The chemical generation comes to power

What do George W Bush, Barack Obama, David Cameron and Steven Purcell have in common?

Other than being politicians of wildly-differing status, not a lot - except all have been, allegedly, users of cocaine.

With regards to Purcell, Calum Cashley - graciously for a political opponent - makes a plea for privacy, which on a parochial level forms part of a new convention: if someone has now or in the past some acquaintance with, or even problems with, the use of narcotics, this is a matter for them.

It's not that this is entirely unwelcome - it's just that this courtesy is not extended to the rest of us. For in our case, drug use is not a private matter but something that is legally the concern of law enforcement agencies and our employers. It left me wondering: is hypocrisy an essential element of inequality?