I have NO SYMPATHY for drug users/dealers. They all belong in prisons if you ask me.

No 4 I am so glad no one asked you. In a world that worships only youth and sex is a performance devoid of intimacy what the fuck do people expect? Drugs are not they problem they are the solution to a plethora of problems that real people in this real world face. Alcohol is legal but it makes people sick and sloppy. I don’t advocate drug use but I do advocate empathy and personal insight. I have met Michael Brandon he is a sweet and caring person and is deserving of human compassion and help as any one else. Maybe more so.

Oh boy :( Is it really true? I wondered why Brandon never seemed to put a pound on and that would do it. He's as skinny in his early 2000s -and successful- return as he was in 1988's "Ranger Nick." Handsome Michael, here's hoping you get recovered again.

I got into Meth when I was working for a very difficult group of bosses who expected me to work at all hours, sometimes at 4am to deliver orange juice and the paper to a boss who lived in Malibu. I just got carried away with it, and over time it got out of control. I turned it around in 97 but fell off the wagon a year later and went back to meth until august 2001. My life is back together and better than it's ever been, I've been down that road and pulled myself out of it and am a better person for it.
To NO.4, you would have wished me into a prison? I can't fathom that type of ignorance or hate for your fellow human being. We all fall, for what ever reason, with alcohol, drugs or just self sabotage because we hate ourselves for some reason, but the point is we CAN and DO pull ourselves out of it and continue the journey of life THAT much stronger.
And unfortunately some of us don't, the pull towards life destroying drugs or behavior is too strong, we hate ourselves too much or deam ourselves too unworthy (something that can be fixed with mood stabilizers and a good shrink). we are all different, handle challenges differently, but we all deserve the support and cheers when we need them most.

NO 4, I certainly hope you never need compassion and get what you have dished out.

John, I applaude you. I hope you are able to keep yourself clean forever.

meth has destroyed so many lives of promising, intelligent, loving, and wonderful people.

Sad….so so Sad….

Its people like No. 4 who are the root of all the worlds problems.
Rigid, controlling, cruel, and truly spiritually bankrupt. These are the kind of people who become the Hitlers of the world as they see the solution to everything is to destroy what they don't want to see. I may sound harsh but it is true. These are the kind of people who are attracted to right wing religions, rigid political philosophies and social philosophies. They are the parents that produce addicts. They use shame, guilt and rigidity to raise their children. No. 4, I feel sorry for you, because you are obviously a loveless individual, and you can have everything, but if you don't have love, and compassion is one of the most important components of love, then you have nothing. I have known many addicts in my life, the one thing that they all have in common is that at the bottom of their addiction lies a beautiful, but wounded, heart of gold, and when they are able to heal their hearts, they become the worlds greatest humans because they
have found themselves. John, how wonderful for you to realize that you are a better person having gone through what you did.
You will contribute much to our world, I can tell.

We all deserve compassion #4 and everyone answers for it when they die. To who or what I don't know, but we all answer in the end.

To No 4 Yay for you. I too believe drug dealers deserve to be imprisoned. To those that choose to use drugs, if you are caught I have no problem with you going to jail. Everyone has choices. I have a stressful job, I have bills, I have problems like everyone else…I don't need drugs to get through them. And to those of you that will say I have no sympathy, empathy or whatever…because of some of my friend's choices, I know first hand what drugs can do. I've been through it all with my best friend. I know this is not a popular stance, but facing up to your problem and accepting the just due consequences to your actions is what we all have to do. Time to grow up and face your own future.

Being a recovering alcoholic I understand the power of addiction and how it can suck every empathic response out of those close to the addict and are suffering because of that addiction. I am moved by that pain and wish desperately things were different. Being gay men, turning our backs on one of our own with addiction is turning our backs on ourselves, however self-protective we believe that response to be. The ones who don't turn their backs are the true saints among us and in the end they deserve as much attention as the addict and his problems: love's a powerful thing. As I learned, the substance abused is emphemeral, it is the abuse and what drives it that's important. It is, and will always be, extremely personal, no matter what the public presentation of it turns out to be.
#4 and Averageguy40, I hope you never find yourselves with these problems, never find yourselves bedeviled by internal needs/drives/behaviors you cannot control because, if that happened, without all those saints out there you'd be truly lost.
What John said is true, as true as the old adage about lemons and lemonade: the lucky ones can pick ourselves up, with help, and move on, mostly the better for it.
Michael, seek your inner power, turn yourself over to the vibrant love that surrounds us all: have faith you can connect to it because it does exist and in it is healing. And remember, saints turn up in unexpected places.

