The more we hear about Demi Lovato’s “breakdown” the more it seems like Demi was in much bigger trouble than her parents and handlers realized. Even now, the “official” story of Demi’s “treatment” is PR-friendly, and her handlers are trying to make it sound like the girl just has some emotional problems and she needs some sleep. Followers of blind items and fans of the nastier gossip have felt pretty strongly that Demi was into some really hardcore sh-t – cocaine, binge drinking, sex with Wilmer Valderrama, and probably much more. Life & Style has a new story in this week’s issue about Demi’s cocaine abuse (back when she was 17 years old), and they’ve gotten “eyewitness” testimony:

The intense pressure on Demi Lovato reached a breaking point when reps for the young star announced she “left her tour to seek medical treatment for emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time,” issues such as cutting and eating disorders.

Now, new eyewitnesses confirm to Life & Style those problems are only exacerbated by the teenager’s heavy drinking and partying. Texas college student Brian Payne clearly remembers the night he spent hanging with Demi in North Richland Hills, Texas, where he saw her firsthand doing cocaine at a mutual friend’s house party on Dec. 28 last year.

“She was doing line after line like a pro — and she was 17 at the time,” he tells Life & Style, recalling the wild party they attended after a concert by the band Neon Indian at the Granada Theater in Dallas. “I just remember her doing it as if she had been doing it for a long time. It didn’t seem like something new to her.”

Insiders say the pain of her breakup with Joe Jonas — and the fact that they’re on the Camp Rock 2 tour together — further fueled her downward spiral. “Demi’s been on a tear lately,” says an insider. “She’ll chug booze straight from the bottle.”

Luckily for Demi, her mother and stepfather were quick to take action after they heard that she had punched a tour backup dancer in the face.

“They overheard one of the dancers talking about it and freaked out,” says the insider. “They heard Demi was drinking, but the news that her partying was getting out of control shocked them — and they confronted her immediately.”

“This is a young girl who got caught up in the fame and fortune of Hollywood and couldn’t see straight anymore,” says another insider. “She had eating issues and emotional issues, and everything else got hitched along with that.”

[From Life & Style]

I believe it, all of it. Except one part – I think her parents have known for a long time that Demi has had serious issues, and they only stepped in to do something when her alcohol and drug abuse became so bad it threatened their paychecks. I think Demi has had emotional, drug and alcohol problems for years, and the “airport meltdown” incident was only her latest cry for help. Sad.