What a Bum Rush

I have always thought, since Nixon started it and the Reagans gave it new life (particularly by introducing the unconstitutional power of civil asset forfeiture) to give Nancy something to do other than choose china patterns, that the Drug War has been one of the worst things to happen to the United States - barring actual wars - in my lifetime.

So, that fact that Rush Limbaugh is now in trouble for being a drug addict, buying illegal drugs, and evidently "laundering" money (according to the laws introduced by the Drug War) to do so, makes me sad - even though I'm a liberal and think Rush a jerk. Even jerks don't deserve to be persecuted due to bad laws. The laws of the drug war are mostly bad laws (I don't think we ever want to legalize the truly bad ones like heroin or crack).

For instance: right now, Tommy Chong, of Cheech & Chong, is in prison for selling bongs over the internet. We can thank John Ashcroft for this, and his abuses of the PATRIOT Act to prosecute the Drug War.

So, we have Tommy in jail not for selling drugs, but for selling paraphernalia - also made illegal for the sake of the Drug War. (Btw, the recent items added to the drug paraphernalia list are baby's pacifiers and glow sticks since they're used at raves. Yes, you can really be charged with possessing drug paraphernalia if you have a pacifier - it's gotten that outrageous and dangerous.)

(And here we come to the big BUT, har har:)
But Rush is probably going to get away with buying and using actual drugs because he's a popular conservative mouthpiece, and they all think that the laws shouldn't apply to him.

Just on whose planet does this count as justice?

When are we going to end the Drug War?

(And, for what it's worth, I don't think either Tommy or Rush should spend time in prison for what they've done.)