Is it the intent of the Editorial board to tell us how to think without providing reasons or a logical argument? I thought that was solely reserved for the government. Why did the editorial section on March 30 ("Groups sue for financial aid for drug offenders") give only opinions without providing so much as a single reason as to why the writer was taking their stand? Just a pointer here, but if you're going to try to persuade there needs to be an argument, reasoning or logic some might call it. If I wanted poorly backed statements, weak arguments and pleas to emotion I would listen to Rush Limbaugh. [continues 183 words]
BOSTON (Reuters) - When Paul Michaud's father died of cancer, the 16-year-old took OxyContin to ease his emotional pain. He first snorted the prescription painkiller and within weeks he was injecting it into his veins for a more powerful high before turning to heroin as a cheaper option. "It was the one drug that really pulled me. It took away everything," said Michaud, now 18, one of a new generation of American children getting high on and addicted to prescription drugs. [continues 581 words]
Republican reactionaries are a peculiar lot. They decry drug abuse but oppose a tobacco tax. They want harsh penalties, like Rush Limbaugh, except for themselves. They will fund incarceration rates that civilized nations find barbaric, with our great-grandchildren's money, while cutting spending for beat cops and programs that actually tackle crime causes and provide alternatives. Dogma masquerades as purpose in public policy; if it doesn't work, just do much more of the same. Now they are singing full-throated and with their usual unison against common-sense proposals made to the Legislature by Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek. Personally, I would rather see my law-enforcement tax dollars used to track and incarcerate the sociopaths preying on our communities than stigmatizing those whose only infractions in a lifetime might be simple possession. To those who say that would be sending the wrong message, I would ask what message we send by criminalizing the behavior of large swaths of otherwise law-abiding, productive citizens? Whatever might be the message we are sending now, there are an awful lot of people it hasn't reached. [continues 63 words]
Walk into just about any supermarket or corner store in Colima, Mexico, and you'll find an impressive wall of liquors for sale -- everything from tequila to scotch. Walk into a liquor store in Oklahoma, and if you're under 21, you'll be kicked out. Bars have mandated closing times; and complicated, county-specific regulations govern when, where and how alcohol can be sold. And yet, the U.S. sees about 45,000 drunk-driving deaths per 100,000 population as compared with about 14,000 of the same per 100,000 population in Mexico, according to Pan American Health Organization statistics for the late 1990s. [continues 614 words]
A former Hammonton man serving a 25-year sentence in Florida for possessing prescription narcotics has taken his case to CBS's "60 Minutes." Richard Paey, 47, was convicted last year of drug trafficking for possessing a large quantity of prescription narcotics. He says he needed the medicine to alleviate the excruciating pain caused by a car crash and subsequent botched back surgery. But Florida officials say he was buying too much of the drug for personal use. In an interview Monday, Paey's wife, Linda, said three months of police surveillance revealed no evidence that Paey was selling drugs, but police were able to charge him with drug trafficking anyway, under Florida laws that don't require evidence of actual sale. [continues 839 words]
The Santa Maria Times continually reports on law enforcement making arrests for possession of controlled substances. While the U.S. major media sensationalizes the war on drugs, prosecutors and judges sentence addicts to long prison terms where there is little or no rehabilitation. Lawmakers everywhere don't want to appear soft on crime, so draconian laws are written and rewritten. The war on drugs is another failed war in our time. This war was declared in 1971 by President Nixon and is the most expensive social experiment in history. It's historical cost would include all federal, state and local law enforcement, the prosecutors, defending attorneys and prisons. [continues 652 words]
A Palm Beach County judge allows subpoenas of Rush Limbaugh's doctors, with restrictions. A Palm Beach Circuit judge allowed prosecutors to query Rush Limbaugh's physicians, but limited what they can ask them as part of a prescription-drug abuse investigation. Authorities suspect that the conservative radio talk-show host had been "doctor shopping" -- illegally seeking multiple prescriptions from different doctors -- after learning he had obtained prescriptions for more than 2,000 pills from four different doctors in six months. While Limbaugh, 54, has admitted an addiction to pills, he has not been charged with a crime. [continues 261 words]
To The Editor: The continued intrusions of law enforcement into the domain of health care. You think Dr. Latimer's case is political? You're right. The DEA instead of stopping cocaine from Colombia, or heroin from Afghanistan are now precutting and harassing doctors and intimidating sick patients. A recent article in the Washington Post (Nov. 4) tells of the problems arising in the Food and Drug Administration since the DEA has stepped in. The DEA wants the final say over allowing new narcotic medications on the market. [continues 222 words]
