House Speaker Glen Casada's top aide admitted Monday that he previously used cocaine in his legislative office before he became the speaker's chief of staff.

The revelation, first reported by NewsChannel 5, comes just days after Cade Cothren, Casada's chief of staff, faced scrutiny over racist text messages.

Cothren confirmed to the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee on Monday that he used cocaine inside his legislative office building in recent years. He also confirmed that he used other drugs but not inside the legislative office building.

He did not specify what drugs and when, but said he was no longer using any illegal substances.

"No doubt, I've done things I regret and I just ask that people can forgive past actions and let me prove to them that the person I was in the past is not the person I am today," Cothren said.

"I was young, immature, stupid."

Cothren said in an interview that he turned to abusing drugs and alcohol as a "coping mechanism" amid pressure from working in politics, but that it eventually began affecting his performance as the House Republican Caucus press secretary at the time.

"I realized that the lifestyle I was living couldn't be sustained," Cothren said. "It was impacting my job and my relationship with people."

As for what affect drug use had on his job, Cothren said he "had no focus."

Cothren confirmed that he had sent texts about using drugs and making "derogatory" comments about women, but declined to say whether he had used racial slurs and made other racist statements, as reported by NewsChannel 5.

It is unclear whether Cothren will face any punishment as a result of doing drugs in the legislature's offices.

Speaker Casada says he knew about drug use, will stand beside Cothren

As he did last week, Casada has continued to stand by his 32-year-old chief of staff, who earns $199,800 a year.

On Monday, Casada told USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee that while he knew Cothren would "face heat" from the public for his admission, Cothren would not be subject to termination or demotion.

"Who am I to hold that against someone when they've turned their life around?" Casada said. "It's a very simple story of a young man going off and making some bad life decisions, but recognizing those bad life decisions."

Casada said Cothren approached him a few years ago and "confessed" about his drug problem.

"I would say no one (else) knew," Casada said of how widely known it was that Cothren was using illicit drugs.

The speaker also released a statement on Monday,

"Nearly three years ago, Mr. Cothren approached me and confided in me that he was dealing with some personal issues and wanted to seek help after his struggles became apparent," the speaker said in a statement.

"Knowing these issues were impacting his ability to fulfill his job duties, Mr. Cothren sought counseling and forgiveness and has been doing an outstanding job ever since."

Cothren said the counseling did not entail rehab or addiction treatment specifically.

Last week, Casada noted he had worked with Cothren for the last 10 years.

"I stand by my chief of staff on his character because I know his character," the speaker said.

Casada's comments came after NewsChannel 5 reported Cothren previously sent text messages that included racial slurs and other derogatory remarks about African Americans.

Casada blasted the story, which also raised issues over a discrepancy related to the handling of emails between an activist and the speaker's office, questioning its veracity.

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.