Bo Bice

[JamiLee]

Originally Posted by DetGuy

Come on guys, all the cool kids do coke. It must be ok.

jeesh DetGuy!! Get it Right!! The cool kids spell it "Coc" not coke cuz coke is coca cola

jeeeesh

[Google]

 

[DetGuy]

Originally Posted by JamiLee

jeesh DetGuy!! Get it Right!! The cool kids spell it "Coc" not coke cuz coke is coca cola

jeeeesh

And I thought I was cool.

[AJane]

Originally Posted by horsnhound

To those of you who are horrified by this news, i defie you to go through your music collection and find one band/performer who has NEVER tried drugs.
(Flame retardent suit firmly in place)

OK, I'm NOT horrified by the news, but if I just tilt my head to the left I can see one of my Rollins Band CDs. Henry Rollins is a non-drinker, non-smoker, and non-drug-user. And not a "former" addict nor alkie.

As far as comparing Bo, Scott, and Frenchie, all I can say is that if you choose to abuse your own body - that's one thing. When you choose to abuse another human being - that's quite another. JMO, of course.

[Mantenna]

Originally Posted by AJane

OK, I'm NOT horrified by the news, but if I just tilt my head to the left I can see one of my Rollins Band CDs. Henry Rollins is a non-drinker, non-smoker, and non-drug-user. And not a "former" addict nor alkie.

Henry Rollins is fantastic, and I did not know that bit of information, AJane! Thanks!

Regarding Bo, well, I can't say I'm shocked by the news, but I believe that musicians are given too much leeway on the drug issue. It's as though experimenting with drugs is expected of them. It's not my place to judge people, but I can tell you that my admiration of artists who do not use drugs (Billy Corgan, Henry Rollins, etc.) extends beyond a simple respect of their music.

[Broadway]

Originally Posted by AJane

OK, I'm NOT horrified by the news, but if I just tilt my head to the left I can see one of my Rollins Band CDs. Henry Rollins is a non-drinker, non-smoker, and non-drug-user. And not a "former" addict nor alkie.

The man is amazing. Just a very, very interesting man to listen to.

[kyrjar]

Okay, I am not horrified either, but I wish that I were. Yes, mainly because it is difficult to name a rocker who never did drugs.

However, 1 -- It is a REALLY SAD argument to say that just because these famous rockers did it that it is okay.

2 -- Casual drug use in younger years is not a major character flaw, to me. I know alot of people who experimented in high school and college with drugs and were NEVER arrested. I think that arrests occur with people who are doing it quite alot, especially multiple arrests. Once could possibly be bad luck. I would guess Bo's use was more than just casual. I am hoping that it never rose to the level of selling drugs, even if only to friends.

Heavy drug use is still better to me than violent crimes and dishonest crimes like stealing.

All that aside, I am disappointed. I am not horrified. I just don't want to say that it is a non-issue because that sets a bad tone that drug use is okay if you are a rocker.

[LAGuy]

Originally Posted by kyrjar

I would guess Bo's use was more than just casual.

And why would you guess that? According to Bo's father, Bo was basically set up by his aunt (of all people!) who was trying to get out from under her own drug rap.

Originally Posted by kyrjar

I am hoping that it never rose to the level of selling drugs, even if only to friends.

It was half a gram. That's very little. Hardly enough to share and certainly not enough to deal. (And dealing is a Class B felony in Alabama -- not Class C, which is what Bo was arrested for.)

If this was so serious an offense -- and if Bo had a rep as a hardcore user or dealer -- then why was the case dismissed after the arresting officer failed to show up for his preliminary hearing??? Typically that only happens when the case is pretty darn weak to begin with.

Bottom line:

It happened.
Bo dealt with it.
He disclosed it.
AI is fine with it.

Let's move on!

[bbnbama]

Originally Posted by deblyn

Much like Scott's past didn't bother me, nor will Bo's. People make mistakes. Each of these men did something wrong, paid the price, and notified the producers of their pasts. Why can't America let dead dogs die?