Regarding the continued intrusions of law enforcement into the domain of health care, do You think Dr. James Latimer's case is political? You're right. The Drug Enforcement Agency instead of stopping cocaine from Colombia, or heroin from Afghanistan, is now precutting and harassing doctors and intimidating sick patients. An article in the Nov. 4 Washington Post tells of the problems arising in the Food and Drug Administration since the DEA has stepped in. The DEA wants the final say over allowing new narcotic medications on the market. [continues 208 words]
The battle over conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's medical records continued Monday, with Palm Beach Circuit Judge David Crow denying a request by Limbaugh's attorneys to postpone a hearing set for today. Limbaugh attorney Jackie Perczek told the judge that power outages caused by Hurricane Wilma handicapped the attorneys' abilities to work on the case. Limbaugh's attorneys will ask the judge to order the state to disclose the source of a purported leak about Limbaugh's medical records as well as the names of anyone who has had access to the medical records. Limbaugh's motion for contempt argues that in late September, the state provided information about the medical records to the Daily Business Review. [continues 164 words]
So many people are fat now that they're getting close to a majority. It seems odd that they need defending. But I recoil at the venom shot their way. Here's an antidote they may or may not want to take up for themselves. If the recent public tarring and feathering of Kate Moss for her personal Bolivian Marching Powder festival is cruel and hypocritical - -- and it is -- then surely we should defend the fat. For them, food is just another drug. [continues 919 words]
Editor's Note: Jonathan B. lives in the Los Angeles area and found "Finding a Fix" online. We of Pills Anonymous are men and women who no longer want to use prescription drugs to provide an illusion of pleasure or to overmedicate a perceived problem with pain or anxiety, with stress or exhaustion - with living life. We have hurt others and ourselves long enough; we now seek recovery and healing for our loved ones and ourselves. We have found our way to this fellowship by many paths, only to find a common road on which we can proceed, one day at a time. Many of us have participated in other 12-step programs, often quite actively, and yet found ourselves still unable to function without the use and abuse of prescription drugs. [continues 864 words]
Prosecutors Hope to Call Rush Limbaugh's Doctors and Their Employees in the Pain Pill Case WEST PALM BEACH - Prosecutors investigating Rush Limbaugh over his use of prescription painkillers want to subpoena the conservative commentator's doctors and the doctors' employees, according to a motion filed on Tuesday. Limbaugh's attorneys are fighting the move, arguing that the doctors' testimony could reveal privileged medical information. But Assistant State Attorney James Martz told the court he would ask the witnesses only about matters relating to their investigation of Limbaugh's possible "doctor shopping." Prosecutors believe Limbaugh illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions for painkillers. He has not been charged with a crime. [continues 199 words]
WEST PALM BEACH -- Prosecutors investigating Rush Limbaugh over his use of prescription painkillers want to subpoena the conservative commentator's doctors and the doctors' employees, according to a motion filed Tuesday. Limbaugh's attorneys are fighting the move, arguing that the testimony could reveal privileged medical information. But Assistant State Attorney James Martz told the court he would ask the witnesses only about matters relating to their investigation of Limbaugh's possible "doctor shopping." Prosecutors think Limbaugh illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions for painkillers. He has not been charged. Martz said the testimony of the doctors and their employees would exclude confidential medical information. The criminal investigation into Limbaugh's drug use has been held up for nearly two years because of privacy concerns raised by Limbaugh's lawyers. [end]
Records Show The Schneider Medical Clinic Drew State Scrutiny Over Prescriptions In 2003 The Schneider Medical Clinic in Haysville was facing state allegations of improperly prescribing dangerous narcotic drugs long before police raided the facility last week, records show. Concerns were raised as early as October 2003 about overuse of narcotics, prescriptions of multiple painkiller drugs for the same patients, and inadequate monitoring and record keeping to make sure the medicines were properly used, according to records obtained by The Eagle. [continues 1830 words]
In its fishing expedition for charges against Rush Limbaugh, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office argued before the appeals court ("Judge blocks prosecution attempt to question Limbaugh's physician," Aug. 17) that it did not have to notify Mr. Limbaugh when it used a search warrant to seize his medical records. It said it would have to notify him only if it were using a subpoena. Now, the state attorney's staff have tried to use a subpoena to interview one of Mr. Limbaugh's doctors without notifying him first. Do we have real attorneys working at the state attorney's office? No matter what you think of Mr. Limbaugh's politics, you should be concerned about what is going on here. That is, unless you don't mind having your private information made public at the whim of Palm Beach County officials. Deerfield Beach [end]