I have sympathy for what he's going through. Been ther, done that. BUt it is his own fault/weakness that got him in this position. There is nobodyelse to blame but himself.

Working in POrn with sex as a commodity not an intimate expressions of lopve (cue Ice castles music) probably deadened his soul. It would mine. He set himself up for this fall.

maybe when our community in general truly stops glamourizing and accepting such behaviour, it will stop.

Rush Limbaugh felt the same way as No 4 and Averageguy40 about drug users. Interesting how Rush's limp-dicked, fat ass isn't doing any jail time after he got busted.

This is sad, and I wish him well. Obviously, advocating jail time for drug addicts is stupid for any number of reasons.

But a central part of recovery is getting yourself out of and away from the environment that enabled your addiction, and in which your destructive habits were formed.

Going clean and then continuing to work in the porn industry–an environment where meth is omnipresent–was foolish, and it showed an incomplete commitment to his recovery.

Hopefully he'll get clean again, and this time take the next step of finding a new, healthier community to support him rather than staying in one that will use him up and tear him down.

I'm sorry Distingue Traces…but those reasons are? It's a crime… Jail time is for those that commit crimes. We all make choices. Paying for those choices whether good or bad is called being an adult. And again before anyone thinks I'm heartless and unsympathetic, I wish everyone would choose something other than drugs, get the help they need and lead safe, productive lives, but not making people accountable for their actions only worsens the problem.

Good point. Jail time for speeding too. After all, it's a crime, and jail is for those who commit crimes.

There's a difference, you say? Yeah there is. Speeding kills more people.

More than one in every hundred Americans is in prison right now. Among young black men, that proportion rises to 1 in 9, more than ten percent.

If you don't see anything sick about a culture that does this to itself, then I don't know what else to say to you.

I love how some of the posters here are passing judgment on someone they don’t know and have made a ton of assumptions based on one news article in an alternative weekly paper. Maybe if they weren’t so convinced of their own infallibility and their own faultless judgment, empathy and compassion for others could blossom in their lives and enrich them as human beings. These days everyone thinks being Judge Judy or Nancy Grace is the answer with short pithy solutions to life’s complex problems. Many people feel if it’s not happening to them, it isn’t happening. Some short pithy advice for them: To thine own self get a clue.

well said! Poster N 14!

Poeople and their soap boxes! One rule for other and another for all those politicians, drink drivers who keep on breaking the law but get away with nothing to so little!

But it's easier to pick on drugs right? despite the fact that it's SELF destructive and imposed..i.e you're the one the suffers?!

I wouldn't surpiesed if he's from a shitty background childhood…you can never get away from your demons..

I hope he can become well again. Besides being a porn star he is very talented public speaker in front of crowds. Maybe he will take the challenge and be a spokesperson against destructive behaviours in the gay community. I want to see he and others grow old. I am tired of being the only 74 year old gay geezer on the block in Palm Springs. Meth addiction is epidemic in Palm Springs amoung the younger gays. My partner took up meth and delusional, thought I was tracking him through transistors implanted by a dentist in his gums linked up to a satellite. It was a nightmare. He got help and is well again. We got married, but there is always a chance that someone will revert back. My fingers are crossed. We need more education about meth, and Michael would be a great person to spread the word. Instead of meeting in convention halls to see who won best orgy scene in a DVD, we need motivational groups who meet to discuss real life and learn survival.

No. 4: It is a good thing that everyone is not as stupid and incompassionate as you. The United Staes has more persons percapita in Prisions than any country on earth.
If it was left to dingbats with your tolerance you would certainly be in jail just for being ignorant. That's all that is all the helpful advice I can think of for you. Just be thankful you have never been addicted, unless you are to some of the legal, equally as harmful drugs around.

