Free Republic

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull, who originally issued the warrant used to seize Rush Limbaugh's medical records, ruled Friday that prosecutors will only receive records that "fall within the scope" of the original warrant, and that he will privately review them to make that determination. Limbaugh's medical records were seized in late 2003 by Palm Beach County prosecutors investigating suspicions the radio talk show host had engaged in "doctor shopping" – illegally receiving multiple prescriptions from four different doctors for pain killers. Limbaugh's attorney successfully had the records sealed while appealing the seizure, but arguments that they had...

Of course, the Supreme Court decision has very little to do with wether or not pot is dangerous or helpful as medicine. It basically comes down to the question: Can the federal government tell the states which chemicals they have to ban? And yes, we fought a Civil War so that the federal government could tell the states exactly what to do - regardless of logic or local democracy. So last week the Supreme Court upheld Washington DC's unquestioned authority to create intrusive and illogical laws that are based on prejudiced perceptions above scientific reality. I can't really find any...

The medical field of treating chronic pain is still in its infancy. It was only in the late 1980s that leading physicians trained in treating the chronic pain of terminally ill cancer patients began to recommend that the "opioid therapy"(treatment involving narcotics related to opium) used on their patients also be used for patients suffering from non terminal conditions. The new therapies proved successful, and prescription pain medications saw a huge leap in sales throughout the 1990s. But opioid therapy has always been controversial. The habit-forming nature of some prescription pain medications made many physicians, medical boards, and law enforcement...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action to ensure that the public is fully aware that Able Laboratories of Cranbury, NJ, is conducting a nationwide recall of all of its manufactured drugs (mostly generic prescription drugs, including drugs containing acetaminophen) because of serious concerns that they were not produced according to quality assurance standards. Able Laboratories has ceased all current production. "The FDA continues to evaluate the situation at Able Laboratories to determine the safety and quality of their products and will update the public on our findings as necessary," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, Associate Commissioner for Regulatory...

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 800 convicted sex offenders in 14 states got Medicaid-funded prescriptions for Viagra and other impotence drugs, according to a survey by The Associated Press. The majority of the cases were in New York, Florida and Texas. Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, is administered differently in every state. Thus, while some states allowed Medicaid payments for prescriptions for the drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, other states did not. New York, acting on a tip, was the first to uncover that Medicaid had paid for Viagra prescriptions for sex offenders. Its report prompted the federal government,...

I ALWAYS thought we Republicans stood for smaller government, low taxes and balanced budgets. Maybe our new slogan should be: “Giving you a bigger government, slowly.” Thirty-two years ago, I served with a governor who reminded us that “low taxes were the result of low spending.” Mel Thomson would not be happy today with the many Washington Republicans who make Bill Clinton’s balanced budgets put us to shame. In 1990 when I left Congress, we had put in place a Newt Gingrich reform for the budget called a “paygo” requirement. It said that any new legislation that called for an...

The drug industry has made billions by taking the stigma out of the once-taboo subject of erectile dysfunction. Now, it is targeting an equally delicate problem. A number of pharmaceutical makers, including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and several biotech companies, are testing new drugs to treat the sexual complaint of premature ejaculation. The condition affects 15% to 30% of American men, according to many estimates. That makes it more common than erectile dysfunction, which affects about 10% of men. In the wake of the success of impotence drugs like Viagra, which are now a $2.5 billion-a-year industry world-wide, drug companies...

TALLAHASSEE -- Actresses Kirstie Alley and Kelly Preston pleaded with lawmakers Tuesday to prohibit schools from denying services to students who won't take mood-altering drugs to treat mental disorders. Alley sobbed as she told members of the House Education Council the stories of children who committed suicide or died after taking psychotropic drugs. "Here's an example of parents who didn't know what could happen who just blindly went along with referrals and information," Alley said before holding up blown-up, color photos of children she said died after being prescribed medicines like Zoloft and Ritalin. "None of these children were psychotic...

Springfield, IL (LifeNews.com) -- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich now faces a lawsuit over his executive order requiring pharmacists in the state to fill all legal prescriptions for any drugs -- including birth control or morning after pills that some pharmacists believe cause abortions. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a pro-life law firm, filed suit in state court on behalf of two pharmacists who say dispensing such drugs violates their moral beliefs. They contend they should not be required to participate in the abortions the drugs may cause or to contribute to a customer's sexual activity. The ACLJ...

By GAO (Government Accounting Office) estimates the "prescription drug benefit" program INCREASED BY 26% IN 2004, all historically accumulated, future spending obligations and committments of the U.S., including SS, Medicare, vet benefits, etc., accumulated throughout U.S. history, since before Roosvelt. http://www.babylontoday.com/#gao_financial The prescription drug benefit is the 8.1 trillion dollar portion, of the 13 trillion dollar increase, to a total 43 trillion, of current U.S. future spending obligation. But don't worry, according to the GAO, that only represents a $350,000 obligation per full-time worker in the U.S., SO FAR! But sadly the following demonstrates that the spending will be much...

Dan Allen was diagnosed three years ago with a mysterious neurological disorder that put him in a wheelchair, suffering from headaches, nausea, dizziness and memory loss. Among other medications, the former Holy Cross football coach was given Neurontin, an epilepsy treatment widely prescribed for everything from pain relief to insomnia to depression. But Allen's widow, Laura, 49, uses different words to describe Neurontin: ``It was snake oil,'' she said yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Herald. Allen will appear as a named complainant in a proposed class-action suit against Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of Neurontin, the Herald has learned....

WORLAND (AP) -- The family of a teenage girl who was allegedly given emergency contraception pills under the supervision of a school counselor has filed a claim against Washakie County School District No. 1. The claim included a dollar amount, but the family's attorney, Larry Berryman, declined to reveal it, the Northern Wyoming Daily News reports. Berryman said in a prepared statement that the Worland High School student, 15, confided in the ninth-grade counselor that she had sex with a 23-year-old and was afraid of being pregnant. The counselor made an appointment with the public health office in Worland and...

The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) is warning all who will listen that “Big Brother will be soon snooping around your medicine cabinet!” The Arizona-based association has come out strongly against the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act. Already passed by the House, it is working its way through the Senate. “Do you want the government to have a record of every prescription you get?” asks the association in its campaign of flyers and e-mails reaching out to physicians and their patients around the country. “Every painkiller? Every anti-depressant? Every sleeping pill? And then to pass that...

THUNDER BAY, ONT. - A man convicted of forging a prescription in Thunder Bay, Ont., made a fatal mistake, a court heard this week: He wrote too legibly.

Forged documents. Questionable sources. A journalist out to prove her case, not the truth. A prestigious national media outlet desperate to save its reputation. In the wake of the CBS network's stunning display of media bias, questions emerge: how widespread is this phenomenon in the media and what is the effect? What recourse is available to the targets of media bias? The Media Research Center (web site) has studied the problem of media bias for years. Brent Bozell, chairman of the MRC once wrote, "With the political preferences of the press no longer secret, members of the media argued while...

The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections - Political Action Committee (AMT-PAC) on Thursday announced a qualified endorsement for Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry. WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (MASNET) - A coalition of American Muslim groups on Thursday announced a qualified endorsement for Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry. The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections - Political Action Committee (AMT-PAC), in endorsing Kerry, said they came to the decision after assessing overall U.S. interests, their interactions with Kerry campaign officials and input from the American Muslim community. The group, however, called their endorsement “qualified” and urged...

Question for all of you: Is the Canadian Government subsidising prescription drugs or did the Canadian Government negotiated prescription drugs prices for its citizens?

John Kerry made a "Townhall" stop at Broward County Community College yesterday and we were there for all the hott action (barf). Maybe 1500 people showed up at best. I got tickets because a girl in my Graduate Class thinks I'm a Democrat (sucker). Anyway 1) There was a lot of ABB - anybody but Bush - going on, not suprising. 2) Three Arabic women sitting in the back seemed displeased when Kerry went on and on about his dying love for Israel and his desire to give them weapons. 3) I was the only one who noticeably cheered when...

New Evidence: Drug Prices Are Lower In U.S.; FDA Report, NCPA Study Show Smart Shopping Saves More Than Importing From Canada DALLAS, Oct. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A federal task force report issued this week confirms research by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) proving that patients can save more on prescription drugs by becoming smarter shoppers rather than importing them from Canada. (http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st262/) "Patients can save a lot of money if they shop for drugs the way they shop for bread," said Devon Herrick, author of the original NCPA study. "Looking to Canada is unnecessary. Savvy shoppers can...

On Monday, December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law a Medicare prescription drug benefits package designed to help American seniors pay for their medications. This month, the Kerry campaign released a TV ad attacking President Bush’s Medicare record stating, “The very next day George Bush imposes the biggest Medicare premium increase in history while prescription drug costs still skyrocket.” There are several problems with this ad, namely that fact that 1) Kerry skipped the December 8 vote and 2) Kerry voted to support the increase in Medicare premiums that he now criticizes. The Kerry campaign offers no specifics on...