Very well said and AMEN and HALLEJUAH to it!

[Erika221]

I am a NY prosecutor and have read through this entire thread because I am such a Bo fan.

As far as the circumstances surrounding Bo's drug charges/convictions, I don't think any of us will ever know what happened, we weren't there. To make judgements that Bo was set-up or Bo was a hardcore abuser is just not practical...we don't know. All the comments regarding the felony possession of coke are correct though....there are no misdemeanor offenses in Alabama. Other than that, we have learned that Bo was charged and convicted of drug offenses period.

That being said, I think the real story lies in the fact that Bo is not the same person that was charged with these offenses. I think that Bo's song choice last week says it all ----- "I don't wanna anything other than what I have been trying to be LATELY."

I for one love what he's been trying to be lately and will continue to clog his phone lines Tuesday night.

[Grisabella]

Originally Posted by kyrjar

Okay, I am not horrified either, but I wish that I were. Yes, mainly because it is difficult to name a rocker who never did drugs.

However, 1 -- It is a REALLY SAD argument to say that just because these famous rockers did it that it is okay. ...]

Well, I am not saying that. But it is not just rockers or musicians in general who have substance abuse problems or who use drugs recreationally. It's college professors, doctors, construction workers, lawyers, business men and women, athletes -- people in all walks of life and across the socioeconomic spectrum. You're probably more apt to get busted for it if you're a musician because you're a target suspect. And if you're an entertainment industry celebrity, your drug addiction, rehab, busts, etc., will probably make a lot more headlines than if you're in some other line of work, even if you are well known.

(BTW, I've known people who used and abused alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs, and by far the worst ones I've ever had to deal with were the drunks -- the ones whose substance of choice is legal.)

2 -- Casual drug use in younger years is not a major character flaw, to me. I know alot of people who experimented in high school and college with drugs and were NEVER arrested. I think that arrests occur with people who are doing it quite alot, especially multiple arrests. Once could possibly be bad luck. I would guess Bo's use was more than just casual. I am hoping that it never rose to the level of selling drugs, even if only to friends.

First, let's remember that there's never been anything in these storied of Bo's past drug arrests that even hints at anything beyond posession and use. The police found ca. .25 grams of cocaine and 2 marijuana joints in his jacket pocket (which had been unattended, draped over a chair in the bar while he and his band were performing). That's less than 1/4 teaspoon. But in Alabama, posession of even a trace of cocaine is a felony.

Bo's father (not his stepdad) claims Bo was set up by a cousin who was trying to get her own, serious drug charges reduced. (See my post a bit earlier in this thread, with a link to that article.) If he was set up, does that mean he never used cocaine? Nope. I kind of doubt his cousin would have set him up if he were someone who had never done drugs at all. But his own use may have been mild/casual enough and he may have been cautious and discrete enough that he would not have been arrested had not someone planted the cocaine and joints in his coat pocket.

My point is, if you're going to use the fact that he got arrested as evidence that his cocaine habit was serious, that's an unwarranted leap, especially in the light of Earle Bice's statements.

As for the "multiple arrests" (to quote a very misleading news column headline), yeah, I guess "two" could be called "multiple," but that's all there have been: two arrests. Two years apart.

The second arrest resulted in multiple, overlapping charges. (Some might call this "piling on".) If you are caught smoking a joint using ZigZag papers and/or a roach clip, that's three charges: possession of marijuana, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and posession of drug paraphernalia. Which is basically what happened in Bo's second arrest.

Some things Bo has said (weeks ago) and some of the lyrics to his earlier songs suggest to me that he probably got high on drugs about as often as a lot of people get drunk, back when he was, in his own words, "living the rocker life." But I don't think being caught with a bit of marijuana (and "paraphernalia") two years after being busted for cocaine posession suggests habitual use, much less addiction.

Once again, can we wait till we know more of the actual story and not read more into it than what has been reported?