Its Refusal To Hear The Commentator's Appeal May Allow Prosecutors To Open His Medical Records Seized In A Drug Inquiry WEST PALM BEACH - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to consider an appeal from radio commentator Rush Limbaugh claiming his privacy was violated when his medical records were seized for an investigation of whether he illegally purchased painkillers. The 4-3 order was issued without explanation. The court said it would not consider any motion for a review of the order. [continues 192 words]
Joe Conason Wonders Why The President Is Punishing Drug Users For Offences He Has Also Been Linked To On the audiotapes of George W. Bush recorded secretly by his erstwhile confidant Douglas Wead in 1999, the future president revealed how much he feared candid discussion of his personal use of marijuana and cocaine. As quoted in The New York Times, Bush vowed that no matter what rumours and facts circulated about what he did or might have done, he would doggedly decline to answer forthrightly. [continues 654 words]
Thirty years ago, I lived in a small apartment near a dry riverbed about two blocks from Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz. The big literary event of each month was the arrival in a local head shop - Mill was lined with them - of the latest edition of the comic book, The Furry Freak Brothers. The brothers' motto was this: Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope. To be entirely honest about it, I had much more experience with the no-money part. [continues 673 words]
Regarding ``Crist's Compromise In Limbaugh Case'' (Our Opinion, Jan. 29): Rush Limbaugh should be prosecuted vigorously and to the full extent of the law as that is what he has advocated on his talk show, saying that drug abusers should be thrown into the slammer and the key thrown away. He is a hypocrite, a hater of those who oppose his views, a vituperative and un-American blabbermouth. MILDRED PERRY MILLER, Chattanooga, Tenn. [end]
Charlie Crist and the Palm Beach prosecutors should try putting in half the effort in cleaning up the racketeers who prey on innocent citizens all over the country from Palm Beach. Boca Raton is becoming well known as the boiler-room capital of the nation. They lie, cheat and steal from people every day without any fear of Crist or the Palm Beach prosecutors looking into their records. But we should all fear Rush Limbaugh because he used some drugs - he's Palm Beach public enemy number one. Ocala [end]
Apparently, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist would rather observe the Rush Limbaugh case than be part of it. This week, Mr. Crist's office filed a brief with the Florida Supreme Court, which is considering whether to hear the talk-show host's latest argument that the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office improperly obtained his medical records. In July, the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld prosecutors' use of a search warrant, rather than a subpoena, as part of their investigation into whether Mr. Limbaugh broke the state's "doctor-shopping" law to get illegal amounts of painkillers. Mr. Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach, entered treatment for painkiller addiction in late 2003. [continues 242 words]
If you were on Queen West this week, you may have noticed Jennifer, an unlikely figure even by the loose standards of Skid Row. Snow was falling, and a cold wind raked the street, but Jennifer was wearing a purple velvet miniskirt, a nylon bomber jacket and a pair of teetering heels. She had the desperate air that comes with being a 43-year-old prostitute whose best-before date has long since passed, but for Jennifer, career problems paled in comparison to the matter immediately at hand -- where she was going to get the money for her next hit of OxyContin, her drug of choice. [continues 1394 words]
Former Tiburon Resident Found Dead In San Diego Dorm Pamela Ashkenazy came home Jan. 14 to find a message on her machine - call 858-694-2895. It was the medical examiner's office in San Diego. They were calling with condolences about her 20-year-old son, Daniel, a junior at the University of California at San Diego. "I just wanted to get to his dad and have his dad tell me it was a mistake," said Ashkenazy, a San Rafael resident. "I just couldn't believe it." [continues 1207 words]
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n042/a06.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) BOSTON -- When children died after misusing their product and a prominent talk show host entered treatment because of his addiction to it and other painkillers, the manufacturers of OxyContin fell back on an age-old strategy: The best defense is a good offense. Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma has been doing an extensive advertising campaign, funding drug-awareness programs and sending people to speak at public events, all reinforcing the message that the product is generally safe and effective if used properly. [continues 873 words]
My conservative pundit friend Armstrong Williams just had the weekend from hell, answering phones and juggling interviews like a multitasking press agent for Paris Hilton. "Have you seen the coverage?" he exclaimed over the phone. "I had no idea I was this important!" Well, sorry, my friend, but it's not just about you. There's also the matter of $240,000 in taxpayers' money. That's how much the U.S. Department of Education paid Williams, 45, to promote the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind education reform policy in his dual roles as public relations CEO and a multimedia news and public affairs pundit. [continues 703 words]
