In the article "Johnny Cash Approaches Judgment Day with Faith," Cash tells Steve Beard of Relevant magazine about his drug use:

I used drugs to escape, and they worked pretty well when I was younger. But they devastated me physically and emotionallyand spiritually. That last one hurt so much: to put myself in such a low state that I couldn't communicate with God. There's no lonelier place to be. I was separated from God, and I wasn't even trying to call on him. I knew that there was no line of communication. But he came back. And I came back.