No. 4 and Average guy No. 40, I would rather be addicted to drugs than be addicted to hatred as the two of you are. The reason America is going down the drain is because it is people of your mentality that has turned this country into a hate filled theocracy. There is far greater shame in being cold, heartless, not to mention simpletons, than it is to be addicted to any drug. But unfortunately the two of you are an accurate representation of what has taken control of the United States since Bush became president. But here me now, its not this guy you do not feel sorry for, or wish to prison, or hate. It is only yourselves projecting your own inferiorities and self loathing upon him. If the two of you were to embrace those things you would probably put a gun to your heads within minutes. This hatred and judgement of others is a survival tool that you use in order to keep your eyes off yourselves, but from what I can see I can hardly blame you, because neither of you are very attractive humans.

MDS… Wow! You told me. Thanks for setting me straight. I'm going to buy drugs right now. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sad indeed. Such a cutie wasting his life like that, perhaps he needs to hit rock bottom so that he can start his climb out of the black well he's in now. I do support putting his ass behind bars.
Sometimes it's the only way people react and stop themselves for ending their life. That along with some good psychological help, because there has to be a reason for such destructive behavior.

Since I am related to Meth addicts/Alcoholics and have seen how they destroy everyone in their lives along with themselves I have a hard time feeling compasion for them. Most people who've had somebody on drugs/alchohol drag them into hell feel this way. That being said there is not nearly enough drug/alchohol treatment facilities. People arrested on drug charges should be sent directly to re-hab and told that staying clean and attending counseling is the only way they will get their freedom back.

Yo averageguy40- Please do go buy some drugs and make sure you take enough that the world is rid of your sorry ass. And don't bother letting any of us know how it turns out unless your ass is dead because otherwise nobody on here gives a fuck, well may No.
4 does. but I have a feeling your both the same, sorry, mental case.
Stop polluting our planet with your presence, because assholes like you are beyond healing, fortunately most drug addicts are not.

Apparently people think I'm an ass…LOL. WELL I have been through my share of experiences to use as an excuse for drugs, including being kidnapped at 15 and sexually molested. BUT DRUGS AND ENABLERS AND DEALERS ARE NEVER THE ANSWER. I had three older siblings that went through things. PEOPLE USE DRUGS AS AN EXCUSE AND PEOPLE WHO SHOW "EMPATHY" ARE JUST SUPPORTING A HABIT OF DESTRUCTION. I know the history of drugs, studied it all the way from the Opium Wars in China to how that transformed American culture.

I DO NOT NEED TO BE ASKED ABOUT DRUG ADDICTS/DEALERS…THEY ALL BELONG IN JAIL. This guy is one less person on the street less likely to spread crime or disease.

I don't know if there is enough room for all the drug users and dealers in the world and it actually costs less and is ultimately more productive to just get them into treatment. That's not empathy (Drug use really is sickening), it's really just practical.

I thought, as dumb and misguided as this guy seems, that this story was really just sad. It seemed that he meant well and was trying and was just a weak person in a bad scene. Reading this just reinforced my fear of drug use-prudish, but what can you do.

#no 4

Another brilliantly written post, that definately shows your lack of compassion for people.

Are you one of Fred Phelps family members?

Hate is hate, no matter to whom or what it's directed.

LOL…oh yeah…I never said I wanted druggies to die and burn in hell. LOL. Jail is the law for criminals and drugs are illegal. And I feel the same way about prescription drug abusers.

And just to give you all a persepective on my compassion level…LOL. Everyday I see people say one thing and do another. Gay guys are the worst offenders and VERY hypocritical. I give old ladies car rides to their home when I see that they can't carry their groceries or it's getting late. I let my friend's kids mow my lawn for cash so that they develop a work ethic, I make sure they understand that a half black half white kid is just the same as the white one. And that love isn't bound to just men and women. That my being gay doesn't make me a meth addict that only cares about sex, fashion, and Paris Hiltion. I spend days at the humane society playing with pups.

BUT I WILL NEVER WASTE MY TIME WITH PEOPLE WHO KNOWINGLY AND WILLINGLY DESTROY THEIR FRIENDS, FAMLIY, THIER BODIES AND IN THE END THEMSELVES. DRUGS are a CHOICE. AND ALWAYS A WRONG ONE. Michael has someone who loves him and still it isn't enough. His lover is second rate compared to a drug? Yeah that's compassion.

Call me a Hitler…LOL But at least I have been strong enough and LOVED enough to know that drugs are never the answer.

