Rush's Attorney Claims Political Motive; Rush Compares Himself to Dean

NewsMax ^ | 12/5/03 | Wire

[anniegetyourgun]

While I don't condone Rush's drug addiction, this whole thing is really starting to smell bad. I also suspect that Rush is only recently finding out who his real friends are. One who should have been the first to give him a call is Bill Bennett. But, I wonder.....

[InvisibleChurch]

[Salvey]

One who should have been the first to give him a call is Bill Bennett

Actually, I did hear Bennett vigorously defend Rush on a radio talk show; however, I can't recall which one -- it might have been Sean Hannity's program(?).

[Zeppo]

In addition, Limbaugh received prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and Clonodine, used to treat high blood pressure.

I don't even pretend to be a pharmacist or a health care professional, but if Xanax and Clonodine are not controlled substances, I wonder under what authority the details of those prescriptions were released to law enforcement authorities (and subsequently to the press).

Wouldn't the provisions of HIPAA restrict or prevent the release of that information? Wouldn't the requesting law enforcement agency need to specify precisely what authority they had to inquire about those drugs? Doesn't HIPAA prevent the release of such information when it is not specifically within the narrowly-defined and justified requirements of a requesting authority?

[Bonaparte]

"And since when is Xanax prescribed for back pain?"

It's not and nobody, including Limbaugh, has claimed that it is. At the end of the article, it's made clear that he was prescribed 1) painkillers, 2) an antihypertensive and 3) an anti-anxiety agent (Xanax).

From what was stated in the article, it's also clear that he was prescribed about 2,000 "pills" over approximately 6 months. That's roughly 10 or 11 pills per day. I don't know the dosages involved per "pill" but for a patient being treated for three diagnoses, 10-11 "pills" per day sounds about right. Most of these prescriptions are written tid (3x/day), qid (4x/day) or prn (as needed, up to a specified daily limit).

[RadioOperator]

No, it looks and smells more like a political lynching.

Remember, this county had the Democrat controlled polling sites that started the mess in Bush's 2000 election, and since Rush has strongly criticized the election officials for this same county, (where the investigation is taking place), don't expect him to get fair treatment.

[jagrmeister]

Repeated troll abuse. Brief review of recent posts is telling.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

money-laundering

Do you alledge that Mr. Limbaugh converted money that didn't belong to him, or that he had obtained illegally, through bank transactions? I doubt it; as a multimillionaire Mr. Limbaugh utterly lacks the motive.

What you mean is that Mr. Limbaugh should have enabled the government to track all his substantial transactions. Never complain to me about the Patriot Act!

[playball0]

Generally pain killers are prescribed QID. I just had a foot operation and my script was for 1 or 2 pills four times a day as needed. I used them the first day and I didn't need it after that. For strong back pain 2100 pills seems reasonable to me. Still sound to me like a witchhunt. Stalinist tactics will backfire on these people. Let's hope it leads back to the Clintons.

[Grig]

"because if the material on Smoking Gun is true he is definitely guilty."

Guilty of what? Clearly he obtained those pills via legal prescriptions.

[Plutarch]

In addition, Limbaugh received prescriptions for... the Clonodine, used to treat high blood pressure.

Clonodine is used to prevent opioid withdrawal syndrome. A doctor would give him that medication if he was tapering Rush's pain medication from a higher to a lower dose. It prevents the flu-like symptoms that occur with "cold turkey" (so named, becuase goose bumps appear).

[Total Package]

Niacin is a B victim.

[Tacis]

Rush, it is a completely different issue. Your records have been seized and Dean's are still sealed because no one is suggesting that you have performed lots of abortions on young black girls, mostly welfare queens, from New York City.

[CobaltBlue]

The amount of norco (generic hydrocodone) he got from Dr. Dezeiel is astonishing.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/rushsearch5.html

[jagrmeister]

Abusing prescription drugs is a serious offense...ranks right up there with grand theft and homicide. I, personally, am grateful that this objective, non-partisan attorney who did NOT support Janet Reno or Bill McBride in the past is dedicated precious, limited resources to this fair investigation. Law enforcement resources should rightly be marshaled away from prosecution of violent crimes to this investigation. If Rush did acquire legal prescription drugs, I hope he serves hard time for it. /sarcasm off.