Posted on 08/02/2004 11:47:12 AM PDT by weekendwarrior
Edited on 08/02/2004 12:22:46 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
In the early days of the Saturday Night Live television program, a character named Emily Litella would begin her Weekend Update guest editorial with a question like: "What's all this fuss I hear about an eagle rights amendment?"
She would prattle on indignantly until alerted that she had misunderstood -- it was "equal rights amendment." She would pause, then say, to peals of laughter, "Never mind."
The Sentinel is having such a moment today, with a front-page correction of last year's series about the prescription painkiller OxyContin, but I don't think anyone is amused.
The newspaper acknowledged in February that it had found serious flaws in the way it characterized David Rokisky, the subject of a companion series, who had undergone rapid detoxification to treat his addiction to the drug. Still, the Sentinel took solace in the belief that its main series -- about hundreds of deaths from overdose -- was solid.
Wrong.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
This is a case study on how the media can just get things wrong......
Interesting turn of events, but there is no need to scream.
Interesting follow on:
Many pain docs were so harrassed over prescribing OxyContin that they switched to Methadone.
Methadone is notoriously easy to overdose on, one reason being the fact that there is no "high" from the drug, and the other being its extremely long half-life. People trying to get high from methadone will likely WAY overdose.
Prescribing information for methadone recommends increasing dosages no more often than six days because of its cumulative effect.
People trying to get high on either of these drugs face grave risks, but any pharmacist worth his salt will tell you Methadone is by far the more dangerous of the two.
Properly used, OxyContin is an excellent drug for control of chronic pain. Too damn bad it's been so maligned that Docs are scared to prescribe it for patients who need it.
(steely)
Pain patients have been victims all along in this mess.
Doctors in some places hesitate to prescribe the drug because of concerns about misuse and liability.
Criminals are stealing the drug from patients.
Regulators and media types are stopping just short of trying to get the drug banned.
Meanwhile, for thousands, this is the first drug that has truly helped them to deal with their pain problems.
So, was the original oxycontin investigation just a means of making Rush Limbaugh look bad, or rather, a means of keeping the public focused on his drug addiction problem?
After all these years I still remember her diatribe about the push to "conserve natural race horses". As she aptly elucidated, all horses deserve equal protection! ;)
I don't know the answer but I DO KNOW the liberal bent of the paper ("affectionately known as the "Orlando SLANTINEL")!
Personally, I'd dump the rag in a moment but my wife reads it daily (but rarely believes what they have to say) and likes the crossword puzzles and TV guide...
to log in (from bugmenot.com)
What's all this fuss I hear about violins on television?
All that and more:
Keeping the Drug War funded.
Keeping quack treatment clinics funded (yeah, they will "treat" you for your marijuana problem).
Keeping the public frightened.
After all these years I still remember her diatribe about the push to "conserve natural race horses". As she aptly elucidated, all horses deserve equal protection! ;)
Sigh, fond Glida Radner remembrance bump.
Gilda Radner as Emily Latella, that is.
Whats this I hear about busting school children!?!
Oh, bussing school children. Thats very different .... nevermind.
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