Pubdate: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2003 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Section: Entertainment Author: Jill Barton Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) LIMBAUGH ADMITS PAIN-KILLER ADDICTION WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh announced during his radio show Friday that he is addicted to pain-killers and is checking into a rehab program. "You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life," Limbaugh said during a stunning admission aired nationwide. "So I need to tell you today that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication. "Immediately following this broadcast, I am checking myself into a treatment center for the next 30 days to once and for all break the hold this highly addictive medication has on me," he added. 'SEND THEM UP THE RIVER' Rush Limbaugh made the following comments during a segment on drug use during his show on Oct. 5, 1995. They were made in reference to a report citing the disproportionate charging, conviction and jailing of blacks on drug charges. "Let's all admit something: There's nothing good about drug use. We know it. It destroys individuals. It destroys families. Drug use destroys societies. Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up." "...What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use, too many whites are getting away with drug sales, too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too. That's how you deal with this, ladies and gentlemen." Attempts to reach Limbaugh by phone, e-mail, fax and at his Florida home were unsuccessful Friday. Limbaugh gave up his job as an ESPN sports analyst Oct. 1, three days after saying on the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed. Reports of possible drug abuse surfaced at about the same time, first in the National Enquirer. The tabloid had interviewed Wilma Cline, who said she became Limbaugh's drug connection after working as his maid. She said Limbaugh had abused OxyContin and other pain-killers. Law enforcement sources confirmed that Limbaugh was being investigated by the Palm Beach County, Fla., state attorney's office. "At the present time, the authorities are conducting an investigation, and I have been asked to limit my public comments until this investigation is complete," Limbaugh said. Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney's office, said Friday his office could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was under way. Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, did not respond to a message seeking comment. Limbaugh said he started taking pain-killers "some years ago" after a doctor prescribed them following spinal surgery. His back pain stemming from the surgery persisted, so Limbaugh said he started taking pills. "Over the past several years, I have tried to break my dependence on pain pills and, in fact, twice checked myself in to medical facilities in an attempt to do so. I have recently agreed with my physician about the next steps." A spokesman for Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the "Rush Limbaugh Show," declined to elaborate on Limbaugh's previous treatment. OxyContin is a narcotic pain-killer that is prescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting from such problems as arthritis, back trouble and cancer. Limbaugh reported two years ago that he had lost most of his hearing because of an autoimmune inner-ear disease. An electronic device was placed in his skull to restore his hearing. Research has found that abuse of opiate-based pain-killers like OxyContin can lead to profound hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear, said Dr. Gail Ishiyama, an assistant professor at the UCLA department of neurology. She could not confirm that was Limbaugh's case without access to his medical history. AP - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom