Warrants: Limbaugh Was 'Doctor Shopping'

My Way.Com ^ | 12/4/03 | Jill Barton

[Lucky2]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Investigators raided the offices of Rush Limbaugh's doctor Thursday, saying in search warrants that the conservative radio commentator engaged in illegal drug use and "doctor shopping" for prescription painkillers.

The warrants show investigators were looking for records including prescription disbursements, appointment schedules, receipts and a medical questionnaire.

"Mr. Limbaugh's actions violate the letter, and spirit" of the law that relates to "doctor shopping," stated one of warrants, signed by Asim Brown, a law enforcement agent assigned to the state attorney's office anti-money laundering task force. Doctor shopping refers to looking for a doctor willing to prescribe drugs illegally.

Limbaugh denied any wrongdoing to listeners on his radio show earlier Thursday and accused prosecutors in Palm Beach County of going on a "fishing expedition."

[Walkin Man]

Funny how people are *finally* noticing the fact the the War on (NonWASP) Drugs is a rights-raping sham, now that it's St. Limbaugh's goat being gored. I guess the 1,500,000 mostly black, other "narcotics" offenders incarcerated so far just passed right under the radar!

Chong was a first time offender and neither his glasswork or pot is a narcotic. Rush's offences for actual Narcotics dwarf Chong's...

The massive hypocrisy is amazing isn't it? BTW when is the DEA gonna seize Rush's 24 million dollar mansion??? That would fund the WOD for a good long time in Florida!

[dead]

Tommy Chong sold glass in shapes that the federal government disapproved of. Rush Limbaugh (allegedly) bought narcotics in violation of federal law.

Neither should be in jail.

[ladyinred]

He has broken the law with impunity in the past and gotten away with it, I see no reason why he won't do the same in the future.

Please enlighten us. What law has he broken in the past? I am not aware of this story. Do you know for a fact that he has broken the law now? Maybe he has, but we don't know that yet, or do we?

[John Beresford Tipton]

Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 - October 9, 1954) was United States Attorney General (1940 - 1941) and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1941 - 1954). He was also the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.

Born in Spring Creek Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, Jackson studied law at Albany Law School in Albany, New York, passing his bar exam in 1913 without having attained a degree, and afterwards setting up practice in Jamestown.

Jackson became active in the federal government during the FDR administration, serving as general counsel of the Internal Revenue Service beginning in 1934. He went on to become an Assistant Attorney General from 1936 to 1938, during which time he was noted for successfully prosecuting several antitrust cases.

After a term as United States Solicitor General (1938-39) Jackson was appointed Attorney General by Roosevelt in 1940, replacing Frank Murphy. When Harlan Fiske Stone replaced the retiring Charles Evans Hughes as Chief Justice in 1941, Roosevelt appointed Jackson to the resulting vacant Associate's seat.

Jackson was granted a leave of absence from the Court in 1945 and traveled to Germany to act as the United States' chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. Jackson pursued his prosecutorial role with a great deal of vigor (for instance, referring in arguments to Hermann Göring as being "half militarist, half gangster"), but resigned his position as prosecutor after the first trial and returned to the U.S. in the midst of controversy.

Jackson had informally been promised the Chief Justiceship by Roosevelt; however, the seat came open while Jackson was in Germany, and FDR was no longer alive. President Truman was faced with two factions, one recommending Jackson for the seat, the other advocating Hugo Black. In an attempt to avoid controversy, Truman appointed Fred Vinson. Jackson blamed machinations by Black for his being passed over for the seat, and began a long feud with Black, which was heavily covered in the press and cast the New Deal Court in a negative light.

Jackson died in Washington, D.C. at the age of 62 and was interred in Frewsburg, New York.

[X-Servative]

Didn't Wynona Ryder have multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors for something like Xanax. I don't seem to remember her being charged with "doctor shopping."

[vikingcelt]

They are constantly exhorting us to go "shopping"...since that will keep our moronic little minds (to them) off of profoundly important matters...like why are "they" allowing this country to self destruct...so what in heavens is wrong with going "doctor shopping." I, personally, procure those necessary drugs that keep me from going completely and totally insane with ANGER over what they are doing to MY homeland (not some illiterate, criminal, illegal alien's homeland but MY homeland), from a foreign land far, far away and there's not a damned thing "they" can do about it.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

I thought one should always seek a second opinion, or maybe a third or a fourth. I doctor shopped through three doctors before I took all their advice en total and had spinal surgery.

[ladyinred]

Actually, what this probably means is that the buying-drungs-from-his-maid angle didn't pay off so they're trying elsewhere.

Good point.

[bayourod]

Rush probably wore fake glasses with an attached mustachio, gave the doctors a fake drivers license that he bought at the Mexican flea market, and told them that he was a liberal Democrat piano tuner.

[truthandjustice1]

There are laws, and there are witch hunts. Does this meet the "reasonable man" test?

[ladyinred]

You know, I think you are right.
Maybe she did hers for a role she was playing. (sarcasm)

[Right_in_Virginia]

What's illegal is to go to multiple doctors to each prescribe you drugs.

Did a licensed physician write the prescription? Did a licensed pharmacy fill it?

Going to multiple doctors points to an addiction...which has been admitted and is being treated. But, illegal? How?

[ladyinred]

LOL!

[PogySailor]

For example, I saw a story last night on the local news about a group of mothers being hauled before some group of busy-bodies in Pinellas county FL. The reason? They were breaking a county ordinance for watching each others kids more than two hours per week without a permit from the county.

[Toskrin]

I'm a physician in private practice, and this happens all the time. It's got nothing to do with getting a second opinion, or seeing two doctors sequentially and getting narcotics from each. It has to do with using deception to get multiple narcotics prescriptions from different doctors over several months. Here's how it almost always works:

See doctor "A" for chronic pain and take opiate prescription to pharmacy "1".
See doctor "B" for chronic pain and take opiate prescription to pharmacy "2".
See doctor "C" for chronic pain and take opiate prescription to pharmacy "3".
And so on. Get refills from all doctors for several months.

Sometimes they're abusing it themselves, and sometimes they're selling it. And pharmacies that are not the same corporation aren't linked and don't know about the other prescriptions - privacy laws.

There are several slip-ups they can make to get caught but if they are cautious and disciplined it can go on a long time. And usually when they are caught all that happens is that the doctor and pharmacy involved won't deal with them, so on to the next ones and do the same thing.

[k2blader]

Please enlighten us. What law has he broken in the past?

Driving above the speed limit, perhaps?

[HapaxLegamenon]

Can someones private medical records be released to the public like this?

[DougSc]

The people who are doctor shopping and getting the drugs from many doctors are reselling the drugs to make money. There is rarely a case where they send someone addicted to drugs to jail unless they have been arrested many times after refusing to go to treatment or have been to several treatments and are still using the drugs. I have never heard of anyone even being charged, let alone going to jail, as a first time offender.

[Az Joe]

Court order only.

[ladyinred]

Driving above the speed limit, perhaps?

I am still waiting to be informed! Maybe he knows something we don't? :-)