Just Saying No to Drugs Just Isn’t Ozzy’s Solution

“S obriety sucks.”

That’s what a drunken Ozzy Osbourne says, staring into the camera during a scene from “Don’t Blame Me,” a new, no-holds-barred documentary on the heavy-metal hero.

And that’s just the beginning.

Released by Sony Music Video Enterprises, the 98-minute home video traces Osbourne’s career from his early Black Sabbath days in the late ‘60s through the filming of his latest promotional video.

While most of the footage is devoted to Ozzy on stage, the most striking scenes are the ones off stage, where Osbourne is shown in various stages of inebriation--including one in which he sobs uncontrollably in a recording studio during what appears to be a deep alcoholic depression.

Given the emphasis these days on anti-drug messages in rock, you keep waiting for a disclaimer. After all, “Just Say No” has been the anthem for politically correct recovering addicts in the pop world ever since former First Lady Nancy Reagan launched the government’s high-profile anti-drug campaign in the early ‘80s.

Dozens of pop stars in the last decade have appeared in public service announcements denouncing drugs and alcohol. Some acts, such as Aerosmith and Motley Crue, have even publicly condemned their own bouts with substance abuse in interviews and on stage.

But the disclaimer never comes in “Don’t Blame Me.” And Osbourne didn’t offer one when asked by Pop Eye about his position on drug use.

“This is not a pro-drug statement,” said Osbourne, 43. “Frankly, I’m not proud of the fact that I’m a drug addict/alcoholic. I find it very painful to watch that part of me exposed on the screen.

“But just because I’ve battled with substance abuse for decades, that doesn’t mean I have the right to lecture anybody who plays in my band or comes to my concerts what they should or should not do. That’s not my job. If somebody wants to get messed up listening to an Ozzy Osbourne record, that’s up to them. It has nothing to do with me.”

Is Osbourne--who says he has been free of drugs and alcohol for six months--being realistic or irresponsible in his remarks?

Dr. Michael Meyers, medical director of the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Unit at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, thinks Osbourne ought to be more cautious about what signals the video might be sending.

“Entertainers who publicly revel in the details of their substance abuse do a real disservice to young people who follow their careers,” says Meyers, who has treated many musicians, including Ringo Starr, for substance abuse. “Whether Ozzy wants to admit it or not, the fans who buy his records look up to him as a role model.”

Danny Goldberg, founder of Rock Against Drugs, the nonprofit foundation that produced many of MTV’s star-studded, anti-drug public service announcements, concurs: “It’s intellectually dishonest for entertainers to pretend that when they flaunt their intoxication, it does not in some way have an influence on their audience.”

Osbourne--who over the course of his career has been sued for inciting suicide, arrested for urinating on the Alamo and condemned by New York Cardinal John O’Connor for encouraging satanic worship--says he included the substance-abuse footage because he wanted to expose fans to the negative impact that drugs and alcohol can have on an entertainer’s career.

“Rock stars like Paul McCartney release documentaries that play up all that prissy crap about how beautiful the pop-star life is, but they’re all so fake,” Osbourne said.

“Nobody ever talks about what it’s like when a band comes off the road and everybody has to check into detox centers to deal with their drug addictions. What do they think? That kids can’t see through that? My fans deserve the truth and that’s what I give them.”