Whitney Houston's Drug Habit: Thousands Spent Each Week

Many apparently knew that Whitney Houston still had a crippling drug problem. But how many suspected her issues went this far?

The late six-time Grammy honoree's chemical dependency reportedly sent her spiraling into thousands spent weekly and hoarding massive quantities of drugs in her home, The Daily Beast reports. Houston was found unconscious in her Beverly Hills Hilton hotel room's bathtub the afternoon of Feb. 11, then pronounced dead on the scene after paramedics attempted resuscitation. An autopsy later determined that she accidentally drowned, with cocaine intoxication and heart disease contributing to her losing consciousness.

Houston's family only avoided an intervening confrontation over the singer's demons because they feared embarrassment at her problems, claims in-law Monique Houston. "Her mother [Cissy Houston] would always say, 'I don't understand this drug thing.' And she didn't. They let it get too bad before they understand she needed serious help, and then it was too late," Monique said.

Houston's ex-husband, New Edition co-founder Bobby Brown, recently claimed during a two-part interview with Matt Lauer for NBC's "Today" that Houston had a drug problem long before the pair's 1991 meeting. Around the time of Houston and Brown's 2007 divorce, Houston began publicly speaking candidly about her dependence on cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. Monique corroborated Brown's accounts.

"Drugs were around her for years before she met Bobby and continued after he left," Monique said. "It was worse when they were together, but he didn't cause it."

Still, Brown doesn't appear blameless. A Houston friend added, "Bobby liked to drink, and when he was drunk, he was really mean and nasty. He'd spit at her and throw things at her, all in front of [the couple's daughter] Bobbi Kristina. During one of Brown's attempts at sobriety in the late '90s, Houston decided to go along on the tour, baby daughter in tow, to support him. Brown had just come back from a stint in rehab, but Houston continued to use cocaine in front of him. Brown was so enraged he ordered her and Bobbi Kristina off the bus in the middle of the road, forcing another band member to pick them up."

One of her alleged closest friends claims that Houston "planned her day around drugs." At her worst, she was a favorite of drug dealers for her habit of paying in cash and buying mass quantities of drugs at a time. Ever paranoid about a dwindling supply, she'd pay rapt attention to where she stored her controlled substances even at the expense of her surroundings' conditions.

"The house would be a mess, with trash and dirty clothes everywhere, but she didn't want anyone to clean up, because she didn't want people to see how bad everything was," the friend said. "She didn't want a nanny for Bobbi Kristina for the same reason."