Medicated

Drug and alcohol abuse is not a subject for humor or levity.  I would suspect that very few people's lives have not been impacted somehow by the specter of addiction - whether it involves themselves, their family or their loved one's. 

I grew up in a home where a close family member had a continual addiction to Librium, Darvon and Valium. It frankly made growing up hell.

I myself developed an addiction to Dilaudid when I was in the hospital for cancer treatments in 1985. When I was discharged, I went cold turkey and it took two weeks to beat it, find my way back and even sleep at night. After a very short time of usage. I heard a junkie once say that kicking was like having your body turned inside out with a beaver gnawing on your bones. Most unpleasant.

I only broach the subject because of an interesting article that I read in Lou Dubose's Washington Spectator concerning Cindy McCain's prescription drug abuse. According to the article published September 18, 2008, she was abusing Percocet and Vicodin, classified under federal guidelines as in the same drug class as opium. It appears that she was poaching drugs sent to her organization, American Voluntary Medical Team, a non profit with the laudable goals of sending recently expired prescription medicine to third world country's in need. Once the theft was exposed she faced the possibility of a 200 year prison sentence since every pill carried a maximum one year sentence. An employee noticed the shenanigans, was fired for confronting her and went to the press. According to the article, John McCain cut a deal for his wife through Janet Napolitano, then U.S. Attorney, now Governor of Arizona. She never went to prison, instead enrolling in rehab at a private treatment center for the wealthy. Fortunately she got better and is now living what appears to be a healthy life.

My concern is this: When Cindy McCain, Rush Limbaugh or William Rehnquist have a drug issue, it becomes a medical problem. When the kid on the corner with the rock in his pocket gets picked up he is a criminal facing hard time. My old friend Kevin B. did two years at Federal Prison in Boron for a couple marijuana plants. Hundreds of thousands of good people are stewing in penitentiaries because they don't have the money or prestige to play their get out of jail free card. Another case of power and celebrity trumping common sense. And big time hypocrisy in action. Mexico has recently taken the steps to follow Britain and Holland in looking at drug abuse as a medical problem. I agree with them for all sorts of reasons, including the need to take all the money out of drug trafficking, but also think that we need to rid ourselves of draconian double standards that punish the common man and coddle the elite criminal.