He made poor choices, and we all make them. I guess what would separate me from him is being afraid of an employer "googling" me.
If I was interviewing him I would have to ask him the question "why did you spend money on weed instead of your kid?"
Sounds like he had a rough childhood and sometimes there is a trickle down effect of that. I hope the best for him and his family going forward. If he didn't throw Cyclone Nation under the bus, his legacy would have been "man, what a talent but he had some issues" vs "man, what a talented ass that **** on his supporters."