Everyone has at least heard either first hand or by mere music history of the court order that caused the Rolling Stones to put on a two day benefit concert to raise money for the Canadian National Institute for the blind. It’s well known that the 2 day benefit resulted from an old Keith Richards heroin bust. In truth, the facts behind that bust have been played down.

 

This wasn’t just your typical heroin bust, with an amount that equated to personal use. According to a November 21, 1977 article in People Magazine Keith Richards had actually been busted with $4000 worth of heroin, keep in mind that’s 4000 1977 dollars, to give you an ideal a 30 pack count of Pampers diapers would only cost $2.19. Keith Richards was actually facing drug trafficking charges. Had Keith Richards been processed for that amount of heroin it could have very well ended his time with the Rolling Stones, a simple fact that could’ve changed his life forever.

 

Of course he certainly could’ve eventually been released and looked for another band. Even in the drug popular days of the 1970’s a heroin junky band member probably wasn’t considered the best choice to get your band to the top. In fact many bands have split up for less. It does lead you to wonder what the motives of Judge Lloyd Graburn were. Hopefully he found a way to provide a charity group with a large donation, if not  we can only assume misguiding ethics, whatever the reason the Canadian Institute for the Blind was helped and Keith Richards’s life was spared.