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Rush Goes Down - Unfortunately

By Donald M. Heavrin

          Rush gets his sentence set aside if he stays in rehab for 18 months.

He’s a pompous ass, self-absorbed, and better than the rest of us. He has said on various occasions that people who use dope should be in prison. I wonder if he’s changed his tune. Never mind, it doesn’t make any difference to the philosophical outcome of the issue. In a free society you own your own body, and if you want to snort powdered kangaroo tails, that’s your business. If Rush wants to spend $10,000 a month on oxycontin, that’s his business, and there should be no criminal liability connected with his choice of mood-altering drugs. Many species of animals seek intoxication.

There is nothing wrong with that. Take a look at Ronald K. Siegel’s book, Intoxication. It is a dramatic, well-researched discussion of how many animals, including humans, seek intoxication. The problem within the human experience is that some people, such as Rush, believe they are endowed with the right to decide what is best for others. Combine that with politicos who shamelessly try to scare the hell out of the public with the latest jeremiad, and anything can happen.

          In 1906, a man named Albutten decided that coffee should be outlawed. If you have a drink and get high, the next time you need more to achieve the same high. Therefore, it should be illegal. In Turkey, centuries ago, possession of opium was allowed. In contrast, possession of coffee carried the death penalty. It always depends on the political winds of the day.

          If John Poverty is addicted to methamphetamine, cocaine, heroine or you name it, and he doesn’t have $10,000 a month to support his habit, he has to sell drugs in order to survive. If he gets caught, he gets ten years in federal prison without the possibility of parole: just where all junkies should be, according to Rush.

          Bottom line, Rush’s penalty was too great. Using drugs should not be a crime. No one should be put in prison, or put on probation for 18 months, for using or selling drugs. Mood-altering drugs are cheap to make. They only have value because the junk is illegal. Allow people who want to use drugs to sign up, and have the government provide all the drugs they can use.

          Shootings stop, police corruption is reduced, prisons empty, and the enforcement bureaucrats go out of business. And as a society we acknowledge a fundamental premise, i.e., everyone owns his own body. If an addict gets tired of using drugs, provide rehab for the person without recriminations.

          It costs $12,000 a year to provide rehabilitation for someone. In contrast, it costs $23,000 a year to keep someone in prison.

For more of Don Heavrin’s articles, see the Libertarian Radio Network, Inc. - www.lrni.us/

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