Darryl Strawberry says marijuana is a 'gateway drug' and ruins lives

Former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry went off on an anti-drug rant in a recent interview with TMZ Sports, specifically targeting marijuana, saying that the substance is a "gateway drug" and ruins lives.

"Most people don't understand marijuana is a drug," the 56-year-old said in the interview. "It's just the beginning. Starting people off when they're young and then it leads to everything else."

The retired baseball pro was also critical of drugs in general and the pharmaceutical companies that have "opened the floodgates" to the opioid epidemic but he placed the blame on marijuana as the root of the problem. 

"Most young people start off with marijuana ... it's a gateway. I started with marijuana when I was young —14, 15 years old — and it led me to everything else."

Strawberry has been known to have struggled with substance abuse in the past and was suspended three different times during his professional baseball career for testing positive for cocaine.

You can see the full interview with Darryl Strawberry at TMZ Sports.