Cameron Douglas is starting a charity to help drug addicts

And according to his friend, Noel Ashman, he is also "starting a charity that he's very passionate about to help others who are drug-addicted.

Noel added: "He learned his lesson and he's now laser-focused.

"The whole experience taught him how important time is -- and he doesn't want to waste any more of it."

And the 'Loaded' actor - who is dating yoga instructor Viviane Thibes - feels "blessed" to be out of prison and able to start afresh.

In a statement released to the New York Post newspaper via Noel, he said: "Cameron is spending this time healing with his family .?.?. He feels blessed to have an opportunity to give back and contribute positively to society. And he is extremely grateful for the staunch support and encouragement that he has received."

Cameron is currently living in a halfway house in Brooklyn, where he is subject to a number of rules, including a ban on smartphones, only using computers for job searches, only being allowed to leave for 12 hours a day and agreeing to a Breathalyser when he returns.

And a fellow resident at the building, Kenny, praised him as a "cool" and "respectful" person who is trying to rebuild his life.

He said of Cameron: "He's a cool dude. Respectful, you know? You don't talk about jail. You try to put it in the back of your mind so you don't go back there .?.?. I think he's on the road to recovery. He's trying to take a different path."

Cameron was sentenced to five years in jail for possession of heroin and selling methamphetamine in 2010 but had his sentence extended after confessing to smuggling drugs into prison, and spent two years in solitary confinement at Maryland's Cumberland Federal Corrections Institute.