JVM: Brooke Mueller needs lockdown rehab

If the game in Hollywood is keeping your name in the paper than Brooke Mueller is “winning.”

Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife was arrested for allegedly packing four grams of cocaine and allegedly assaulting a woman at an Aspen, Colorado, nightclub. The mother of Charlie’s two-year-old twin boys is a living testament to how difficult it is to get sober and stay sober. She’s been in and out of rehab for years and she still doesn’t seem to get it. It hasn’t stuck. I had my own share of struggles before I finally stumbled into a program almost a decade and a half ago.

Chronic relapsers can be very dangerous. There are those among us who lack the capacity of self-honesty. That’s what sobriety is -- seeing ourselves for what we really are, not justifying, glamorizing, minimizing, and in many ways, disguising our truth. Many don’t get it and slip time and time again. Often time celebrities are prone to slip because they feel they’re the exception and that the rules don’t apply to them.

The first thing that needs to happen: Brooke’s twin sons need to be taken away and placed in the custody of someone stable. Given Sheen’s erratic behavior earlier this year, being with daddy 24/7 is not the best idea.

And then there’s the question of power and privilege as it applies to justice. If this same situation involved an underprivileged person it’s very likely their children would have already been placed in the care of someone else. And if convicted of the drug charges, the average American would spend hard time behind bars. The chances of Brooke going down the river for any length of time isn’t likely. Why not?

Bottom line: Brooke needs to be in long-term lockdown rehab. Some of these Hollywood stars treat rehab like it’s a vacation at an exclusive hotel. They stay for a little while then get right back into their old lifestyle. In lockdown, it’s not that easy.

I’m not here to point a finger. I wish Brooke the best. But if she gets off scot free, this is just another example that we have a two-tiered justice system -- one for the rich and powerful, and the other for everyone else.