Troubled pop star Amy Winehouse may be suffering from brain damage brought on by drug overdoses, according to published reports.
The singer has overdosed twice in the past 12 months, the first in August 2007 after a binge on crystal meth, heroin and cocaine. She was also hospitalized in July after a 36-hour marijuana marathon that left her in convulsions.
Now doctors are worried that the most recent overdose has left her permanently disabled, according to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. Winehouse has "displayed symptoms normally associated with schizophrenia," and has been warned that one more overdose will kill her.
When Winehouse was taken to the hospital in July, her father, Mitch, explained the emergency trip as a "bad reaction to medicine." That's false, said a friend of the "Rehab" singer.
"[Her father's] 'explanation' for Amy's hospital dash in July was just simply untrue," the Winehouse pal said. "She had smoked an inhuman amount of hash which resulted in acute cannabis poisoning. You have to take a s***load of pot to to suffer that severe reaction. It is thought she had been smoking it for 36 hours.
"She is in need of years of psychiatry and medical treatment if she has a hope."
The ailing star has also landed herself in legal trouble this weekend after backing out of a performance at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris. Winehouse was set to be the headlining act, but never left her home in London to attend, citing illness. Festival organizers stated on their Web site that they intend to pursue legal action. via
