But, that aside, as someone who suffered unimaginable agony following a car acident years ago, I am convinced that a substantial "unintended consequence" of the "war on drugs" has been that pain is severely under-treated in the USA. This IMO has prompted Rush and I am sure many other otherwise responsible citizens to "other methods" of reducing their physical pain.
In my case I can vividly recall waiting for hours in agony between "pain shots" because the "prescribed dose period" had not yet expired. That experience left me with a gut-level distrust for doctors (as much as I otherwise admired them). It took me a while to understand that it was most likely the "system" and the "government" that was to blame.
Releif of pain is probably the strongest component of life force, after birth. The fact that the government has yet to manage this, and has been sidetracked by the moronic "war on drugs", is a black mark on society (IMO).