Why Are Millions Of Suffering Americans Deing Denied The Prescription Drug Relief They Need? Deborah Hamalainen was feeling more and more agitated by the minute. Waiting to see her neurologist, she was silently rehearsing a confrontation that had been building for months. She planned to look the doctor directly in the eyes and demand that he treat the chronic pain that had invaded her life. In the two decades since doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis, Hamalainen learned to tolerate numb extremities, tingling sensations, even the weakness that causes her left foot to drag. And it wasn't like her to be confrontational. "I'm much happier in denial," admits the soft-spoken 52-year-old sculptor. [continues 2719 words]
Palm Beach County prosecutors wanted to ask one of Rush Limbaugh's doctors Tuesday morning about the radio host's prescription drug use, but Limbaugh's attorneys won a last-minute court ruling that could jeopardize the future of the investigation. A Palm Beach County judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors couldn't question any of Limbaugh's doctors without first notifying Limbaugh. That would give Limbaugh's lawyers a chance to fight the subpoena issued to question the doctor and to raise privacy concerns before a judge. [continues 349 words]
Dr. Jack Heneisen believed he had the interests of his patients at heart when he signed hundreds of blank prescriptions There's no question he saved them money on office visits and time in his waiting room. But no man -even a nice-guy, small-town physician - is above the law. Especially when patients hooked on OxyContin, the much-abused pain-killer known as "Hillbilly Heroin," are beating a path to a doc's door. Heneisen is sitting in a lock-up in Jesup for violating a federal law regarding prescription refills for Schedule II controlled substances. He pleaded guilty. He also voluntarily surrendered his state medical license, and he has to wait two years before reapplying to get it back. [continues 576 words]
Dr. Gordon White has received the frenzied phone calls and seen the shaking patients, all begging for prescription pain medication. But these aren't patients trembling with pain. These are addicts. "It is a frustrating situation," Gordon said. "You don't want someone to go in pain, but you don't want to give drugs to someone who doesn't really need it." The Alexandria doctor wasn't surprised to learn an estimated 15 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released its three-year study on prescription drug abuse earlier this month. The study found that more Americans misuse painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax than cocaine or heroin. [continues 710 words]
Mega-kudos (not mega-dittos) to Thomas Maciocha for his outstanding letter, "Double Standard On Drugs" (July 22). Rush Limbaugh and Richard Paey - and every other adult citizen - should be free to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance they want, especially in the privacy of their own homes, as long as they are personally responsible for the consequences. However, if people like Paey are in prison for the potential harm they do to themselves, then Limbaugh should also be in prison. And when rich white men like Limbaugh are in prison for using drugs, our counterproductive drug war will soon be over. Mesa, Ariz. [end]
The John Tierney column, "Punishing pain: Victory in the drug war" (July 21) tellingly recounted the plight of Richard Paey, a wheelchair-bound, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain victim who is serving a 25- year sentence in Florida for obtaining prescription drugs to relieve his pain. It is surprising, however, that no mention was made of the similar drug troubles of talk-show star Rush Limbaugh, who feels that he is the victim of heavy-handed law enforcement abuse because of a prolonged inquiry into his obtaining of prescription painkillers. I would hope Mr. Limbaugh would join, and even lead, in a campaign to free Paey. I would hope that Paey's case would get as much media coverage as Mr. Limbaugh's has. The fight against drug abuse should be conducted as a public health treatment issue, since the law enforcement and punishment approach has been an abject failure. Sy Lutto West Palm Beach [end]
The U.S. Government Is Cracking Down On Pain Specialists. Doctors And Their Patients Are Crying Foul On a cold morning last April, in the shadow of Montana's Beartooth Mountain range, five agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) walked into the office of Dr. Richard Nelson, a Billings neurologist. For six hours, they combed through his records, seizing 72 patient charts and confiscating his drug-dispensing permit. The charge? None so far, but the assumption is that he is suspected of improperly prescribing narcotic drugs. Despite a distinguished professional record spanning more than four decades, Nelson has had to spend $20,000 on lawyers, fearing that the government will indict him if it turns out that one of his patients has misused his medicine. "My practice is sunk," says the physician, 73, who specializes in chronic-pain treatment. "I can't even write a prescription for Tylenol 3 if someone has a migraine." [continues 1526 words]