WASHINGTON -- My conservative pundit friend Armstrong Williams just had the weekend from hell, answering phones and juggling interviews like a multitasking press agent for Paris Hilton. "Have you seen the coverage?" he exclaimed over the phone. "I had no idea I was this important!" Well, sorry, my friend, but it's not just about you. There's also the matter of $240,000 in taxpayer money. That's how much the Education Department paid Mr. Williams to promote the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind education reform policy in his dual roles as chief executive officer of a public relations firm and a multimedia news and public affairs pundit. [continues 715 words]
WASHINGTON -- My conservative pundit friend Armstrong Williams just had the weekend from hell, answering phones and juggling interviews like a multitasking press agent for Paris Hilton. "Have you seen the coverage?" he exclaimed over the phone. "I had no idea I was this important!" Well, sorry, my friend, but it's not just about you. There's also the matter of $240,000 in taxpayer money. That's how much the U.S. Department of Education paid Williams, 45, to promote the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind education-reform policy in his dual roles as chief executive officer of his public relations firm and a multimedia news and public-affairs pundit. [continues 698 words]
Should the U.S. Government Butt Into Local Affairs Without Showing It Is Needed Or Wanted? In Ashcroft v. Raich, the Supreme Court will decide a lawsuit brought by a pair of very sick California women, Angel Raich and Diane Monson. Both grow an unusual medicine in their back yards: marijuana. Under California law, the drug is legal under doctor's orders. Even so, the Department of Justice says federal agents can prosecute both women. To preserve their access to needed medicine, Raich and Monson challenged the U.S. attorney general in court. Their basis for doing so was the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which says government can regulate "interstate" commerce. According to Raich and Monson, their drug is grown at home for personal consumption. It's lawful under California law. And it's not sold to people outside the state. So they argue it's not "interstate" commerce that the federal government can regulate. [continues 568 words]
Case Provides Interesting Questions On States' Rights In Ashcroft v. Raich, the Supreme Court will decide a lawsuit brought by a pair of very sick California women, Angel Raich and Diane Monson. Both grow an unusual medicine in their back yards: marijuana. Under California law, the drug is legal under doctor's orders. Even so, the Department of Justice says federal agents can prosecute both women. To preserve their access to needed medicine, Raich and Monson challenged the U.S. attorney general in court. Their basis for doing so was the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which says government can regulate "interstate" commerce. According to Raich and Monson, their drug is grown at home for personal consumption. It's lawful under California law. And it's not sold to people outside the state. So they argue it's not "interstate" commerce that the federal government can regulate. [continues 568 words]
In Ashcroft v. Raich, the Supreme Court will decide a lawsuit brought by a pair of very sick California women, Angel Raich and Diane Monson. Both grow marijuana in their back yards. Under California law, the drug is legal under doctor's orders. Even so, the Department of Justice says federal agents can prosecute both women. To preserve their access to needed medicine, Raich and Monson challenged the U.S. attorney general in court. Their basis for doing so was the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which says government can regulate "interstate" commerce. According to Raich and Monson, their drug is grown at home for personal consumption. It's lawful under California law. And it's not sold to people outside the state. So they argue it's not "interstate" commerce that the federal government can regulate. [continues 539 words]
Re "Treating pain no longer a gamble," Dec. 5: The DEA says there are 6.2 million Americans who "abuse" prescription drugs. That appears to be a statistic without much substance in reality. Who or what was Rush Limbaugh "abusing" when he so famously deceived physicians into prescribing for him the drugs he said he needed? Do he and the other 6.2 million intelligent, responsible, hard-working "abusers" constitute a "public health problem"? If they abuse anything, it is only their physicians, whom they "deceive" into prescribing pain medicine the DEA knows they don't really need.While "addiction" may be a "huge public health problem," untreated pain is a bigger private health problem. [continues 80 words]
