When the show begins, Quincy and his girlfriend, Emily, are at a taping of an upcoming TV special. However, Quincy isn't at all impressed by J. J. Chandler (Roger Miller). Apart from his nice singing, he tells a lot of jokes...jokes that make drug abuse seem cool and even funny. Not surprisingly, soon Chandler accidentally lights himself on fire while freebasing cocaine...and Quincy's fast action prevents his death. Following this, Quincy goes on a crusade against drugs.
The context for "On Dying High" is something many viewers today might miss or misunderstand as they watch the show. While I will admit it wasn't handled all that well, the late 70s and early 80s was an ugly time on TV, as many shows such as "Fridays" did their best to make dangerous and illegal drugs seem funny or glamorous. Drug humor was rampant...which I am sure contributed to the making of this particular episode of "Quincy".
That being said, the way they handle the anti-drug message is not all that great...mostly because Quincy comes on with little, if any, subtlety. I know the folks making the show had good intentions, but I wonder how many folks back in 1983 just laughed at the show and the over-the-top way they dealt with drug abuse. I cannot imagine making an anti-drug message much worse than this one...which is pretty sad as I'm sure they didn't intend this at all.