Drugs & Alcohol

Darren Waller ain't scared of relapsing when he has to move to Las Vegas after the Raiders bolt from Oakland ... in fact, he tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to be a sobriety symbol in Sin City.

The tight end's battle with substance abuse is well known ... the 27-year-old nearly lost his NFL career before it really even began because of issues with opiates and cocaine.

But, Waller's been on the straight and narrow for over two years now ... and he tells us he ain't concerned one bit about how a permanent move to Vegas might change that.

In fact, Waller says once he gets to LV with his Raiders squad ... he immediately wants to help others find sobriety like he did back in 2017.

"Maybe I can step into a community that really is rough to be in for people who may not think they can be sober in that environment," Waller tells us.

"And, really try to be an example or just be someone that people could lean on. And, just build a community there where people feel safe."

It's an awesome gesture from Waller ... and he's the perfect guy for the role -- 'cause this year has been the best of his life.

Green Bay Packers superstar Za'Darius Smith admitted to cops he had smoked weed shortly before he was pulled over for speeding ... telling an officer, "We had smoked earlier."

It's all in police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows Smith and Packers rookies Rashan Gary and Kingsley Keke getting stopped on Sept. 29 in Racine, Wisc.

Smith was busted for doing 81 mph in a 60 -- but when a cop asked him how much weed he had in his vehicle ... the superstar pass rusher straight-up admitted to smoking earlier in the day.

That's when the officer put Smith and his teammates in cuffs and searched the 2019 Yukon ... and found what appeared to be blunts and a vaping cartridge in the guys' pricey bags.

When the cops came back to ask who owned the blunts ... Smith seemed surprised to learn they were in there -- but took the fall for them anyway.

"I'll put it on me, yessir," Smith said.

As for the cartridge, Smith also took the fall for that, saying again, "I'll put that on me."

The cop cited Smith for speeding and possession of marijuana. Gary and Keke were NOT cited in the incident.

Unclear if the NFL will hand down punishment to Smith for admitting to smoking ... but it'd be a big deal if they did. Za'Darius has been a star for the Packers after signing a 4-year, $66 MILLION deal this offseason.

As for his citations ... Smith's facing nothing more than fines for those, but his attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to both of the infractions earlier this week.

Drake is expanding his empire by getting into the marijuana industry, the legal one, and he wants to slap his new chronic company's name on all sorts of products.

Champagne Papi's dubbed his weed biz More Life Growth Company and according to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Drake wants to lock up the rights to his company's name and then use it to sell vapes, pipes, rolling papers and hookahs, plus a ton of merch like shirts, boots, coats, dresses, gloves, hats, hoodies, jackets, jeans, sweats, shorts and sneakers.

No clue how this would work, but he's even included lingerie in his trademark application!!!

Drake's also going the more traditional route -- herbal teas for medicinal and recreational purposes, and medicinal herb extracts.

Drizzy almost seems a little late to the party ... as we first told you, Post Malone is launching a weed company named Shaboink, and Ray J poured $5 million into his own pot biz.

Ben Affleck is trying to get past falling off the wagon by moving forward with work ... even if he looks a little worse for wear.

Ben was spotted Tuesday with a script in hand in New Orleans as he prepared to begin shooting his new film, "Deep Water." Unclear if Ben's disheveled look -- messy hair, scraggly beard, wearing sweats and a stained t-shirt -- was part of his role. It's worth noting ... he's supposed to play Vic Van Allen, an attractive husband.

Anyway ... it's the first time we've seen Ben on the set since he relapsed nearly 2 weeks ago. As we've reported ... Ben was spotted leaving a Halloween party and clearly had trouble walking. He damn near fell before catching himself on an SUV.

Ben later acknowledged he stumbled in his effort to maintain sobriety. After leaving that party ... Ben hit up a casino. And, while he pocketed $1,500 in winnings in just 12 minutes of gambling, Ben could barely stand and nearly fell out of his chair. The next day, he said he vowed to get back on the straight and narrow.

