Lindsay, Britney, & Robert

Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears both posed for milk
mustache ads. There were each paid a $25,000 fee to help
milk producers sell dairy products. There is not enough
money on this planet for me to pose for a milk mustache
ad, for to do so would be an enormous betrayal to any young
person influenced by such an ad.

Yet, I have something very much in common with Lindsay and
Britney. At this moment in time, the summer of 2007, each
one of the three of us is quite pathetic in his or her
dependence upon mood-altering substances.

After Lindsay's recent driving arrest with cocaine in her pants
pocket, she should be sentenced to become a poster child for
the Mothers Against Drugged Drivers (MADD). Some 45,000 people
will die in car accidents this year. When I was a volunteer
firefighter I responded to the scene of an accident in which
a young high school student had his body separated from his
skull and brain matter by a telephone pole. That is an image
I will hold onto forever. Does Lindsay not have anone to pull
her out of this spiraling self destructive lifestyle?

Britney's recent photo session displays a young woman who
is also completely out of control.

These are the heroes who the dairy industry calls "cool"
and successfully uses to peddle their drugs.

In a sense, I am Lindsay. I am Britney. I have become pathetic
in my use of drugs. I had a back surgery during June of 2006,
after an accident and unfortunately, the surgery has not been
successful. CAT scans and x-rays show that the spine has not
fused and the four titanium screws are rotating and as a result,
inflicting enormous pain. I am currently seeking second and
third opinions, but the doctors are advising me what I already
know in my heart. A second surgery will be performed. I recall
the words of one of the members of Crosby Stills and Nash at
Woodstock after performing Suite Judy Blue Eyes at Woodstock
in 1969, "This is our first gig and we're scared shitless!"

Well, I am scared too. Meanwhile, my use of percocet-like
drugs has exceeded what I once would have called drug abuse.
I recall a time just after my father fell and broke his
shoulder. After that painful injury he would take one 5mg pill
of oxycodone each day to relieve the pain. One pill. 5 mg.

Every single day, I take twenty-one times that amount.

Each day, I take three 15 mg. oxycodone pills and three
20 milligram oxycontin pills. Google either one. They are
highly addictive, and the more I take, the more my body
craves. My soul screams at me each night at three AM and
again two hours later. I usually go through three t-shirts
during each sleep cycle, waking up soaked in sweat.

Now, things will get worse. This drug addiction is a monster
and I have decided to end it. Not all at once, of course. I
am advised that might end my life, and I've got too much to
accomplish. But, I am making a promise to myself and to you.
During the next three months I will slowly wean myself off
these drugs. I can no longer live with this fog in thoughts,
and much prefer the pain to the dullness of my brain.

I would hope that Lindsay and Britney are able to make
similar commitments.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com