It turns out that a lot of accomplished, well-respected historical figures did drugs. From Winston Churchill taking amphetamines to Thomas Edison lacing his wine with cocaine, not everyone who uses narcotics is a hopeless basket case living in a dumpster. While some drug users spiral into addiction and crime, others go on to become president. It's time to debunk the age old stereotypes of the back alley dangerous dealer or the lazy stoner when, according to the National Survey on Drug Use, roughly half of all Americans have tried an illegal drug.
In the latest "Mostly Weekly" host Andrew Heaton breaks down the cartoonish Drug Warrior portrayal of drugs by showing some of the beloved historical figures who used them, including:
And some you can never love DID drugs and DID terrible things....list follows:
Rudy Eugene was implicated in the recent wave of cannibal attacks throughout the United States in summer 2012.
Pamela McCarthy went on a naked rampage, and police were called after she reportedly punched and choked her three-year-old son. She also attempted to strangle the family dog.
Dale Nelson was a Canadian logger who killed eight people. Nelson had drunk heavily on Sept. 4, 1970, and he later drove to a relative’s house and murdered a mother and one of her children using a fire extinguisher and a knife. He apparently tried to eat the child’s organs. He then went to another house and shot the people inside apart from a child, who he raped shortly after and then killed.
Ricky Kasso murdered a teenager. He had accused the victim of stealing and not paying for quantities of PCP. The teen was stabbed multiple times during the attack and had his eyes gouged out. Kasso committed suicide after he was arrested for the drug-fueled crime.
Jim Jones most remembered for sparking off the mass suicide of his followers in Jonestown, Guyana, on Nov. 18, 1978. It was notorious as the biggest human-caused loss of life until Sept. 11, 2001, and 918 people died as a result. Jones, a known drug user and possible addict to LSD and marijuana.
Velma BarfieldHer’s husband died after the house caught fire, and her husband died of smoke inhalation. A few months later, a second fire gutted the interior, and the insurance paid out. Barfield later married a wealthy widower. He died after they started experiencing issues with their marriage thanks to Barfield’s drug habit. After a number of other murders, Barfield was eventually caught when a coroner ordered a full autopsy after a man she had been dating had suddenly died. She was tried and then later executed by lethal injection.
Archibald McCafferty labeled Australia’s worst criminal, he was responsible a number of horrific murders while high on a variety of drugs, often called angel dust. His murder spree started after his son died aged just a few months old. McCafferty, after being released from a psychiatric institution, went on a murderous rampage, apparently inspired by visions of his son, who apparently told him to kill seven people. He only succeeded in killing three with help from a gang before he was caught. He was given multiple life sentences. In prison, he was accused of killing fellow prisoners and caught taking more drugs. Eventually, he got clean, and he now lives in Scotland.
Big Lurch was a rapper in the Bay Area who had seen some success in the rap scene, having worked with a number of high-profile rappers. All this would change one night when he stabbed his drug partner’s girlfriend through the shoulder and ripped open her chest with his teeth. He was seen drenched in blood and walking like a zombie, and a medical report showed that he had flesh in his stomach—human flesh. He is currently serving a life sentence.
Jim Jones most remembered for sparking off the mass suicide of his followers in Jonestown, Guyana, on Nov. 18, 1978. It was notorious as the biggest human-caused loss of life until Sept. 11, 2001, and 918 people died as a result. Jones, a known drug user and possible addict to LSD and marijuana.
You're stretching here. By a MILLION MILES.
The moral to this post is....DON’T DO DRUGS.
OR...IS it??
I'll bet you're taking some kind of med.
Moreover, there IS a difference -- a YUGE difference -- between pain-killer meds for chronic pain, and recreational abuse.
The REAL "Moral":
Conflating LSD or Heroin with marijuana, and broad-brushing "doing drugs" is intellectually dishonest and speaks to a whole different and suspicious agenda.
