Jared Leto Reflects on His Early Drug Use: 'I Took It for a Ride and Then It Took Me for a Ride'

"I was always interested in drugs," Leto told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1

Jared Leto is opening up about the wild "ride" of his life.

In an interview with Apple Music 1, the Thirty Seconds to Mars bandleader revealed he was exposed to drugs from an early age, and he "was always interested" in them.

"I grew up in an environment where there were drugs around. I mean, I knew what the smell of weed is, as a very, very young kid," Leto, 51, tells host Zane Lowe.

"I remember walking by some trees, like bushes or something as a young kid, very young kid, maybe, I don't know, fourth grade or something. And saying to the other kids, 'Oh, someone's smoking pot there.' They're like, 'What do you mean? What's pot?' They didn't know what that certain spice was. But for us it was pretty normal," he recalls.

Leto continues, "I never had a 'no' for any of that stuff. I was always interested in that. I was always interested in drugs, I was always interested in an experience. I always interested in taking some risk. And I think that's probably common for people that like to experiment or explore probably some common things."

The singer then addressed the impact that addiction can have.

Related: Jared Leto Scales N.Y.C. Building Without a Harness During Bike Ride Break

"Of course, that taking drugs is one thing, but does it start taking you? And in my experience, was certainly one that I took it for a ride and then it took me for a ride for sure," he explains.

The "Closer to the Edge" musician revealed he had "an epiphany" when it came to using drugs and took a better "path" for himself.

"I had a moment of clarity. I had an epiphany. There were two paths that I could take in life…I guess is the only way I can describe it. And I took that path and I've had very close friends that didn't. And they're not here anymore. Many," he says.

During his conversation with Lowe, Leto also touched on Thirty Seconds to Mars' sixth studio album — It's the End of the World But It's a Beautiful Day (due Sept. 15) — saying it's "a new beginning" for the band.

"It does feel like a new beginning for us. It's important as you continue to be an artist, to be willing to destroy a bit of yourself, let go of the past in order to move forward," he says of their latest project.

Leto also notes that he's always surprised by people thinking of Thirty Seconds to Mars as "a hard rock band."

"If you look at even the first record, there's in my mind a lot of diversity. There's electronics, there's strings, there's different kinds of arrangements," he explains, adding that "it was the bravest thing to do is to make an album like this."

Related: Jared Leto and Thirty Seconds to Mars Launch 'A Day in the Life of America' Film Project for Fourth of July

The performer then discussed how The Cure has been influential to Thirty Seconds to Mars.

"I always loved The Cure because they could write the darkest, a song, a funeral ballad, and then they get 'Friday I'm in Love,' 'Boys Don't Cry.' And that's pretty brave. And how incredible that the audience goes on that journey with Robert Smith and the band," he says.

Leto's interview with Lowe airs in full today at 1 .p.m. EST on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_Zane.

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