The Aaron Hernandez saga has been a dark and troubling episode in the NFL offseason, and it doesn’t show any signs of getting better anytime soon.

A new report by Rolling Stone claims that Hernandez had been surrounding himself with a bad crowd since his high school days and only managed to barely escape trouble in his time at the University of Florida. The report cites the loss of his father to a medical error as a source for much of the anguish and discontent that lead him into the series of poor decisions that led to his arrest for murder.

The most troubling news from the report, however, is that Hernandez had began using drugs. Friends claim he began using PCP regularly. They also say he became paranoid due to the drug use and began carrying a gun constantly. A family friend even went so far as to say that “He’s been twisted on dust now for more than a year, which is when all of this crazy s— started.”

The article also goes in depth regarding the Hernandez family, which includes a number of celebrated athletes and big names in their home town of Bristol, Connecticut. Hernandez is set to be arraigned on September 6th, the next step in this sad episode in NFL history in which a kid with superstar talent made the wrong decisions.

[Image via Boston Globe on YouTube]