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It's been really interesting to see the reactions
this thread has brought about, all the way from zero tolerance and what appears
to be a lot of anger to pleas for compassion and understanding. I'm not
gonna say who's right and who's wrong in this discussion - some good points have
been made on all sides, but consider this: not ONE of the people cited
here ( Thunders, Hell, Monk, Coltrane, Lee, Burroughs ) ever woke up one morning
and said, "Shit, there's nothing good on TV today - guess I'll be a
junkie." All right, maybe Burroughs. I remember hearing (or
reading) something that went like this: "They told us one toke off a joint and
we'd be hooked for life, and they lied. They told us one hit of acid and
we'd be driven insane and give birth to children with gills - and they
lied. Then they told us heroin would really get us and we didn't believe
them. Guess what? This time they weren't lying." No one plans
on becoming an alcoholic, nicotine fiend, crack head or smack freak - you think
you can handle it right up to the morning you wake up and find out you
can't. Beating something like that requires a degree of strength and
willpower that most of us will never conceive of, because, thankfully, we won't
ever have to.
And yes, the Burroughs reference was a joke.
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