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It has been more than two years since news first broke that Rush Limbaugh had an addiction to painkillers. That news led to a criminal investigation of Limbaugh by Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, who in December 2003 leaked to the media that his office had uncovered evidence of 10 felony counts, including "doctor shopping," money laundering and drug trafficking. Despite the sensational allegations, no charges have been brought. Worse, in the latest round between the State Attorney's office and Limbaugh, Assistant State Attorney James Martz made a startling admission in open court on Tuesday as he sought...

A House-Senate conference committee yesterday dropped a controversial provision that gave the Drug Enforcement Administration authority to review, and potentially block, the sale of all new prescription narcotics. The legislation, promoted by Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) and attached to a multi-department appropriations bill, passed last year with little notice. But this year the Food and Drug Administration, many drug makers and doctors who treat pain patients objected to renewing it, and the provision was stripped from the bill. Opponents said the provision was an unwarranted intrusion by a law enforcement agency into the FDA's drug-review system. Pain specialists also...

Soccer, Haitian style -- C'est La Guerre! BY DAVE BARRY May 1, 2005 (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on March 14, 1999.) We live in troubled and uncertain times, but I am feeling good -- about myself; about my homeland; about all the nations of the earth; and, yes, about future of humanity. And I will tell you why: I am on painkillers. I got them from my doctor, Curt. Curt is a great doctor, probably the greatest doctor who ever lived, and I will tell you why: He gave me these painkillers. These are some STRONG...

Ex-Lansing detective admits drug theft 3/31/2005, 12:14 p.m. ET The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former city police detective admitted in court that he stole prescription painkillers from an acquaintance's house last fall. Darren Duso, 42, pleaded guilty Wednesday to taking the OxyContin in return for a dismissal of more serious charges. He faces up to two years in prison when Ingham County Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield sentences him on May 4. The 15-year Lansing Police Department veteran resigned in November, one month after county sheriff's officials arrested him on charges of stealing drugs from the Dansville house....

WASHINGTON - Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) concluded Friday the popular painkiller Celebrex poses an increased risk for heart problems but should remain on the market because the benefits outweigh the dangers. The panelists suggested a number of possible restrictions, including placing a "black box" warning on the label warning of the potential dangers and who's at risk, providing more patient information with the drug, restricting which patients could get it and banning direct-to-consumer advertising for Celebrex. The FDA is not bound to follow any of the recommendations. If it does decide to keep...

Researchers Assess Risk-Benefit Ratio The spate of bad news about painkillers has dealt a major setback to what had been a highly promising effort to use the drugs to prevent a host of leading killers, including many types of cancer, Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Since concerns emerged that drugs such as Vioxx and Celebrex might cause heart attacks and strokes, researchers testing the drugs in dozens of studies have been frantically scouring whatever data they have gathered so far for signs of danger, urgently debating whether the trials should continue, and quickly informing participants of possible risks. Several...

The Drug Enforcement Administration has reversed its support for a set of negotiated guidelines designed to end a controversy over the arrests of hundreds of pain specialists who prescribed powerful narcotics for their patients. The agency took the document off its Web site earlier this month, less than two months after announcing it with great fanfare. In rescinding its endorsement, the DEA wrote on its Web site that the 31-page document "contained misstatements" and "was not approved as an official statement of the agency." The agency declined to give any more specifics, saying that it hoped to issue a statement...

(Aug. 17) -- Toxicology tests confirm that Michael Tata died from a combination of the painkiller fentanyl and alcohol. The popular casino executive was found dead at his home in Henderson in July. It's now believed that the powerful opium-based painkiller, fentanyl, is at least partly to blame. The coroner says Tata's death was accidental. But UMC clinical pharmacist Don Frisch says that fentanyl can turn deadly if it's used used recreationally, especially if alcohol is added to the mix: "But when used in combination with other respiratory depressants, like alcohol or valium, you can actually have an enhanced effect...

Association of American Physicians & Surgeons The Voice for Private Physicians Since 1943 1601 N. Tucson Blvd Suite 9 Tucson AZ 85716 www.aapsonline.org TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO CONTACT CONGRESS: “THE POLITICS OF PAIN & PAINKILLERS” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Help stop the war on pain patients & doctors. • Contact Congress by Thurs., Sept. 16. • Forward this message to everyone on your email list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We now have an easy, one-step way for everyone to contact their Members of Congress to tell them you want them to attend the briefing "The Politics of Pain & Painkillers" to be held on...

