Yesterday, we reported that Saint Vitus were forced to continue their European tour without frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich because he was deported from Norway back to the States on an illegal substance charge, but at the time of our report, we didn't know exactly what the substance was. A little weed? Nope? A baggy of cocaine? Nope…
Eleven grams of amphetamines (Note: We originally reported it was methamphetamine aka meth, but it's just pure amphetamines which is speed).
Holy cow, that's a lot of speed! Just to give you an idea how much speed that is, here is a photo I found online of various gram bags of meth. Wino had eleven of these he was hoping to get past airport security border patrol:
File photo of bags of meth, with one gram in each bag. Wino was caught with the equivalent of 11 of these bags.
Wino makes no secret of his history of drug abuse. As Kim Kelly points out, he spent most of the 90s homeless and on meth in LA before returning home going sober for seven years after a "huge mushroom trip." In an interview with The Quietus eight months ago, he admitted to just recently getting off a seven year meth binge. That's a long binge!
Wino is back in the States now and there is no telling what kind of charges await him. I hope for the good of his own health and his family's future, that he seek help in trying to get cleaned up for good. Perhaps touring isn't the healthiest lifestyle for a drug addict.
Meanwhile, Saint Vitus performed their first gig without Wino at the helm last night in Gothenburg. Here's some footage:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2wTyO6qc9s[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcHwV3IHo5c[/youtube]