Regarding "Drug War Offers Bitter Pill" (Other Views, July 21): Richard Paey is in state prison for misuse of pain medication for a serious affliction, M.S. and chronic pain. He will be there, in his wheelchair, for many years. On Thursday afternoon, Rush Limbaugh was on the radio again carrying water for the right and making a fortune while doing so. How is it that Limbaugh illegally misused a pain medication that is in the same legal classification as heroin and is living handsomely, while Paey stares at the razor wire from his wheelchair? Perhaps those scales held by "justice" in front of the courthouse aren't balanced after all. Megadittos to our legal system. Tampa [end]
Howard Wooldridge is trying to change the world with a horse, a T-shirt and a fiery zeal. He believes that to save lives, lower crime and conserve tax dollars for such things as education, the multi-billion dollar drug war must be ended. It's too soon to tell if he's left an impact, but say this for the man: He knows how to get attention. It's hard not to notice a guy in a cowboy hat and spurs riding a horse through urban areas - as he did recently in Madison - wearing a T-shirt that reads "Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why." [continues 565 words]
The Feds Are Cracking Down On Pain Specialists, And Doctors--And Their Patients--Are Crying Foul On a cold morning last April, in the shadow of Montana's Beartooth Mountain range, five agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) walked into the office of Dr. Richard Nelson, a Billings neurologist. For six hours, they combed through his records, seizing 72 patient charts and confiscating his drug-dispensing permit. The charge? None so far, but the assumption is that he is suspected of improperly prescribing narcotic drugs. [continues 1585 words]
CEDAR RAPIDS - A former police officer is riding across America on horseback in an effort to convince people drugs should be legalized. Howard Wooldridge, a former detective from the Bath Township Police Department in Bath Township, Mich., is due to arrive in Cedar Rapids on Saturday. Wooldridge, a founding member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), said the organization's members believe drugs should be a public health matter, not a law enforcement one, freeing police to pursue crimes like drunk drivers or sex offenders. [continues 322 words]
WEST PALM BEACH -- A judge handed some of Rush Limbaugh's medical records to prosecutors this afternoon in a blunt ending to the conservative talk-show king's battle to keep his medical records private and out of their hands. Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull III also returned a thicker stack of files to Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, at a brief hearing in open court. Barkdull had divvied up the records, deciding which would be returned to Limbaugh and which would be forwarded to Assistant State Attorney James Martz for use in the criminal investigation of Limbaugh. [continues 224 words]
After nearly two years of legal posturing, prosecutors got the green light on Wednesday to review some -- but not all -- of Rush Limbaugh's medical records, a necessary step, the state maintains, in determining whether it can charge Limbaugh with doctor shopping -- illegally obtaining overlapping prescriptions for a number of different painkillers. Limbaugh attorney Roy Black had opposed the state being given access to his client's medical records, arguing that they were improperly seized, contained potentially embarrassing medical details and invaded Limbaugh's constitutional right to privacy. [continues 329 words]
Circuit Judge Says He Is Almost Done With Medical Data A Palm Beach County judge appears close to releasing at least some of Rush Limbaugh's medical records to prosecutors, saying Tuesday he could be done reviewing them by the end of the week. The documents are expected to revive a criminal investigation into the conservative talk show host's prescription drug use. In a two-paragraph ruling, Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull also denied Limbaugh's request to restrict who on the prosecution team may view the records. [continues 391 words]
I don't think anyone is going to argue that Rush Limbaugh would benefit from a lengthy prison sentence for violating drug laws, if he ever is charged and found guilty ("Limbaugh attorney wants some records private," June 16). If drug treatment worked for Mr. Limbaugh, why not apply the same standard to the less famous? Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is providing them with a taxpayer-financed education in antisocial behavior. Turning drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a waste of tax dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public-health problem it is. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
Jurist Searches For Pattern Of Drug Abuse WEST PALM BEACH -- A Palm Beach County judge ruled Friday that he will review Rush Limbaugh's medical records in private to determine which of them will be turned over to prosecutors investigating the conservative radio host's prescription-drug use. The ruling by Palm Beach Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull comes two weeks after prosecutors told him that they want to see all of Limbaugh's medical records to determine if he engaged in a pattern of prescription-drug abuse. [continues 267 words]
He'll Decide Which Files Will Be Used In Drug Case A Palm Beach County judge ruled Friday that he will privately review Rush Limbaugh's medical records to determine which documents will be released to prosecutors investigating the conservative radio host's prescription drug use. Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull ruled that prosecutors would receive only records that "fall within the scope" of search warrants issued as authorities investigated Limbaugh for a pattern of alleged prescription drug abuse. Any other documents will be turned over to Limbaugh's attorney. [continues 463 words]
