14 DAY TRIAL // Drug issues, and cocaine abuse in particular, have been hounding actor Zac Efron for years, but he recently seemed to be getting better, having completed another stint in rehab and being busy with acting.
His sobriety came abruptly into question towards the end of last week, when he managed to get into a physical altercation with some homeless men in one of the shadiest parts of Los Angeles, Skid Row.
Though the actor claimed that his car had simply run out of gas and they were waiting to be towed, during which time they were attacked, many believed that the actor was present in that particular part of town in search of drugs.
TMZ now claims that these rumors regarding his relapse into drugs have reached Zac's ears and he plans to cut all ties with any of his friends that would ever hint at this to his face. There are some people in his entourage that are worried about his return to drugs and at least some of them have taken up the problem.
Efron, on the other hand, believes he has no problem and he is in fact so mad about the issue, that he is ready not only to ignore those who bring up drug addiction to him, but also sever all ties to them. Some of the people in his closer circles actually believe that he's going to be the next Cory Monteith, the ‘80s heartthrob who passed away from drug abuse, and he too will pass if he doesn't get help.
These are the same friends that maintained Zac never actually completed a stint in a real rehab facility, but only received some private therapy at some friends’ house. Through all of this, Zac is maintaining that he doesn't have any drug-related problem.
On March 23, police reported to finding Zac Efron and a man later identified as his bodyguard, involved in a scuffle with a bung of transient men from the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. They put a stop to the altercation, and, upon questioning, Zac revealed that the men were angered when someone from their car threw a water bottle out the window that landed near them.
The homeless people took this as a sign of aggression and attacked the bodyguard. In the scuffle, Efron was punched in the face, and he later admitted that it was the hardest he'd ever been hit. Later, his bodyguard commended the actor and his quick action, saying that his intervention saved his life.