Former Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx has slammed the “enablers” who surround musicians and make it more difficult for those with drug issues to deal with them because it might affect financial returns.

Sixx has been vocal in recent months about the U.S. opiate crisis, particularly its effect in the artistic industries. Last month he dismissed the idea that taking drugs enhanced creativity, and in September he marked International Overdose Awareness Day by recounting his own worst experience while under the influence of heroin.

In a new interview on the syndicated talk show The Doctors, Sixx was asked if the “rock 'n' roll lifestyle” encourages drug abuse. “Yes and no,” he replied. “It depends on the artist. Like when Whitney Houston passed away, I think it was a good time to look at enablers. There’s a lot of people around the artist – there’s managers, there’s agents, there’s road managers, there’s crew, there’s family members. So when you see a person heading towards that addiction, a lot of people don’t want to stop the money train, and that’s where you hear about a lot of the tragedies in rock 'n' roll, and other kinds of music as well.”

You can watch the clip above.

Describing himself as a “survivor or heroin addiction and alcoholism,” Sixx recounted the infamous story of how he wound up close to death after an overdose. “I was a heroin addict for exactly one year, and my heart stopped for two minutes and I came back," he said. "I went home and I shot up again and overdosed again. And I woke up the next day and I kind of had a spiritual awakening – that’s the only way I can explain it. .… It was the first time I didn’t want to do drugs."

Sixx said the experience changed his perspective. "At that time I said, ‘I want to turn my life around and do something good with this horrible information,'" he recalled.

More From Ultimate Classic Rock