Rush Limbaugh's attorney keeps saying that his client is innocent. So why does he keep acting as though his client is guilty? Every court has decided that Palm Beach County prosecutors acted legally in November 2003 when they obtained search warrants to seize the talk-show host's medical records as part of an investigation into illegal use of prescription painkillers. Six weeks ago, the Florida Supreme Court declined to review lower courts' decisions that sided with prosecutors. Yet last week, Roy Black was back before the judge who issued the search warrant, arguing that Mr. Limbaugh, who broadcasts much of the time from Palm Beach, should be able to decide which records the prosecutors will see. [continues 320 words]
The Supreme Court's ruling on medical marijuana is a stellar example of the philosophy of President Bush's corporate cronies: "Keep the problem in the pockets of the businessman." Can't have homegrown medications cutting into the profit margins of the drug companies, can we? Especially if they work. After all, they have the right to sell us all the drugs they want, charge us up the royal derriere for them and duck responsibility for it if people die from them! It's the American way, right? [continues 134 words]
We already have prescriptions written by medical doctors waylaid and second-guessed by managed care workers. Now comes the Supreme Court. In a 6-3 decision Monday, the justices ruled that federal agents may arrest sick people who use marijuana prescribed by medical doctors -- even if they live in states where medical use of marijuana is legal. Some of those who applaud the justices' decision say legalizing medical marijuana opens the door to illegal use. Currently no data supports that assumption, given marijuana is as closely regulated as other medications that have the potential to be abused. [continues 394 words]
Now that a judge, an appeals court and the Florida Supreme Court have said Palm Beach County prosecutors properly seized Rush Limbaugh's medical records, prosecutors are asking that the records be turned over to them. The records, seized from four doctors in late 2003 as part of an investigation in Limbaugh's prescription drug use, are under seal in the possession of Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey Winikoff. Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday asking Winikoff to turn the records over to them, and a hearing on the issue is scheduled for Monday morning. [continues 265 words]
Adrift In A Sea Of Psychotropic Pharmacology, It's Easy For A Kid To Drown You couldn't miss him: a teenager dressed always in black, with Elvis sideburns and a hard-charging way of bounding up the stairs, as if life were moving too slowly for him. In the same class as my oldest son at the Science and Engineering Magnet at Townview, occasionally at our house for all-night LAN parties, Luke Stone was likable, smart and had an appetite for adventure, the guy willing to try anything once. He was a natural leader, a person who drew people from all walks of life into his orbit with his energy and enthusiasm. [continues 6637 words]
Regarding ``Court Denies Limbaugh Medical Records Appeal'' (Nation/World, April 29): The latest news in the high-profile case of Rush Limbaugh indicates we are one step closer to having all of our personal medical decisions made by police officers instead of by doctors. The Drug Enforcement Administration personnel are not medical professionals; they are cops. Yet they decide when an American seeking legitimate pain relief has enough medication. And their decisions pave the way for state and local law enforcement nationwide. [continues 121 words]
The latest news in the high-profile case of Rush Limbaugh indicates we are one step closer to having all of our personal medical decisions made by police officers instead of by doctors. The Drug Enforcement Administration does not include medical professionals. Yet, it decides when an American seeking legitimate pain relief has enough medication. And, its decisions pave the way for state and local law enforcement nationwide. Limbaugh's national prominence makes him easy fodder for those seeking his conviction and imprisonment on "doctor-shopping" charges. But such vengeful thinking does nothing to help the freedom of all Americans who seek relief from Big Brother gravely intoning what otherwise law-abiding adults are free to put into their own bodies at their own expense. [continues 59 words]
The latest news in the case of Rush Limbaugh should make every American sit up and take notice. If his medical records are turned over to police and prosecutors, we are one step closer to having all of our medical decisions made by cops instead of doctors. Limbaugh's prominence makes him easy fodder for those seeking his conviction and imprisonment on "doctor-shopping" charges. But such thinking does nothing to help Americans who seek relief from Big Brother government gravely intoning what otherwise law-abiding adults are free to put into their own bodies at their own expense. [continues 58 words]