For millions of Americans living with chronic pain, the federal government has decided to inflict some more. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is reverting to a heavy-handed approach of targeting doctors who prescribe "too many" narcotic painkillers, even if they follow accepted medical practice. That spells more misery for physicians and patients. Long-term use of painkillers at high doses is often the only way some patients can relieve the agony of cancer and other diseases and lead functional lives. Undertreatment of pain is common, notes the American Medical Association, which has documented years of DEA harassment of physicians who legitimately prescribe narcotics. [continues 354 words]
Rush Limbaugh's fight to keep his medical records private is headed to the Florida Supreme Court, and the justices should agree to hear it. Last month a panel of judges on the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled 2-1 that prosecutors could legally seize the talk show host's medical records without notifying him and giving him the chance to object. Limbaugh, who admitted an addiction to painkillers, is under investigation for "doctor shopping" in Palm Beach County. He argues his privacy rights outweigh prosecutors' power to take his medical records without notice. [continues 81 words]
This is proof that what goes around comes around. Rush Limbaugh has spent his career bad mouthing criminals and drug addicts and the liberal, whiny ACLU and praising the government of and by conservatives as being above reproach. Now, it seems the tables have turned. He turned out to be addicted to oxycontin and was apparently doctor shopping to serve his habit. When the government got a court order to obtain his medical records, he whined and cried foul. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Now, all of a sudden, civil rights matter. And guess who is coming to his defense? Dick Swedesky, Hortonville [end]
Feds Huff And Puff About Medical Marijuana Everyone has heard the joke about how you can tell when operatives from the Bush administration are lying--their lips are moving. Given the Bush presidency's horrid record of lying about everything from preemptive war to domestic issues such as the environment, health care and education, it should come as no surprise that they're at it again. This time, it's to interfere in Montana's election on medical marijuana, I-148. And guess what? Their lips are moving again. [continues 936 words]
Rush Limbaugh has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way during his nearly two-decade gig as a national radio talk-show host. He has done so intentionally, we might add. In his world there are not merely feminists, but "femi-Nazis." In his world, homelessness is a hoax. In his world, there is no room for any opinion even slightly left of the center line. So it might be easy for some to suggest that the right-wing blowhard should stew in his own legal juices now that he's become a target in the War on Drugs. But that would be the wrong thing to do. [continues 398 words]
The talk-show host plans to appeal the decision on the seizure of his medical data. WEST PALM BEACH -- For months, Rush Limbaugh and his lawyers argued vigorously that Limbaugh's privacy rights had been violated when local prosecutors seized his medical records. An appeals court quietly ruled Wednesday that they were wrong. In a 2-1 written opinion, justices of the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that investigators' use of a search warrant for medical records was proper. The state's right to seize the records is not limited by a patient's right to privacy, Chief Justice Gary Farmer wrote for the court. [continues 1009 words]
Many Patients End Up Hooked on Doctor-Prescribed Painkillers Timothy Penny was an athletic 33-year-old when he started taking prescription pain pills in 1998. He couldn't seem to shake a deep, stabbing pain in his back, hip and leg after a nasty fall at his job in Escondido. Twenty-three miles away, in her University City home, Jane Kellogg was using prescription drugs to ease her depression, blunt her chronic pain, stop her cough and help her sleep. [continues 3029 words]
Contradictions Abound In World Of Substance Abuse Some have lost homes and families to their addictions. Others have been stripped of their careers and control of their lives, some their freedom for unlawfully chasing another inhaled or injected fix. To kick the habit, users have been known to seek treatment, delivered under rigid regimens. Lives have been lost in despair. The legacy of a street drug, peddled on some dark corner? Actually, it's the injected or nasally inhaled Stadol, a synthetic opiate produced by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb for the treatment of migraines. [continues 615 words]
With as much as 10 times the active opiate ingredient as other painkillers, OxyContin was marketed as a powerful relief with a built-in safety measure: a time-release formula that allowed the drug's opiate to be delivered over a 12-hour period. Other painkillers, including OxyContin's predecessor, Tylox, contained only five mg of opiate, but oxy was made available in 20-, 40- or 80-mg doses. An aggressive marketing campaign, cut with the euphoric powers of oxy, mainlined the drug to the top of the pain-relief charts. [continues 632 words]
Karen Daskam-Canaday was a Girl Scouts leader and a Sunday school teacher and made sure her five children had good Christmases and birthday parties. As a waitress, "they called me speedy. Little did they know," she said. "I was what they call a functioning addict," she said. "I was good at hiding it, or at least I thought so." "I did everything." Black beauties and Crosses (amphetamines), cocaine, PCP, marijuana, alcohol and methamphetamine, to name a few. It started when she was about 14. Her dad was drunk and shot her mom. [continues 2890 words]
