The war on drugs has come to the limelight in a way it never has before, with the death of talented pop star Michael Jackson. Some people blame Michael’s doctor for his death. They believe it was murder. People who grew up listening to the Jackson 5 and Michael as he went off on his own see him as the victim. This is the opinion of a writer who liked Michael Jackson’s music. I think both men were at fault and I do not believe it was murder in any way.
Dr. Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson’s personal physician. What he did was wrong. Blinded by the celebrity status of his patient, he chose pleasing Jackson over common sense. What this case will hopefully do is bring to light how many celebrities get what they want out of their personal physicians just because of who they are. The celebrities get rehab or they end up dying like Jackson and several others have. The physicians get a slap on the hand and only some of them lose their license to practice medicine. Even at this point, a judge has only said Dr. Murray can not prescribe sedatives, it was not applied to all types of prescription medications.
Still, Michael Jackson was known for his drug use. He got away with it for much longer than what we will probably ever know. He received the ultimate sentence and for his children and his fans I have sympathy. He was not forced to take the drugs. It was a case of not wanting to upset the King of Pop.
As I watched the premiere of the release of the updated version of We Are the World this weekend, I was positively touched that they included a clip of Michael Jackson from the original song written by Jackson and Lionel Richie over 25 years ago. Michael Jackson’s talent in music has never been questioned by this writer and I believe he would be very proud that something he was part of is serving the children of Haiti in this way as Michael loved children.
Prescription medication should always be taken under a doctor’s care but when you are a celebrity and your doctor is catering to your status instead of to your health, then it makes both of you responsible. Dr. Murray will have to live with his part in the death of Michael Jackson for the rest of his life. This could finally set a precedent for how physicians need to be guided by their oath and not by their patient’s celebrity status. Michael Jackson was at fault, as well, though. A person does need to be accountable for his or her own drug use and maybe, just maybe, some young person will learn from what happened to Michael Jackson. If so, then I think Michael himself would be proud to know he positively influenced a young person to either get off of drugs or stay clear of them. In the long run, I think that would be more important to Michael than who was really at fault in his own drug-related death, because if we look at it that way, we, and Michael himself, can help deter young people from a life centered around drugs.