RUSH'S NEW OUTLOOK ON DRUG ABUSE

I am neither conservative nor liberal. I am anti-idiot. When conservative
hero Rush Limbaugh admitted he was addicted to pain killers I could not help
but think the worst for this man was yet to come. I've heard this man's view
on drugs for years - all people addicted to drugs are "criminals" and should
spend time in jail for their "crime." Rush told viewers for years that "if
people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and
they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."

Rush admitted to abusing prescription drugs that he bought from an illegal
source. Doesn't this make him a criminal? I thought - according to Rush's
doctrine -that drug users are supposed to rot in jail for their crimes. I
thought he told us all drugs are bad, as well the addiction and the addicts.
Is this a double standard? I think so, and according to his black-and-white
stance on the issue he should be sitting in prison awaiting a trial as we
speak.

As Rush returned to radio last week, he has assured his still-loyal
"Dittoheads" that he hasn't turned into a "linguini-spined liberal." The man
who used to tell us that drug addiction was a matter of personal
responsibility is now saying "I have to admit that I am powerless over this
addiction that I have."

If Limbaugh would've listened to the late Bill Hicks, he would've never
voiced this contradiction. Hicks is noted for saying: "Drug users are not
criminals. They may be addicts and they may be sick, but they are not
criminals." Does jail time rehabilitate someone the same way detox centers
work? Does having a "rehabilitator named Bubba" as Hicks put it really make
someone want to quit drugs when they get out of jail? Studies have shown
that treatment centers work more often than prisons, a process the "War on
Drugs" key holders such as George Bush senior overlooked.

We all remember the Donovan McNabb controversy caused by Rush's comments
concerning the media promoting a black quarterback. I watched that episode
of Sunday Countdown that aired and wondered why he would say something so
blatantly stupid, but now we know he was under the influence of this
"out-of-control addiction" the whole time.

Limbaugh had better change his mind about drugs and the way drug addicts
should be treated. Persuading a conservative audience's perception to our
"problem" in our country is the only way Rush can save the only constant
strand of respect that has not snapped under the weight of hypocrisy. He is
another reason why the only people we should listen that speak against drugs
are those that were once addicted and overcame their addiction. The only
conservative that admits to having overcome a drug addiction is the
president of the United States.

I am thankful that Rush has a different outlook on life while he still has a
voice in politics. Maybe now he'll think about what he says before he
speaks. Maybe now he'll realize how hard it is to eat your own words.