According to Larry Birkhead — the father of Daniel's half-sister Dannielynn Birkhead and Anna Nicole's former boyfriend — at the time Daniel Smith visited Anne Nicole Smith in a Bahamas hospital room, his mother had grown concerned about her son's wellbeing. Daniel was the son of Anna Nicole's first husband, Billy Wayne Smith, whom she married when she was just a teenager.
Daniel had lost weight and was breaking curfew. He was also drinking heavily and may have also been using drugs, Birkhead said, testifying at Daniel's death inquest (via News24). "[Anna Nicole] didn't care for the kids he was hanging out with at the community college he attended," he added. At Daniel's inquest, Birkhead also said that Anna Nicole preferred her son to use drugs in her company rather than with friends, and she gave her son the drug ecstasy on one occasion.
In a police report, Birkhead said he saw Anna Nicole, Daniel, and Howard K. Stern — Anna Nicole's lawyer and boyfriend when she died — using marijuana together. He later backtracked on that version of events. Marijuana may have only been present at a party all three attended, based on his recollection. Anna Nicole also abused methadone — which has a high potential for dependence — and Daniel was caught on security cameras taking a bottle from her Los Angeles home, Birkhead testified (via Addiction Center).
