"I read a lot here about moral relativism. To me, what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. Rush didn't need thousands of pills, nor did he need to doctor shop."
I don't think there is any moral issue here. Nor is there right or wrong in what Rush did. To paraphrase Dr. Walter Williams, there are just laws and unjust laws. An unjust law is one that allows the government to do something that it would prosecute us for doing. For example, the Government can take your money and buy some pain killers and give them to me. I, on the other hand, would go to jail if I took your money and bought myself some pain killers.
It is my belief that requiring a prescription from an M.D. for an effective pain killer, while there is a plethora of less effective pain killers available "over-the-counter" (note the negative connotation of "over-the-counter") is racketeering, as in RICO, the racketeers are the Government, the AMA and the Pharmaceutical manufacturers. I can legally kill myself slowly with alcohol and/or acetaminophen. I can buy alcohol by the barrel and Tylenol by the case if I cared to, legally.
Has it been established as fact that Rush bought thousands of pills? If so, over what period of time? Don't pills come in different dosages? I take a medication daily that comes in micrograms and the pills or available from 25 micrograms to 300 micrograms, so 1000 of the 25s would be equivalent to 83 of the 300s, 1000s even if true may be misleading.
Finally, how did you come to the conclusion that Rush didn't need to Dr. shop? Do you have a more effective method?
"Clandestinely meeting someone in a parking lot to buy thousands of pills is not the act of someone trying to relieve their pain because the doctors have failed to do so. These are the actions of an addict."
I think there are millions of men meeting clandestinely with their M.D.s to purchase Viagra...may not be in a parking lot, it's just a matter of privacy.
Is there some law against addiction? I've never heard of one. I suspect there are some here who are "addicted" to FreeRepublic, should they stand up and take their medicine like men or...be prosecuted?
"Rush should stand up, take his medicine like a man and move on."
Are you being a punster here? Rush did indeed take his medicine like a man. Now he is taking his "medicine" like a man.
You can't say that about Sudfed.