(CNN) -- On the evening of Whitney Houston's death, renowned recording artist Tony Bennett told the audience of Clive Davis' Beverly Hills party, "First it was Michael Jackson, then it was Amy Winehouse, and now, the magnificent Whitney Houston. I'd like to have every gentleman and lady in this room commit themselves to get our government to legalize drugs -- so they'll have to get it through a doctor, not to some gangsters who just sell it under the table." Bennett's idiotic comments were followed closely by the often original, but in this case mistaken, Arianna Huffington. On Monday morning's edition of "CNN Starting Point With Soledad O'Brien," she agreed with Bennett: "The point I think is absolutely fair -- that the war on drugs has failed, and we are not acknowledging it. We are spending over $50 billion a year fighting a war that has become a war on our own people."
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Whitney Houston had a long and public struggle with drugs, but cause of her death is unknown
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William Bennett: Some have said legalizing drugs would have saved Houston's life
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Numerous celebrities have died from using drugs that are legal and prescribed by doctors
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Bennett: Legalization does not prevent the abuse and misuse of drug; it accelerates it
Lest Tony Bennett forget, @placeholder died from acute propofol intoxication administered to him by a doctor.
Bennett and @placeholder's misguided solutions would result in more tragic deaths like Houston's.