"...eventually getting convicted of drug distribution..."
Sounds like he was more than just a user.
"State prosecutors concede there's no evidence Paey ever sold or gave his medication away. Nevertheless, under draconian drug-war statutes, these prosecutors could pursue distribution charges against him based solely on the amount of medication he possessed (the unauthorized possession of as few as 60 tablets of some pain medications can qualify a person as a "drug trafficker")."
He got convicted because he wouldn't accept a plea deal, and unlike Rush, didn't have millions to pay to top-notch lawyers to keep him out of jail.
"Sounds like he was more than just a user.'
Post 12 "Paey is serving prison time for drug distribution not because he's guilty of actually distributing drugs — the state admits as much"