Alex Collins had a massive jug of weed and a gun on the floorboards of his crashed Corvette ... and police video obtained by TMZ Sports shows cops making the shocking find and arresting the NFL RB for it.

Collins skidded off the road at around 4:30 a.m. near the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility in Owings Mills, Maryland when he was a member of the team back in March 2019.

In video we obtained ... you can see a cop pulling up to the scene shortly after the crash -- and it's pretty wild.

Collins' pricey ride -- which looks like the Batmobile -- is rammed against some trees and stuck in a snowy ditch ... and Collins appears to be asleep when the officer opens the passenger door.

Collins explains to the cop he had crashed earlier in the morning and was waiting for a tow ... but after Alex had some issues with expired tags, things got dicey for the 25-year-old.

The cop hits him with a ticket, but explains he smells a strong odor of marijuana from the car as well ... and asks him straight-up how much weed he has in the vehicle.

The running back claims he doesn't know ... saying it belonged to his buddy, Tykheem "TJ" Dunaway, who was a passenger in the car earlier but had walked home instead of sticking around.

TJ eventually showed back up to the scene ... and after the cop discovered the jug of weed and a firearm in the car -- he put Collins in cuffs and questioned TJ.

TJ told the cop the weed definitely belonged to Collins ... saying, "It's his. I didn't know it was in the car until it crashed because we were coming from a party."

Eventually, both dudes were arrested for possession of the weed ... while Collins was also booked for having a handgun in his vehicle.

Collins fought the case in court for months ... but in October, he agreed to a plea deal in which he pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges of possession of a handgun and possession of weed.

In exchange, Collins received probation and a fine ... and had his felony charges dropped.

Collins -- who was cut by the Ravens immediately after the arrest -- is still looking for a team this season ... despite being hit with a 3-game suspension by the NFL over the incident.

NBA rising star John Collins has been suspended without pay for 25 games after the Hawks power forward tested positive for an illegal growth hormone ... the league announced Tuesday.

The 22-year-old stud violated the league's anti-drug policy after getting flagged for growth hormone-releasing peptide 2 ...  which increases food intake and appetite, according to studies.

Collins is the 3rd player this season to get popped for violating the league's anti-drug policy ... joining Brooklyn's Wilson Chandler and Phoenix Suns star DeAndre Ayton.

Collins addressed the test results in a statement to ESPN saying he plans to appeal the punishment.

"First I want to apologize to my teammates, the Hawks organization, our fans, partners and community as a whole for this situation."

"I understand the impact this matter has on what we are trying to achieve together this season, and I am incredibly frustrated and disappointed in myself for putting all us in this position."

"I have always been incredibly careful about what I put in my body, but I took a supplement, which unbeknownst to me, had been contaminated with an illegal component."

Collins -- the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Wake Forest -- has been averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds for ATL this season.

El Chapo's wife is in talks to do something really shocking, and that's talk ... on reality TV about the family business while El Chapo rots in prison!!!

Emma Coronel Aispuro was recently in Miami for a sit down with none other than cocaine godmother Griselda Blanco's youngest son, Michael Blanco. It was a business meeting, but not THAT kinda biz -- sources familiar with negotiations tell us Emma and Michael were talking about her joining the cast of VH1's "Cartel Crew."

TMZ got these pics of Emma aboard a yacht -- note the bodyguards in black watching over her -- as Michael and his baby mama, Marie, pulled up on their boat for the face-to-face meeting. Michael is already one of the stars of 'Cartel' ... which is currently in its second season.

The scene looked kinda "Scarface"-y ... which, we're guessing, is exactly why VH1's trying to convince Emma to come aboard. Drama sells.

What's crazy about this deal is the fact that El Chapo's gang -- the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico -- is still VERY much active and dangerous, even though he's serving out a life sentence in federal prison.

Just a couple weeks ago, they forced Mexican authorities to release Chapo's son by taking soldiers and cops hostage. Point is, Emma's past is still alive and kicking ... so, you gotta wonder how much she could safely say on the show.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor is just like us on the weekends -- ready to unwind ... and, more importantly, ready to uncork.

