Editing Etta James (section)

=== Legal difficulties and drug addiction ===
By the mid-1960s, James suffered from an addiction to heroin. To finance her habit, she bounced checks, forged prescriptions and stole from her friends.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Etta James, Stunning Singer|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/01/20/123125338/remembering-etta-james-stunning-singer|last=Ulaby|first=Neda|date=January 20, 2012|website=NPR|language=en|access-date=May 18, 2020|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731032048/https://www.npr.org/2012/01/20/123125338/remembering-etta-james-stunning-singer|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1966, she was arrested for writing bad checks; she was placed on probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=August 22, 1968|title=Etta James Faces New Cort Action In Los Angeles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzgDAAAAMBAJ&q=etta+james+jet&pg=PA57|magazine=Jet|pages=5|access-date=October 17, 2020|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218033457/https://books.google.com/books?id=RzgDAAAAMBAJ&q=etta+james+jet&pg=PA57|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1969, she spent 10 days in jail for violating her probation.<ref name=":0" />

James was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Treatment Centers, in Los Angeles. Her husband, Artis Mills, accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession, and served a 10-year prison sentence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20061790,00.html|title=How Etta Got Her Groove Back|work=People|access-date=February 6, 2009|archive-date=July 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728145558/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20061790,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was released from prison in 1981.

In 1973, James was arrested for possession of heroin.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=July 19, 1973|title=Etta James Drugs Trial Postponed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEMDAAAAMBAJ&q=etta+james+arrested+jet&pg=PA59|magazine=Jet|pages=59|access-date=October 17, 2020|archive-date=December 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218034534/https://books.google.com/books?id=NEMDAAAAMBAJ&q=etta%20james%20arrested%20jet&pg=PA59|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1974, she was sentenced to drug treatment instead of prison. During this period, she became addicted to methadone and would mix her doses with heroin.<ref name=":0" /> She was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, starting at the age of 36, and went through a great struggle. In her 1995 autobiography ''Rage to Survive'', she said that the time she spent in the hospital changed her life. After leaving treatment, however, her substance abuse continued, particularly after she developed a relationship with a man who was also using drugs.

In 2010, James received treatment for a dependency on [[Analgesic|painkillers]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2010-02-11-etta-james_N.htm?csp=34 | work=USA Today | title=Son says singer Etta James changes hospitals | date=February 11, 2010 | access-date=May 2, 2010 | archive-date=February 16, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100216053506/http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2010-02-11-etta-james_N.htm?csp=34 | url-status=live }}</ref>