Miley Cyrus has been through it. We all watched the "Bangerz" era happen in real time—the tongue-wagging, the foam fingers, and the very loud, very public pivot from Disney princess to "wild child." But looking back from 2026, the conversation around miley cyrus drugs use and her subsequent journey to sobriety has shifted from tabloid fodder to something much more human and, honestly, pretty relatable.
She isn't just a pop star who partied too hard. She’s a person who had to figure out how to be "fun" without being high, all while the entire world was checking her hair length to determine her sanity.
The "Vintage Clothes" and the Hiding Game
For a long time, the public image of Miley’s substance use was almost like a performance art piece. She was the girl on stage with a giant joint, the girl singing about "dancing with Molly" in We Can't Stop. But behind the scenes, it wasn't always a party. In a surprisingly candid 2025 podcast appearance on The Ringer, Miley admitted that during her Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz era, she was spending thousands of dollars on drugs and hiding the paper trail from her own accountant.
How? She labeled the expenses as "vintage clothes."
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It’s a classic addict move, even if the stakes involve $15,000 "John Lennon T-shirts" that didn't actually exist. Her accountant would ask where these rare items were, and Miley would just say they were "upstairs" being "protected" because the fabric was delicate. She’s joked about it since, but there’s a heavy underlying truth there. Even when you’re one of the most famous people on the planet, the shame of how much you're using can make you lie to the person who manages your bank account.
She survived that era. Not everyone does.
Why the "Good Girl" Rebrand Was a Lie
One of the biggest misconceptions about miley cyrus drugs use is that she was "clean" during her Younger Now period in 2017. You remember the look: long blonde hair, cowboy hats, very "Malibu." The media loved it. They saw the long hair and the stable relationship and assumed she was "sane" again.
Miley hates that narrative.
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She later told Rolling Stone that she was actually "way more off her path" during that period of "playing house" than she was when she was rocking a pixie cut and acting out. It turns out, you can look "pure" and still be struggling. It wasn't until her vocal cord surgery in November 2019 that the real shift happened. That was the moment she realized she couldn't keep "abusing" her voice if she wanted a career that lasted.
The Ayahuasca Experience: "I Saw the Snakes"
We can't talk about Miley and substances without mentioning the "spiritual" side of things. She’s been very open about her experience with ayahuasca, a potent psychedelic brew used in South American ceremonies.
She told Joe Rogan—and later Rolling Stone—that it was one of her "favorite" experiences. She saw the snakes. She met "Mama Aya." While she doesn't consider herself a "drug user" in the traditional sense anymore, she has maintained a nuanced view of psychedelics. She’s said she’d possibly do mushrooms again, but she’s finished with the heavy partying.
For her, the "God" in her life now isn't a substance; it's the sobriety itself. She calls it her "God" because it changed everything. It gave her the clarity to write Flowers, win her first Grammys in 2024, and finally feel like she was achieving something real.
Sobriety Isn't a Straight Line
If you’re looking for a perfect "I got sober and never looked back" story, Miley isn't your girl. She’s honest about relapsing. During the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, like millions of other people, she "fell off." She started drinking again.
But her approach to that slip-up was different. She didn't get "furious"; she got "curious." She asked herself why it happened. She realized she isn't a "moderation person."
"I don't have a problem with drinking. I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level."
That’s a level of self-awareness you don't often see in Hollywood. She knows she wants to wake up "100 percent, 100 percent of the time." She’s traded the benders for Ashtanga yoga, Pilates, and a pescatarian diet rich in omegas to help her "brain fog."
What We Can Learn From the Miley Era
The saga of miley cyrus drugs and her recovery isn't just about a celebrity getting clean. It’s about the evolution of a person who was a "big fish in a small pond" (Nashville) and had to find her way in a world that wanted her to be a caricature.
- Appearance ≠ Sanity: Just because someone looks "put together" doesn't mean they aren't struggling.
- The "27 Club" is real pressure: Miley got sober at 26 specifically because she didn't want to become a statistic.
- Creativity doesn't require chemicals: She’s arguably making the best music of her life right now, completely clear-headed.
- Accountability matters: Surrounding yourself with people who will say "no" to you—like her mom, Tish, or her mentors like Dolly Parton—is vital.
If you’re struggling with your own relationship with substances, or just feeling like you're "off your path," the next step isn't to fix everything at once. It’s to get curious. Look at your "vintage clothes" expenses—the things you're hiding from yourself—and ask what they're actually costing you. Sometimes, like Miley, you have to "fall one more time" before you can finally find the key that fits the lock of your own healing.
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Start by auditing your environment. Who are the people who let you hide? Who are the people who ask if you’re actually okay? Clarity starts there. Then, maybe, you can start waking up 100 percent of the time too.