The Supreme Court associate judge was spotted at a mom-and-pop shop in D.C. over the weekend, where she eventually made her way to the booze aisle, and seemed to take a liking to a couple bottles of reds. In this photo, it looks like she's deciding between the two.

If she's truly wise -- and we know she is -- she probably took both of them home and decided later. Seems like a lady next to her was making other suggestions as well.

Can't blame Sonia for loading up on the vino ahead of what appears to be a busy schedule this week for her and her SCOTUS colleagues. They're scheduled to hear arguments on a number of cases Monday through Wednesday -- which include some meaty topics like immigration, police conduct, maritime law, copyright claims and others.

Henry Thomas had cannabis in his vehicle when he was busted for a DUI, which could explain him being zonked at the wheel ... this according to law enforcement.

As we reported ... Elliott from 'E.T.' was arrested last month in Oregon after the Tualatin PD responded to a call of him being asleep in the driver's seat at an intersection in a residential area.

According to new court docs ... the responding officer arrived right after another driver had pounded on Thomas' window to wake him up, and noticed he had spit on his now-open window and it was running down the door. He allegedly also had spit on his jacket.

The cop claims she asked Thomas if he was having a medical issue and he said no, but he was slurring his speech and had droopy and bloodshot eyes. According to the docs, he said he didn't have anything to drink, but refused the field sobriety tests.

The officer claims Thomas was swaying as she talked to him so she placed him under arrest for DUI ... and located a bottle of "fast acting THC" in the driver's side door.

The Washington County Oregon Circuit Court clerk tells us ... Thomas' attorney pled not guilty on his behalf Friday to the misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He has another court date scheduled for later this month.

We reached out to the attorney ... no word back, so far.

Ben Affleck got so wasted Saturday night at a Halloween party he could barely stand, but that didn't impede his skills at his next stop -- a poker table -- where he made quick work of lining his pockets with cash.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben was wasted as he left the UNICEF Masquerade Ball in West Hollywood. Turns out he was on a mission, landing at a Commerce casino at around 1 AM.

We're told Ben rolled up to a table that was full -- 9 players trying their luck. The pit boss decided to make an exception and had a 10th chair moved to the table so Ben could play.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... Ben almost fell off his chair he was so inebriated. He got $20k in chips and he was in and out in 12 minutes ... pocketing $1500 in winnings.

He stumbled out of the casino with his lady friend and that was it.

Conor McGregor says he gifted the very first bottle of his Proper No. 12 Whiskey to Vladimir Putin -- but the Russian president wouldn't sip until it was tested for poison.

The UFC superstar says he brought Bottle #1 with him to meet Putin at the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, but Vlad's security team swooped in and took the bottle before they could pop it open.

"President Putin's security detail is second to none as I'm sure you know," Conor told the media in Moscow this week ... "You don't mess around with Vladimir."

"So, I gifted the bottle, I gifted it to his security. So, they had to take the liquid from the bottle to make sure the liquid was safe and it was not maybe poisoned or whatnot and then it was gifted to Vladimir Putin."

Conor says because of the security protocol, he was unable to share a glass with Putin at the World Cup, but McGregor says ... "I'm sure he did have a taste and I'm sure he enjoyed it."

Of course, Conor went on to fight Russian superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov and lost ... and Khabib ended up getting the invite to meet up with Putin afterward.

"Supernatural" star Jared Padalecki was arrested at a club he tends to frequent quite often -- which makes this story all the more ghastly.

Jared -- who plays Sam Winchester on the show, opposite Jensen Ackles -- was busted by cops early Sunday morning in Austin, TX outside of a lounge called Stereotype. Per his booking sheet, he's facing two counts of assault and one count of public intoxication.

Based on video TMZ obtained in the moments leading up to Jared's arrest ... you can see why. The guy was getting physical on the sidewalk, and cops had to get involved.

Eyewitnesses on the scene tell us that at first, Jared allegedly struck a bartender in the face from inside the establishment ... and that a friend tried calming him down outside, but got put into a headlock after a standoff, which you can see here in the footage.