Rush Limbaugh took a moment Thursday on his radio show to talk about a Miami-Dade County man's murder conviction overturned this week by an appeals court that ruled police illegally seized his medical records. Limbaugh, 53, a Palm Beach resident, is locked in a battle with Palm Beach County prosecutors over their seizure of his medical records from four doctors late last year. Limbaugh is under investigation for possible violations of the state's "doctor shopping" law that makes it illegal to obtain overlapping prescriptions secretly from more than one doctor. [continues 303 words]
Thousands With Chronic Pain Receive Inadequate Treatment, Despite New Drugs And Technology. We Need To Take Another Look At How We Think About It. Pain sure has a big future. The question is: Can we give it less of one? In the United States, which has (so we're told) "the world's greatest health-care system," we're not all that good at managing pain. This, one of the quietest scandals in the Western world, cannot moan its name. Thousands with chronic, intractable pain receive inadequate treatment. That includes 40 percent of those with moderate to severe pain, 40 percent of all cancer patients, and 75 percent of surgical patients. That includes the 26 million people between 20 and 64 with chronic back pain, and the one in six of us who suffers from arthritis. Add burn victims, trauma patients, all those for whom healing hurts. [continues 1470 words]
The Drug Became Known As 'Hillbilly Heroin': A High-Powered Opiate Readily Available in the Woods of Rural America "Hillbilly heroin" was the name that stuck, but there's mounting evidence to suggest OxyContin's fan base reaches far beyond the Ozarks. Police in both the U.S. and Canada are uncovering increasing numbers of OxyContin trafficking rings in metropolitan centres, while big-city doctors are accused of writing fake prescriptions for the painkiller. And -- as with practically anything you shoot or snort -- celebrity abusers are helping push the drug into the spotlight. [continues 229 words]
WASHINGTON -- The current and previous presidents of the United States used marijuana. So has presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitted to drug use. Conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who once beat the drums for jailing white junkies, has been through drug treatment. Some 75,000 Californians now use marijuana under a doctor's care. The U.S. Supreme Court let stand an appellate court ruling barring Uncle Sam from punishing doctors who prescribe medical marijuana under state law. [continues 703 words]
Rush Limbaugh is a slow learner. - That might explain why he looked at the sadistic photos from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and likened them to some college fraternity high jinks. Boolah, mullah! Boolah, mullah! Most reasonable people expressed disgust by the sight of the bound, nude, hooded men in American custody being forced to degrade themselves sexually. And Limbaugh surely would have, too, if it had been under the previous administration. But Limbaugh's a referee without a whistle these days. So here's how he excused the inexcusable: [continues 499 words]
I'm writing about your thoughtful editorial "Aiming for Rush." I would like to add that in the eyes of the law, Rush Limbaugh is a drug dealer. Though Mr. Limbaugh probably never sold any drugs to anybody, if he possessed or purchased a certain amount of drugs, in the eyes of the law, he is automatically considered to be a drug dealer. Is it fair? No. Is it the law? Yes. Personally, I feel that Mr. Limbaugh or any other adult citizen should be free to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance he or she wants, especially in the privacy of his or her own home, as long as the drug user is personally responsible for the consequences. [continues 113 words]
WEST PALM BEACH -- Rush Limbaugh attacked prosecutors who are investigating whether he illegally purchased prescription painkillers in full-page ads in two South Florida newspapers on Thursday. In the ads, the conservative radio commentator renewed his accusations that the criminal investigation is politically motivated, and he accused one of the newspapers, The Palm Beach Post, of trying to discredit him to justify the investigation. The ads include a reprint of a favorable 600-word editorial from Sunday's edition of The Washington Times. [continues 353 words]
WEST PALM BEACH (AP) -- Rush Limbaugh took out ads in two South Florida newspapers Thursday to attack prosecutors who are investigating allegations he illegally purchased prescription painkillers. In the ads, the conservative radio commentator renewed his accusations that the criminal investigation was politically motivated, and he accused one of the newspapers, The Palm Beach Post, of trying to discredit him to justify the investigation. The ads include a reprint of a favorable 600-word editorial from Sunday's edition of The Washington Times. [continues 493 words]
