http://www.nndb.com/people/476/000022410/
In real life, Franken has been a member of Al-Anon, a support group for the families and friends of alcoholics, since 1987. His wife Franni's alcoholism is said to be the basis for Franken's ongoing interest in the subject. Davis is also said to have had substance-abuse problems, which may have contributed to the eventual break-up of Franken & Davis.
http://www.lyingliar.com/media/drugrush.htm
Franken the Coke-head
When Al was on MSNBC's "Donahue" show, in response to a charge that Bernie Goldberg took a statement out of context in his book, a man named Phil called in and asked Franken: "Are you back on cocaine?" As Newsmax noted: It seemed like a cheap shot, but a little research has revealed that "Phil" may be on to something in an effort to explain what Franken was saying.
A Feb. 25, 1986, article by TV writer Tom Shales in the Washington Post discusses two books about NBC's "Saturday Night Live," where Franken was a writer, co-producer and performer. Noting that "drugs were everywhere," including an abundance of cocaine which Franken has admitted to partaking in. Shales also says "Franken used LSD on the premises while writing a Nixon sketch."
Just a druggie - Not an addict?
In a Feb. 23, 1995, interview in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Franken said, regarding his use of drugs when he was with "Saturday Night Live":
"I did my share of recreational drugs. I was lucky in that I never became addicted to anything. There'd be cocaine around the show, and if it was 3 a.m. in the morning (in midweek) and I wanted to finish something I was writing, I'd do some. But for some reason, toss of the dice, I was not addicted, at least not to drugs."
Very interesting. If Franken was telling the truth (which one can never tell) the following is twice as interesting:
12 Step Program
In an October 1991 interview he did for The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Franken was questioned about Stuart Smalley, a (to be polite) not so much 'funny' character he created for Saturday Night Live. The probing questions about Stuart’s origins seemed to have touched a nerve, as Franken is reported to have said,
“There's sort of a personal story behind this that I actually don't want to talk about....I am a member of a 12-step program.”
If Franken was being truthful in saying he didn't get hooked on cocaine when he was hitting it, what did he get addicted to? Alcohol? Masturbation? It's none of our business. Just as Rush's addiction was none of anyone's business. So why does Franken relish in ridiculing Rush's problem, when he's gone through a similar situation and didn't even have the guts to come clean with a full disclosure?
UPDATE: A viewer mails in and said that Al is/has been active in AlAnon, which is a support group for the families of people with addictions, not for those who have active addiction themselves. This complicates things further as, it puts Franken's Stuart Smalley character in an entirely different light, since Smalley is a ridicule of the ridiculousness of the hacky, touchy feely programs that AlAnon and others routinely put their members through. Whatever the case: it's none of our business, and Franken shouldn't have been ridiculed for wishing not to talk about his involvements with addiction any more than Rush should be for having the guts to come clean and get help with his medical ailment.
Franken's Excuse:
The Oct. 5, 2002, Dallas Morning News quotes Franken as saying that when he was with "Saturday Night Live":
"I only did cocaine to stay awake to make sure nobody else did too much cocaine. That was the only reason I did it. Heah-heh."
How cute. But this is hypocrisy plus 10 here. As Ben Shapiro says: "Unlike recreational drug addiction, prescription painkiller addiction belongs squarely in the medical arena. Recreational drug addiction is just that -- recreational. A junkie first picks up marijuana, cocaine or heroin in order to have a good time. No one prescribes heroin for back pain. But for many who become addicted to prescription painkillers, the dealer who gets them hooked is their family doctor."
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/11.29/04-franken.html
Franken gave some history about one of the creations he's best known for, the "Saturday Night Live" character Stuart Smalley, who he said arose from Franken's experience in Al-Anon, a support program for people with family members who are alcoholics. When he first arrived, Franken said he didn't take some of the people in the program seriously, but as things went on, he realized they were saying some important things.
"[Stuart] wasn't my way of making fun of 12-step programs, it's my way of explaining it," Franken said.