Once again Wow! Wanting me dead? Where's the hatred now? Just like No 4 (and we're not the same person) I never wished any harm on anyone. I never wished anyone to die. Just to be accountable for their actions. To equate using or selling drugs with speeding (Distingue Traces), are you serious? All crimes are not equal and don't carry the same punishment. I didn't make up the consequences. For those who feel we are passing judgment on someone we don't even know, and without a total lack of compassion, doesn't that make you guilty of the same thing. For whatever reason, a lot of you overlook the part about my best friend being on drugs. I have been by his side for 20 years now. Gone to his house at all hours of the night when he was afraid he was going to die…bailed his butt out financially on numerous occasions…been his scapegoat when he couldn't tell others the truth…cried over his addictions more than I care to remember…So if you think I have no compassion that's OK by me. I know different. And I think my other friends would agree. So take shots if you want. I still stand by my convictions. And to Micheal Branson I wish you the best. I hope you do overcome this. As I said earlier I wish everyone would choose a road that makes for productive, happy men.

kruezer at night reported on his leaving raging stallion months ago because of a "bad back" and pain pills. all druggies from rush to cindy mccain seem to have a bad back and use it as an excuse for their drug use.

the man was going from hotel to hotel using fake names and selling drugs. he needs to go to jail.

No. 4 and Average guy, nobody ever said that you have to immerse your life into that of someone who is abusing substances, thats co-dependency and that explains both your bitterness, anger and hatred, its a disease as well that the two of you obviously have never gotten treatment for. But recovery from co-dependency is discovering compassion and getting out of the way and not getting addicted to addicts, or being addicted to bitterness and hatred.
Neither of you are the happy campers you are trying to portray yourselves as, your experiences have left you nasty, cold and heartless. And I was molested as well as a kid and I did not turn to drugs but I got help and did not use the anger and negativity it left me with to drive my life. Your both arrogant and condescending and light years from enlightenment. Bye!

Hey hater dudes, if they threw all the addicts in prison then what would you have left to hate? I have a feeling its probably a favorite past time for all of you and then what would you do? Oh yeah, there is always yourselves.

It's quite obvious a lot of you were cracked out at one point in your life or another and made an excuse for it. AverageGuy40 and I apparently have been diagnosed here on wonderful QUEERTY…LOL. I know I'm not angry, in jail or on drugs or addicted to an addict(LOL)BUT if we were ever so fortunate that all addicts were thrown in prison…there are still plenty of things to hate, like the improper use of "Your" in Michael's post. That's what I really hate…stupid people. But I will show compassion and tell you that you meant to say "You're". How's that for walking towards the path of non-hatefulness?

No. 4 and average guy, the most telling thing about all this is that as soon as you heard someone was addicted to drugs you could not help but jump into the "loop" that it sounds like you have been in all your life. That is what happens to the cp-addict, they think they are the good guys and they are addiction free but all their thoughts and emotions circle around the addict and his/her addiction and if they could just free them from the addiction, as in your case imprison them, then you could be free. Forsomeone who claims not to be so angry and have no time for drug addicts you have certainly spent a lot here on the subject and it has managed to pull out a lot of anger and rage for us all to see. You can deny it but its here in black and white. What you hate is the fact that you are as obsessed with the addiction yourself, it has the power to completely take you into its world and determine your own emotions. This is your own powerless at play. Well boys, you can imprison, destroy, do whatever you want with an addict but it will never change the fact that you are hooked as well. Hit an al-anon meeting, you will see yourself all over the place if you do. You might find peace, the kind of peace that you don't need to try to convince others that you have.

No. 4 did you fall out of Sarah Palin's asshole? Is that really the best you can do when you are backed into a corner? Critique someone's grammar to deflect from the fact that everybody has your number? Is this the way you try to elevate your low self esteem, trying to make your self look superior by picking at someone's word usage? So you were kidnapped as a kid and molested, sounds like you come from a rather trashy background to me, so lay of the bullshit, your a trailer park idiot and its going to take more than the ability to use a word properly to raise you out of that. "What I really hate is stupid people." What I really hate are low class pieces of shit like you.
And keep telling yourself how "loved" you were. I imagine you are actually the product of a botched abortion and a product of incest.
actually the product of a botched abortion.

there are still plenty of things to hate, like the improper use of "Your" in Michael's post. That's what I really hate…stupid people.

Look everybody, its another Pissy Queen hooked on phonics!