The war on drugs is going badly. The current and previous presidents of the United States used marijuana. So has presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitted to drug use. Radio host Rush Limbaugh, who once beat the drums for jailing white junkies, has been through drug treatment. Some 75,000 Californians now use marijuana under a doctor's care. The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling barring Uncle Sam from punishing doctors who prescribe medical marijuana under state law. [continues 653 words]
'Hillbilly Heroin': Courier Testifies He Would Pick Up Prescriptions, Fill Them, Then Sell Pills A jury was told yesterday Dr. Ravi Devgan was a key figure in a painkiller trafficking ring and that he used "a pen, a white lab coat and a pre-printed piece of white paper" to perform illegal deeds. Crown attorney Moiz Rahman told an Ontario Superior Court jury in his opening address that this was not a "normal" trafficking trial with evidence of defendants in "expensive suits," with "briefcases full of money and bags full of white powder." [continues 466 words]
Tougher times are ahead for people suffering serious pain. The federal government is cracking down on prescription drug abuse. Potent painkillers, primarily OxyContin, have soared in popularity among drug abusers, but the feds' tactics are inadvertently hurting tens of millions of innocent patients. Enforcers are increasing surveillance of doctors who prescribe painkillers; their approach almost being: "If you prescribe them, prove to us you're not guilty." And the feds are tightening rules covering the circumstances in which these painkillers can be prescribed. [continues 277 words]
Forged OxyContin Prescriptions Alleged A school resource officer at New Bern High School faces charges of forging six prescriptions to obtain the drug OxyContin, a powerful but sometimes addictive pain killer. Cinderella "Cindy" Hardin Eubanks, 43, a 15-year veteran with the New Bern Police Department, faces six counts of common law forgery. She has been placed on administrative leave and will continue collecting her annual salary of $44,044. Frank Palombo, New Bern police chief, said in a written statement that police received information on Monday from a local pharmacy regarding an officer obtaining prescription drugs fraudulently. He said the department immediately launched a criminal and internal investigation. [continues 484 words]
JESSE JACKSON is right about our judiciary. South Carolina needs more black judges. As his attorney, Janice Mathis, explains, "it takes discernment by a prosecutor, a judge to tell which kids can benefit from rehabilitation," and we need "judges who understand the community so they know which kid to give a break and which ones to slam the door on." That means we need a diverse bench, with judges who look a lot like the state, in terms not only of race but also of gender and geography and life experience. [continues 806 words]
Instead of complaining about how prosecutors are treating Rush Limbaugh (editorial page, March 26), Roy Black would do better to criticize the laws that make such prosecutions possible. Mr. Black decries common prosecutorial drug-war tactics that have put hundreds of thousands of users and sellers in prison. People are regularly locked up for many years for far less than Mr. Limbaugh's alleged offenses, their lives shattered, their families left to suffer. When will we realize that this is unnecessary and does more harm than the drugs themselves? Harry D. Fisher Woodland Hills, Calif. [end]
Clearing Away the Myths Surrounding the Oxycontin "Epidemic." In a recent five-part series (Oct. 19-23), the Orlando Sentinel painted a stark picture of the opiate drug OxyContin: Prescribed for mild pain by a clueless doctor, the drug had destroyed a former policeman's life. Apparently, this story was typical: Thousands had been derailed by the deadly drug. Within weeks, however, the drug's manufacturer, Purdue Pharmaceutical, and the ex-cop's mother-in-law revealed that the man-called an "accidental addict" by the writer, Doris Bloodsworth-was a former cocaine abuser with a federal trafficking conviction. [continues 1471 words]
A State Database on Narcotic Prescriptions Is Reasonable A bill to set up a controlled substances database has passed the Alabama Senate and is in the hands of the House. But it may be giving some folks heartburn. What, they say, gives the government the right to know what pills a citizen is taking? If the database, as outlined in the measure sponsored by Sen. Larry Means, D-Attalla, included everything from blood pressure to cholesterol medication - and drugs that deal with more intimate problems - those worries would be well-founded. [continues 235 words]
At what point does a prosecutor's investigation of a possible crime cross the line from legitimate inquiry to smear campaign? My interest in the question is not entirely academic. I'm Rush Limbaugh's attorney, and as anyone who has been following my client's situation is probably aware, the local prosecutor (or state attorney, as we call them in Florida) has been having a field day at Rush's expense ever since Rush announced last October that he'd become dependent on prescription pain medication and was entering a rehab clinic to deal with the problem. [continues 626 words]