The next time you have severe or chronic pain, are you ready to call a narcotics detective for advice? The news in the high-profile investigation of Rush Limbaugh indicates that we are one step closer to having all of our personal medical decisions made by police officers instead of doctors. The Drug Enforcement Administration is made up of police officers, not medical professionals. Yet they will decide when someone seeking legitimate pain relief has enough medication. If the nonmedical DEA and other state law-enforcement officers can tell Limbaugh his legal limits on pain relief, they can tell us all. Those of us who don't medicate as instructed by these cops will face arrest, prosecution and mandatory prison time. Public relations director Drug Policy Forum of Florida Clearwater [end]
The State's Highest Court Ruled In Favor Of Prosecutors Who Are Looking To Charge Rush Limbaugh With Illegally Buying Painkillers Investigators should be able to examine the medical records of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Florida's Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a 4-3 vote, the court declined to review Limbaugh's appeal from a lower court, where he argued that a seizure of his medical records was a violation of his privacy. Thursday's decision may bring prosecutors one step closer to charging Limbaugh if they determine he illegally bought prescription painkillers. [continues 338 words]
The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday that it would not consider an appeal from conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh over the prosecutors' seizure of his medical records during an investigation into whether he illegally purchased painkillers. The 4-3 order did not explain the court's reasoning. Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's records in 2003 for their probe, but they have remained sealed pending the outcome of Limbaugh's appeals. Investigators say Limbaugh "doctor shopped," or illegally visited multiple doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions. [continues 231 words]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday denied an appeal from Rush Limbaugh, removing a hurdle for Palm Beach County prosecutors to use the conservative talk show host's medical records as they investigate his prescription drug use. The court, in a 4-3 decision, declined to review the case, letting stand a lower court ruling that the medical records were seized legally. The two-paragraph decision denied a rehearing, leaving Limbaugh with few if any options for appeal. [continues 793 words]
WEST PALM BEACH -- The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday it will not consider an appeal from conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh over prosecutors' seizure of his medical records during an investigation into whether he illegally purchased painkillers. The 4-3 order did not explain the court's reasoning. Limbaugh's attorney had argued that an appeals court misconstrued Florida law when it ruled prosecutors could obtain the records with search warrants. Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's medical records in 2003 for an investigation into whether he illegally purchased prescription painkillers, but they have remained sealed, pending the outcome of Limbaugh's appeals. Investigators allege that Limbaugh "doctor shopped," illegally visiting multiple doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions. [continues 558 words]
One in five teenagers has popped Vicodin, OxyContin or some other prescription painkiller to get high, a shocking new study has revealed. And, just as disturbing, today's teens can get those drugs almost effortlessly -- simply by raiding their parents' medicine cabinets, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "A new category of substance abuse is emerging in America: Increasingly, teenagers are getting high through the intentional abuse of medications," said Roy Bostock, chairman of the Partnership. "For the first time . . . today's teens are more likely to have abused a prescription painkiller to get high than they are to have experimented with a variety of illicit drugs -- including Ecstasy, cocaine, crack and LSD. [continues 257 words]
The view from Timothy Lawhorn's downtown Missoula dental office would be hard to improve. From the two dentist chairs perched in front of the big glass windowpanes, patients can see straight down the Bitterroot Valley. In the evening, Lolo Peak is outlined by the setting sun, Mount Sentinel glows in refracted light and the valley between is shrouded in mist. Lawhorn once dreamed of passing on his dental practice - and the view out his office windows - to his oldest daughter, Jessica. [continues 1332 words]
I want to thank you for the excellent article "Green butter" by Wayne Laugesen. His humor is delightful but quite serious. Speaking from experience, I have found that legislators often make up laws as they go along to punish just one person or group of people, which eventually spreads to the population as a whole. [Rush Limbaugh] took prescription painkillers, got caught and didn't believe that the government had a right to investigate every corner of his private life. I remember when the government sued the newspaper in Wichita for their documents on me. Debby Moore CEO Hemp Industries of Kansas [end]
T he Florida Supreme Court disappointed a lot of people Thursday when the justices, by a 4-3 vote, declined to hear Rush Limbaugh's appeal of a lower-court decision allowing the seizure of his medical records. The radio talk show host's legal troubles have made front-page news for more than a year. Defenders of Limbaugh's legal argument - not all of them his ditto-head faithful - believe the investigation into his prescription drug habit has as much to do with politics and celebrity as justice. [continues 118 words]