We're also told he got into it with the general manager of the place, and allegedly struck him in the face as well. Eventually, Jared was restrained by police ... but not before pulling out what we're told was a wad of cash, and allegedly flashing it to the officers.

As for Jared's connection to Stereotype -- it's a bit hazy, but he's definitely a regular and might even be an investor too. Local reports suggest he straight-up owns the joint -- he and Jensen own respective businesses in Austin aside from this, BTW -- and we could probably buy that, considering he was there opening night last year, and drops in a lot.

Ben Affleck seemed to have fallen off the wagon Saturday night at a Halloween party.

Ben was leaving La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood for the Unicef Masquerade ball. He clearly has trouble walking and uses the SUV to steady himself. He nearly fell before catching himself on the vehicle.

Affleck has had a rough go of things over the years. He's struggled with his sobriety and repeatedly gone to rehab ... most recently in August 2018, when his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, drove him to a facility in Malibu. He's had a sober coach and seemed to have been doing well.

Ben had been attending wellness classes at an L.A. wellness center that specializes in "Buddhist ethics," where people who attend engage in meditation with a focus on healthy body, mind and spirit.

Sobriety is difficult and elusive for everyone struggling with addiction, and we're told Ben has acknowledged he's going to slip up from time to time ... it was never as if this was simply behind him.

It's unclear if Ben will be heading back to rehab.

Jenelle Evans' ex-BF, Nathan Griffith, has an excuse for why he shouldn't have been busted for DWI ... he says he wasn't even in his car when he got stopped by cops.

As we reported ... the "Teen Mom 2" star was arrested outside a grocery store last Thursday in North Carolina ... and now Nathan is calling his arrest BS.

Nathan tells us his keys were actually locked inside his vehicle and he was walking to meet friends at a restaurant when he got stopped by police, who he claims were responding to a report of a man sleeping in his car.

The way Nathan tells it ... he'd already been walking for 5 minutes when cops showed up and escorted him back to his vehicle. He says police grilled him about driving and sleeping in the car before administering a field sobriety test ... and ya gotta hear him describe the procedure.

We've reached out to law enforcement multiple times ... and we're still waiting on the police report.

Bottom line for Nathan ... he thinks he shoulda been popped for public intoxication not DWI.

Snoop Dogg enjoyed some very special flowers for his birthday -- a customized bouquet enhanced with 4 dozen joints!!! Take that, baby's breath.

Snoop celebrated his 48th bday Sunday, and the folks who know him best surprised him with one of the things he loves most on this Earth ... WEED!!!

Check out this ganja gift ... it's a flower arrangement with 48 pre-rolled joints filled with the stickiest of the icky ... one for each of Snoop's trips around the sun.

Snoop's present is the creation of the cannabis floral designer and artist, Leslie K Monroy ... and she tells us folks at Snoop's weed company, Merry Jane, saw some of her work at Flowers on Flowers and just had to get something dank for the Doggfather.

We're told half the joints are filled with Indica and the other half with Sativa ... and the bouquet also includes 4 small weed clones and 8 tall clones, in addition to the normal plants. We know what you're thinking: Next Mother's Day is gonna be lit!

No word what kinda birthday cake Snoop had, but we guarantee it tasted really good!!!

Tupac Shakur is still with us ... but he's not hiding out in Cuba, he's just been living the thug life in Tennessee.

A white man named Tupac A. Shakur was arrested this weekend after allegedly threatening cops with a knife.

Johnson City Police say officers responded to a call Saturday about the 40-year-old Tupac, who had warrants out for his arrest, and when they tried to detain him cops say he turned toward the officers with a blade in his hand.

Shakur was busted after a brief struggle ... and cops say they searched him and found a syringe and multiple baggies of meth. Tupac was booked on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, simple possession of meth and unlawful drug paraphernalia.

Getting arrested is about the only thing this dude has in common with the real Pac ... but it's still pretty wild to see the name on a license, let alone a mug shot.

The white Tupac's being held on $18,000 bond ... no word if Suge Knight is gonna bail him out.