NO MORE SLAPS

Downey's Next Run-In Just Might Kill Him

If Robert Downey Jr. dies from his drug addictions, he'll have himself
to blame.

Himself, and a cast of thousands, even millions. Downey, the troubled
yet talented actor with as many accolades as drug arrests, dodged
another stint in prison this week when his lawyers bargained for
rehabilitation over jail time, barely a slap on the wrist for pleading
no contest to possessing cocaine and being under the influence of a
controlled substance, in reference to an arrest during Thanksgiving
2000. If we're keeping score, that's rehabilitation for one felony count
and one misdemeanor. And that's just the latest skirmish in the
36-year-old's war with drugs.

His much-publicized scrapes with the law began in 1996, when police,
after pulling him over for speeding, found cocaine, heroine and a gun in
his car. A month later, the Associated Press reported, Downey was found
passed out in a neighbor's home, resulting in a stay at a rehabilitation
center. When he walked away from the center, he was arrested.

Then, in August 1999, Downey received a three-year prison sentence for
violating probation, failing to participate in scheduled drug tests.
After only a year, though, he was released on $5,000.

His arrest last November, after an anonymous call sent police to Merv
Griffin's Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs, apparently
didn't scare Downey straight. In April, only a couple of months after
winning a Golden Globe for his work on "Ally McBeal," the gifted actor
was again arrested for being under the influence, traces of cocaine
later found in his system, the AP reported.

Rehabilitation, his apparent mode of penitence, is definitely what
Downey needs, as all addicts do. But most addicts with a criminal file
as thick would be forced to undergo rehab behind bars.

Yet again, Downey, if the deal with prosecutors sticks, will escape a
prison sentence.

And far too many people in his life have provided the cake with a file
hidden inside.

Anyone who has allowed his talents to excuse his actions deserves some
blame.

Anyone who has parlayed his celebrity into an extraordinarily reduced
sentence deserves some blame.

Anyone who has engraved his name on coveted awards instead of forcing an
intervention, deserves some blame.

Anyone who allows Downey to be treated differently than we would be
deserves some blame.

You can't blame a guy entirely for continuing such behavior when time
and time again, he never faces the consequences.

Until he does, we'll surely see this flawed character's tale end
tragically.