Eventhough the author doesn't understand ezctly what the doctor shopping law is, it is quite possible that anybody could run afoul of the law by visiting a second doctor. The point is, Rush should take responsibility, but the punishment needs to fit the crime. Do you really believe that Rush should be jailed, when no one on the face of the earth has been prosecuted under similar circumstances? Yeah, that's fair.
We don't know the circumstances of this case as yet. The main goal of Rush and his legal team seem to be to make sure we don't know them.
If it turns out he has broken the law, let him suffer the same penalities you or I would. This "playing the victim" is the liberals game, and should be beneath principled conservatives.
I agree. I'm just a little tired of the notion that 'Saint' Rush's problems have been brought on by anyone other than himself.
Do you really believe that Rush should be jailed,...
Of course not. I never even implied that.
when no one on the face of the earth has been prosecuted under similar circumstances?
Assuming that's true,(I doubt no one has ever been prosecuted for Dr. shopping) he should be prosecuted and given a sentence as if he was just an average Joe.
Yeah, that's fair.
For what it's worth, the think the drug laws in this country are asinine. If any good may comes out of Rush's public problems, perhaps it is that we can reform our drug law to something that makes sense.
As for Rush being prosecuted, it's very easy. People who become addicted to painkilling drugs are never charged with any crime relating to acquiring the drugs from doctors.
Actually, I think that had I been in FL, I may have violated that "Dr shopping" law.
I had seen an orthopedist, and I was having problems with my back, foot, and leg... 3 different issues. For the pain, he prescribed vicodin. Well, one night, my foot really got worse, and it turns out that this Dr completely missed the fact that I had 4 broken bones in my foot. He didn't even bother with an x-ray, even though my foot was swollen to the point that I couldn't tie my shoe, and it hurt, even though I have nerve damage, and I have practicly no feeling in my foot. So, I went and found another orthopedist.
When I got to him, he found a more serious problem, and sent me to a neurosurgeon. But in the mean time, he offered me a Rx for percocet. I told him that I didn't need it, because I had a Rx for vicodin, but I did ask if he could give me an Rx for something weaker (I'm hypersensative to hydrocodone: When I take one, I need to go lay down for about 9 hours). So, he gave me a Rx for Darvocet. The neurosurgeon decided that I needed surgury, and in the mean time, gave me an Rx for oxycontin.
Frankly, I'm scared to death of becoming addicted to these sort of drugs, and I feel that I've got a pretty high threshold for pain. My grandfather got addicted to Rx pain killers in the 1950's, so I've always avoided them unless I had no choice. Out of the vicodin Rx for 60 tabs, I took 3, and only one of the oxycontin, immediately after my surgery. I did take quite a few of the darvocet, but never more than 2 at a time, no more than twice a day... They just took a bit of the edge off the pain.
I can understand how easy it would be to become addicted to those pain killers. If not for my irrational (maybe it is rational) fear of addiction, I'm sure that I could have eased my pain. But I'd rather deal with pain than take a chance of addiction.
Mark