Time's Icon of the Year spoke out against legalizing weed in an interview published Wednesday for his newly minted honor.
"I maintain that it's addictive. It leads to other drugs. And when you're stoned -- and I've been stoned -- you don't think normally. Legalizing marijuana in America and Canada is one of the greatest mistakes of all time," he told Time.
In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Time noted that John "has helped many people kick drugs and has offered to help many more," citing how "he is Eminem's sponsor" and how "he orchestrated English pop star Robbie Williams' first stint in rehab."
Elton John documentary on Disney+ goes deep on music, drug use, John Lennon and family
The outlet added that the "I'm Still Standing" singer "tried, without success, to help George Michael." John's personal experiences with drugs are explored in a new Disney+ documentary "Elton John: Never Too Late."
The 102-minute film co-directed by R.J. Cutler ("Martha," "Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry") and John's husband, David Furnish, zips between John's legacy era and a countdown to his career-capping, full-circle-moment 2022 shows at Dodger Stadium.
The five-time Grammy winner released 13 albums from his 1969 debut, "Empty Sky" to 1979's "Victim of Love," a head-spinning output marked, in part, by copious drug consumption, a suicide attempt and the disclosure of his bisexuality in a "Rolling Stone" interview.
"We realized there were two extraordinary moments in Elton's life that fit together in a deeply resonant way," Cutler told USA TODAY. "One, when he began his career and had success and output unheard of except for The Beatles ... And then his monumental decision to stop touring after doing it for 50 years. We built an entire film not to recreate the Wikipedia page of Elton, but to create a cinematic experience for the audience. Here we are. Our moment is a blip. How are we going to live?"
Last month, the "Rocket Man" singer, 77, revealed his struggle with vision loss, sharing in a "Good Morning America" interview that he "unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye" due to an infection.
"It's been four months now since I haven't been able to see," he said. "And my left eye's not the greatest. There's hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but I'm kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do (an interview) like this, but going into the studio and recording, I don't know, because I can't see a lyric for a start."
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, Melissa Ruggieri