[holyscroller]

If Rush is on drugs, he's sure not fitting my impression of what somebody on drugs can function like. I'm not aware of him ever having been spaced out, zonked out, slurred, etc. Has anybody here ever known him to show signs of drug use? Not me.

[birbear]

If Rush is on drugs, he's sure not fitting my impression of what somebody on drugs can function like.

Please don't take this personally, but perhaps your impression is wrong. I would have had the same impression, and I'm thinking that I'm wrong.

I'm not aware of him ever having been spaced out, zonked out, slurred, etc.

I've noticed over the past few years that he seemed kind of slow on understanding some of his callers points. I attributed it to just getting older and his brain just being filled with too much information. Which may very well be the case. But, perhaps, it's because his mind was slower because of the effects of medications.

I've also noticed over the past few years (and I know this has been a complaint of many of his fans for years) he seems to have taken a lot of time off. Could very well be for extremely legit reasons. Heck, if I was my own boss and had Rush's money, I'd take a lot of time off too. But maybe the time off is related to his possible (mis)uses of medications.

Has anybody here ever known him to show signs of drug use?

We only have access to him 3 hours a day, 5 days a week... (less than that actually)... He's a professional, an entertainer, and he's been doing radio for most of his professional life. I imagine he can do a typical show on "cruise" control and most of the audience would never think twice that he wasn't at 100%.

Just goes to show, that he really can do a show, with "half his brain tied behind his back, just to make it fair."

[50sDad]

I dread saying this, but does anyone remember how slow and odd he sounded in the time before his implant? I thought he was sick at the time, and then thought it was just that when you go deaf you \can't really hear yourself clearly. (Consider how the deaf talk.) Still, I am worried. This could fall either way. And while I like to think we are able to separage issue from arguer, many out there are going to try and use this improperly to attact our issues because one of the arguers may have proven too human.

[Labyrinthos]

If Rush is on drugs, he's sure not fitting my impression of what somebody on drugs can function like. I'm not aware of him ever having been spaced out, zonked out, slurred, etc. Has anybody here ever known him to show signs of drug use? Not me.

How many junkies do you actually know? I've known many over the years, and most of them have functioned quite normally for years until their addiction catches up with them. The typical response from family, friends, and peers when they finally discover the truth is "I had no idea" or "looking back, I should have known there was a problem." This is particularly true when prescription painkillers are the drug of choice because in many cases the person takes the drugs not so much to get high, but to avoid the pain of withdrawl, which can be quite severe.

[Labyrinthos]

And let me add this: If the allegations turn out to be true -- and that is a big "if" at this point in time -- don't be surprised if some his frequent absences from work had nothing do do with a planned vacation or a day of golf or a speech somewhere or his ear problems.

[ostephani]

I listened to him everyday last year, and he never sounded out of sorts. I can only catch a half hour of the show now because my lunch time has changed. He is the only one who keeps me sane about politics. I will still listen to him. I couldn't handle what goes on without his rational analyses.

[kittycroft]

There are many people who are functional drug users. Are people in chronic pain junkies for wanting to be pain free? Rush has been going deaf for some time, and possibly he went to great lengths to alleviate it.
Ironically, Rush comes down on the hardline side of the fence when it comes to drug offenses. None of us can say for sure if the allegations are true or not yet. But I hope that if they are true, maybe this will illustrate how easy it can be to fall into addiction. Maybe other conservatives will realize the true value (and savings to us the taxpayers) of funding treatment insead of incarceration. If they realize that someone who truly believed addiction is wrong could fall victim to it himself.

[Ichneumon]

I'm not aware of him ever having been spaced out, zonked out, slurred, etc. Has anybody here ever known him to show signs of drug use?

Blast from the past: Check out this Free Republic thead from 9/2/99: WHO ELSE IS CONCERNED ABOUT RUSH SLURRING WORDS?

There were other similar threads, but that was the first one I managed to dig up.

While it seems likely he was on *something* at that time, though, it may well have been under a doctor's prescription at the time. I seem to remember him having back problems, for example.