Michael Douglas' Son Cameron Released from Prison After Seven Years Following Drug Conviction

Cameron Douglas had been scheduled for release in 2018, but is now living in a halfway house in Brooklyn, New York

Photo: Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP

Michael Douglas‘ son Cameron has been released from prison after nearly seven years behind bars.

Cameron, 37, was sentenced to a five-year prison term for possession of heroin and selling methamphetamine in 2010. But after he confessed to smuggling drugs into prison, Cameron’s sentence was extended and he spent two years in solitary confinement at Maryland’s Cumberland Federal Corrections Institute.

He had been scheduled for release in 2018, but is now living in a halfway house in New York.

Cameron is the son of Douglas, 71, and his ex-wife Diandra Douglas, and the two divorced in 2000 after 23 years of marriage.

Shortly after Cameron’s initial arrest, Douglas told PEOPLE he was “holding up fine” amid his son’s troubles. “It’s a very difficult situation and painful, as I’m sure any mother or father of a substance abuser knows. So we’re doing the best we can.”

Over the years, Douglas regularly visited his son in jail and has been outspoken about his disappointment in the prison system following the harsh punishment of his son.

“I see him twice a month now because he’s incarcerated closer to our home,” he said. “He’s a drug addict, but he’s done more than his fair share of time for it.”

Cameron has also spoken out about his time behind bars. In 2013, he wrote an open letter published in the Huffington Post in which he opened up about his experience in prison.

“Here I sit at my little table in the belly of the beast, writing to you. I have spent close to two of my four years of incarceration in solitary confinement,” he wrote in 2013.

WATCH: The Story Behind the Story: Cameron Douglas Comes Home

The actor went on to question the way in which non-violent drug abusers are punished under the current prison system.

“This outdated system pays little, if any, concern to the disease of addiction, and instead punishes it more harshly than many violent crimes,” he wrote. “I’m not saying that I didn’t deserve to be punished, or that I’m worthy of special treatment. I made mistakes and I’ll gladly and openly admit my faults. However, I seem to be trapped in a vicious cycle of relapse and repeat, as most addicts are. Unfortunately, whereas the effective remedy for relapse should be treatment, the penal system’s “answer” is to lock the door and throw away the key.”

He concluded by writing that he felt “blessed” to have the support of his family and that “there is a beautiful purpose hidden along this painful journey.”