UN reports and drug officers in the UK are of the same mind when it comes to charges celebrities face for drug use and possession: they get off too lightly and it sends a bad message to others.
Earlier this month, the UN released a report showing that the UK was one of the top cocaine-using European countries. Celebrities such as Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss, and Pete Doherty (who is apparently famous for having dated Kate Moss, though he is alleged to be in some band, somewhere) have been plastered across the news for their drug use, yet when charges have been brought against them, they have resulted in very light sentences.
Officials are worried that this is sending a mixed message to others, particularly youngsters, and that the coverage of celebrity drug-use is actually glamorizing the practice. They call for more imaginative sentencing, particularly community service, which would "link celebrity with misconduct and consequences."
However, drug abuse counselors came rushing to drug-users' defense, yet again, noting that while celebrities might sometimes glamorize drug-use, pictures of them looking downtrodden and out-of-sorts sends the opposite message. Why, then, should this not be the same method used for punishing non-celebrity offenders?
I guess, in the end, drug counselors' message is clear: all drug abusers should be treated the same, regardless of status... unless they're famous.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
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