WASHINGTON - After years in which marijuana, cocaine and heroin were by far the main focus of the nation's war on drugs, the Bush administration is attacking the rising abuse of prescription drugs. While marijuana remains the nation's most abused drug, according to government and private studies, narcotic pain relievers like OxyContin and Vicodin, along with a variety of some other prescription medications, have overtaken amphetamines to rank second. A nationwide study by the University of Michigan showed that from the 2002-03 school year, nonmedical use of prescription drugs among students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades increased even as use of other illicit drugs dropped by 11 percent. [continues 677 words]
Chronic Sufferers Say They Find It Harder to Get Relief The government's widening crackdown on prescription-drug abuse is having an unintended consequence: It's making it tougher for people with chronic pain to get treatment. In recent weeks, federal regulators have sharply dialed up their effort to combat the black market in pain killers. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy this month announced a $148 million plan targeting illegal use of prescription tranquilizers, sedatives and other drugs, with a goal of curbing the flow of drugs such as OxyContin to abusers. [continues 767 words]
What was the nation's drug czar doing in Las Vegas last week? Did he really pick the city as a key stomping ground in the fight against prescription drug abuse? Or was the trip, as some suspect, a sly pre-emptive strike against a possible ballot question that could legalize adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana? There is no doubt in Jennifer Knight's mind about the purpose of John Walters' visit. "This wasn't even a thinly veiled attempt to campaign against our initiative," said Knight, spokeswoman for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, the group trying to bring the measure to voters in November. [continues 641 words]
Amid Tighter Regulation Of Painkillers, Physicians Pull Back on Prescriptions The government's widening crackdown on prescription-drug abuse is having an unintended consequence: It's making it tougher for people with chronic pain to get treatment. In recent weeks, federal regulators have sharply dialed up their effort to combat the black market in pain killers. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy this month announced a $148 million plan targeting illegal use of prescription tranquilizers, sedatives and other drugs, with a goal of curbing the flow of drugs such as OxyContin to abusers. [continues 1467 words]
Rush Limbaugh contends that because so few people have been targeted for doctor-shopping, Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer's investigation of the talk-show host must be the result of political pressure. In fact, doctor-shopping for OxyContin and similar drugs is a relatively new phenomenon, and many states, including Florida, just now are recognizing the extent of prescription-drug abuse and expanding efforts to stop it. Mr. Limbaugh styles himself a leader in social policy. In his abuse of prescription painkillers, including OxyContin, he does appear to be part of the vanguard. From that out-front position, Mr. Limbaugh can't successfully complain of being one of the first to draw attention. As enforcement increases, however, the most frequent targets are not likely to be in Mr. Limbaugh's income bracket. Medicaid recipients are receiving the most intense scrutiny. [continues 609 words]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Prosecutors who want to review Rush Limbaugh's medical records argued in court papers that privacy rights should not be used to hide criminal wrongdoing. Seizing the conservative radio commentator's medical records in their investigation of his prescription drug use did not violate his constitutional or privacy rights, Palm Beach County prosecutors said in documents filed Monday. Limbaugh's attorneys are asking the 4th District Court of Appeal to bar prosecutors from using the records seized in November. Limbaugh is under investigation for possible violations of the state's "doctor shopping" law, which prohibits someone from secretly obtaining overlapping prescriptions from different doctors. [continues 194 words]
The Irreconcilable Conflict Between Drug Control and Pain Control As part of its recently unveiled "strategy to confront the illegal diversion and abuse of prescription drugs," the federal government promises to close down pharmacies that sell narcotic painkillers online. After all, only druggies need to purchase Vicodin through the online "pill mills" that "bypass traditional regulations," selling to anyone who fills out a questionnaire. People with a legitimate medical need for such drugs can always get prescriptions from their doctors. Don't you believe it. Swayed by anti-drug propaganda and anxious to avoid legal trouble, physicians are so leery of these drugs that researchers have given their attitude a name: "opiophobia," an unreasonable fear of narcotics that leads to untold suffering by millions of Americans. Opiophobia intensifies every time the government announces a crackdown like this one. I have a friend (let's call her Marcy) who periodically suffers from severe neck and shoulder pain, sometimes accompanied by splitting headaches that can last for days. During one of these bouts, she tried Vicodin (a combination of the opioid hydrocodone and acetaminophen), which she had left over from a prescription she received after knee surgery. [continues 571 words]