The lethal toxins produced by cone snails are in hot demand for neuroscience research, and are being developed as potent drugs. Laura Nelson visits a would-be snail ‘farmer’, for whom milking time is fraught with danger. 24 June 2004 LAURA NELSON This article is from the news section of the journal Nature Marine cone snails are among the most venomous beasts on the planet. © Nature Jon-Paul Bingham fumbles around for a condom. Big Bertha is waiting. There’s an awkward pause. “It has to be the non-lubricated kind,” he says. Bingham rips open the packet and slips the prophylactic over...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday expanded efforts to fight illegal diversion and abuse of prescription drugs such as painkillers and sedatives. Officials said they were taking particular aim at Internet pharmacies that sell controlled substances illegally and create easy access for teenagers, 14 percent of whom abuse prescription drugs. "We intend to curtail this vicious practice that targets our youth in particular because of their access and interest in the Internet," John Walters, head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, or ONDCP, said at a press conference. The effort was announced by the...

Bush Policy To Target Prescription Drugs Tracking patients' use key part of new anti-drug effort WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's national anti-drug strategy will for the first time target the use of pain relievers, sedatives and stimulants for nonmedical purposes, a problem that has exploded in the last decade. A key part of the strategy being released Monday involves government efforts to help states develop monitoring systems to track a patient's use of prescription medicine. The monitoring programs flag cases that indicate a pattern of abuse, such as "doctor shopping," where a patient gets prescriptions for drugs from multiple physicians....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's national anti-drug strategy will for the first time target the use of pain relievers, sedatives and stimulants for nonmedical purposes, a problem that has exploded in the last decade.A key part of the strategy being released Monday involves government efforts to help states develop monitoring systems to track a patient's use of prescription medicine. The monitoring programs flag cases that indicate a pattern of abuse, such as "doctor shopping," where a patient gets prescriptions for drugs from multiple physicians.Prescription medicine now ranks second, behind marijuana, among drugs most abused by adults and young people, said...

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Painkillers for aborted babies? Lawmakers consider bill to relieve 'terror and suffering of children' Posted: February 7, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A bill is gathering support in the Virginia legislature that would require unborn children be administered a painkiller before abortions are performed. A measure introduced by Republican Dick Black will be considered by the justice committee of Virginia's lower chamber, the House of Delegates, Monday, reported WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. The Senate will address a similar measure Thursday. "We must do everything possible to relieve the terror and suffering of children...

<p>ROANOKE - Federal prosecutors failed to win a single conviction yesterday against a Roanoke doctor they had accused of illegally prescribing medicine that contributed to the deaths of seven patients.</p> <p>After a seven-week trial and more than a week of deliberating in U.S. District Court, a jury found Dr. Cecil Knox not guilty of about 30 of the 69 charges against him. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on the remaining counts, prompting Chief U.S. District Judge Samuel Wilson to declare a mistrial.</p>

BOSTON - Rush Limbaugh is not alone. Addiction to prescription painkillers has boomed in recent years, and they can be as tough to kick as heroin. The number of Americans who begin misusing painkillers each year has almost quadrupled from 1990 to 2001, according to government figures. And many abusers don't recognize the insidious slide into addiction. "It's just so much more acceptable in society for people to be taking prescription drugs," said Sean Evans, 31, of Everett, Mass., a construction worker who became addicted to the pain reliever OxyContin, then moved on to heroin. "You can always rationalize the...

Someone send this guy a pair of Birkenstocks, a foxhole conversion is under way. Beyond the damage Limbaugh has done to his highly burnished conservative credentials, his sensational fall has added to the woes of another group: those in chronic pain who rely on OxyContin to relieve their torment. This kind of adverse publicity will only make it harder for patients to get access to the pain medication they need. As chair of the Department of Pain Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, N.C., and past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, Dr. Gerald Aronoff has seen the...

A thread for those listening to today's show.

Addressing for the first time allegations that he's under investigation in Florida for abusing prescription painkillers, talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh promised his audience today that he'd tell them everything he knew "as soon as I know what I'm up against." "The story in Florida, it really is an emerging situation," Limbaugh said at the top of his broadcast. "I watch what's being reported on television and it changes from morning to morning, hour to hour, day to day. He continued: "I don't know yet what I'm dealing with here, folks. I really don't know the full scope of what...

LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - British police revealed on Saturday that a scientist at the center of a row over the government's justification for war in Iraq had died of a slit wrist, leaving little doubt he had taken his own life. A haggard Prime Minister Tony Blair urged the media on a visit to Tokyo to "set aside the speculation and the claims and the counter-claims" over the death of Dr David Kelly, a Defense Ministry weapons expert. Kelly was named as a possible "mole" for a news story saying aides to Blair -- who has staked his career on his...