LIMBAUGH'S PROBLEM IS AN OPPORTUNITY

As a fan of Rush Limbaugh's show, I was saddened to hear of his
addiction to prescription painkillers. While the left rejoices in a
rather despicable display of joyful glee, the right has been quick to
point out the "profound" difference between prescription drug
medication, on the one hand, and heroin, cocaine and other illegal
drugs on the other.

But this distinction is largely semantic and arbitrary. Why should
Rush be forgiven his pain and chosen way of treating it, while someone
with lesser means has the merciless wrath of the criminal justice
system rained upon him for choosing to medicate his pain in the only
way he has access to or the means to afford?

The answer is that neither should be treated as criminals. Addiction
should be a matter to be worked out among an individual, his family
and friends, and his doctor.

How will Rush respond when called on this question? I hope and pray
that he will persuade his audience that criminalization is exactly the
wrong way to treat this problem. This will move the debate on drug
policy significantly forward, and some good will come of the personal
tragedy that has befallen him.

Jim Solomon

Saratoga