Charles White, formerly a running back with...

Charles White, formerly a running back with the Rams and USC, discussed his cocaine use at a California Commission on Drugs hearing in Los Angeles.

White said he was finally clean for the past nine months after years of nearly daily cocaine use.

“I thought I was going to die; it got that bad one time,” White testified. “I asked myself, ‘When are you going to give in? When you’ve got a tag around your toe in the morgue?’ ”

White, who has been working with other addicts at a Long Beach hospital, said it would be helpful for professional teams to have a recovered addict on staff to council players.

The commission is gathering material for a report to state lawmakers.