one was a little more extreme than others."
The former heavyweight champion alleged promoters knew about his drug issues while he was still fighting, claiming he was not given drug tests for fear that lucrative fights would be canceled.
"When I fight, the rules change," he added.
Tyson claimed he eventually got clean after visiting a "shaman" who introduced him to the controlled psychedelic, made from toad venom, which is also said to cure anxiety and depression.
'I Thought He Was Gonna Die'
Tyson's third wife Lakiha 'Kiki' Spicer feared the worst.
His third wife Lakiha "Kiki" Spicer revealed in the documentary how the drug appears to have helped curb his addiction.
"I thought he was gonna die, so we were all just trying to think how we can get Mike to get better," she shared. "At the time we had this friend; he knew a shaman who does this thing called 5 Meo-DMT, it comes from the Bufo albarous toad."
"They call it the God Molecule, and when you take it, whatever kind of addictions or things that you’re going through, it helps level them in your mind," she explained.
Tyson, who was seen successfully encouraging the documentary's director to sample the drug, added: "We did an intervention with some toad, you know. DMT. And it blew my mind. I’ve done it over 100 times.
'I Haven't Used Cocaine and Drank Since'
Tyson says the 'toad' drug made him get clean.
"Any time I have to make a big decision about anything, I take the toad," he noted. "I haven’t used cocaine and drink since.”
In 2006, Tyson was arrested for drug possession and DUI, during which police said the boxer admitted to being a cocaine addict.
He pled guilty in September 2007. In a November 2007 sentencing, he received three years' probation for the drug possession and served one day in jail for the DUI.
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Tyson claims he delivered letter to Donald Trump from pal Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
As Radar recently reported, Tyson claimed he delivered a letter from Sean "Diddy" Combs to Donald Trump after visiting the disgraced rapper in prison.
The retired boxer says he is "still friendly with Puff", one of the hip-hop star’s former aliases, before revealing he was asked to hand Trump the note on his pal's behalf.
Tyson opened up about his friendship with Combs during an appearance on SiriusXM radio show Andy Cohen Live, when the host quizzed the former heavyweight champion if he was "surprised what happened to him?"
"Listen, I was surprised that they went through so many lengths to get him," he said. "They used a 110-year-old rule to get him – that case 110 years ago, but they used it to get him. Can you imagine that?"
After being convicted, Tyson said that he spoke with Combs — who is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offences — and was asked to deliver a message to the President.
"And did you give a letter to the president from him?" Cohen inquired, to which Tyson replied, "I did what he told me to do, yeah."
