FORT EDWARD, N.Y. -- The frontman for the rock band Phish has returned to a New York drug court to offer encouragement to those afflicted with the same addictions he has battled.

Trey Anastasio spoke for nearly 30 minutes Wednesday in Washington County Felony Drug Court. He was sentenced to the drug court program in 2008. Two years earlier, police found heroin and prescription painkillers in his vehicle near the Vermont border.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls reports Anastasio told drug court graduates and a packed courtroom that the program put him on the road to nearly a decade of sobriety and likely saved his life.

Anastasio also said he still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in New York City and serves as a sponsor for those trying to get sober.