Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Back in Spotlight Over Surprising New Insider Claims

Nearly 17 years after his death, Michael Jackson is facing renewed scrutiny, and this time, it’s over new claims about activities at Neverland Ranch.

According to former associates, Jackson privately believed drug use helped him cope with pressure of life and fame. The allegations claim that that the singer secretly smoked marijuana for several years and subsequently hid the habit from the public, with claims that his inner circle always protected his image.

Jackson, who died in 2009 at age 50 from acute propofol intoxication, allegedly viewed marijuana as harmless, and he believed that it helped him relax and stay creative while recording music.

A crisis publicist named Vincent Amen made the allegations, who also said that he became part of Jackson’s inner circle after being brought onto the singer’s team by longtime friend Frank Cascio during allegations of child s----- abuse against Jackson, reports the RadarOnline.

Amen claimed he spent time living at Neverland Ranch and saw firsthand how carefully Jackson’s private life was hidden from public view. According to one insider familiar with the singer’s inner circle, Jackson allegedly normalized drug use in a way that worried some of the people around him.

“Michael convinced himself that drug abuse was OK because he saw it as a form of escape rather than addiction. He surrounded himself with enablers who rarely challenged him,” the insider claimed. Another source alleged Jackson’s marijuana use had quietly become “an open secret” among trusted people close to him.

“People close to Michael knew he relied on drugs to calm himself and cope with stress. He did not view marijuana as dangerous at all and thought it helped him creatively.” The allegations drew further attention after Amen spoke publicly about conversations he allegedly had with both Jackson and Cascio about the singer’s views on drugs.

“I know from conversations with Frank and Michael that it was disclosed that Michael said, ‘Marijuana use and some drug use is ok.’ We all need an escape from life. And that was Michael’s escape – the drugs,” Amen said during a podcast interview. He also claimed marijuana was delivered to Neverland Ranch through private couriers rather than regular delivery companies so the shipments would stay hidden from public attention.

“They would courier marijuana up through a courier, not through like FedEx, but a private courier to bring him his marijuana from the city of LA. So Michael would have it when he was in his music studio,” he alleged. The fresh allegations come as Jackson’s already controversial legacy faces another wave of legal drama. Earlier this year, several members of the Cascio family filed a lawsuit against Jackson’s estate accusing the late singer of years of abuse.

According to the complaint, siblings Edward Cascio, Dominic Cascio, Marie-Nicole Cascio and Aldo Cascio claim Jackson “groomed and brainwashed” them while they were minors and later supplied them with drugs and alcohol before allegedly abusing them.

The filing stated: “Michael Jackson was a serial child predator who, over the course of more than a decade, drugged, raped and sexually assaulted each of the plaintiffs, beginning when some were as young as seven or eight.”

Jackson’s estate has fiercely denied the allegations. Attorney Marty Singer blasted the lawsuit as “a desperate money grab” and argued the claims contradict years of public support the Cascio family previously showed toward Jackson.

Even years after his death, Michael Jackson’s life continues to generate public attention, and these latest allegations are only bringing even more attention back to the dark rumors that have followed his legacy for decades.