Posted on 06/27/2006 2:29:14 AM PDT by Caipirabob
Rush Limbaugh was briefly detained Monday at Palm Beach International Airport when customs agents inspected the conservative talk show host's luggage and found Viagra that belonged to two Florida doctors, authorities said.
"He was not arrested," Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Pete Palenzuela said.
Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, issued a statement through a spokesman saying that agents found a "non-narcotic prescription drug, which had been prescribed by Mr. Limbaugh's treating physician but labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes."
Limbaugh, 55, of Palm Beach, and three others arrived on a private jet from the Dominican Republic to the General Air Facility at PBIA on Monday afternoon, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service said.
Agents searched the plane during a routine customs inspection and found a pill bottle that was not in Limbaugh's name, said Jennifer Connors, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman. Agents confiscated the medicine and called the Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation.
"Mr. Limbaugh was cooperative. He gave a statement that he had a bottle in his possession and that it was Viagra," said sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller, who noted that the prescription was filled in Florida.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
FGS, not since Arlo Guthrie put his tray table in the locked and upright position and looked down on Los Angelees has one man been so hounded. Please, Mr. Customs Man, find a new *bad boy* fer yer sights.
OK, there is a good chance that a non-lazy public defender could have gotten this "pretty standard" deal for Rush.
I would suggest that Rush wasted a lot of money hiring the most expensive lawyer in Florida.
I have dealt with fancy lawyers, especially Florida fancy lawyers, and I can say that some of the laziest lawyers in Florida are these fancy lawyers who charge exorbitant fees.
Sometimes you get what you overpay for. . . "pretty standard" deals
I don't know enough about the law on non-controlled prescription drugs to mount much of an argument. If there's a serious black market for Viagra, or Lipitor, or Allegra, other non-controlled prescriptions, then I suppose there's a legitimate law enforcement issue. I haven't heard of such a thing. There was probably a lucrative black market in Cipro for a little while after the anthrax scare, but I don't have any first-hand knowledge.
If J. Smith has a prescription in the name of J. Doe, and J. Doe, M.D., explains to the authorities' satisfaction why he prescribed those pills to J. Smith, I don't see any danger. Dr. Doe isn't going to risk his license and livelihood lightly. If he says he acted to protect the confidentiality of one patient, I'm inclined to take him at his word. If he makes the same claim for twenty patients, not so much.
Only if the disclosure was made by one of his medical providers.
That depends on whether it is found in the possession of a DemocRAT or a Republican.
He might have been better off having a wife looking out for him.
Wait a minute. You've never received a manufacturers's sample of a precscription drug from your physician without a written prescription from that doctor? Do you always travel with every prescription bottle of every medicine you are taking? Now we know why the TSA is targeting 80 year old grandmothers. They may be in possession of prescription drugs for which they don't have the proper documentation of a valid prescription.
Unlikely. Rush was a target, not because he's conservative, but because he's rich. Cops and prosecutors get tired of going after poor black kids, and they like a bit of novelty.
I would suggest that Rush wasted a lot of money hiring the most expensive lawyer in Florida.
It was his money to waste, and the expense was proportionate to the risk.
Suppose you're down in Appalachicola, choosing between two restaurants. One is pretty dodgy, on probation from the local health department, and offers $2 all-you-can eat oysters. The other comes highly-recommended, endorsed by everyone who offers such endorsements, has five stars from Zagat's. and offers $20 all-you-can-eat oysters.
I'll take the more expensive one. Eighteen bucks vs. risk of food poisoning? No-brainer. Am I overcharged by 200% ? That depends on your values and your priorities.
Rush lives on a different scale from you or me. Where I'll throw out twenty dollars to avoid pain and annoyance, he'll throw out a hundred grand. He earned it, he owns it, and I can't say it was poorly spent.
Probably for good reasons.
I disagree.
Rush lives on a different scale from you or me.
Speak for yourself. I don't live very far from Rush.
We have to agree to disagree. I've talked to people with inside connections to the DA office, and I doubt your unfair characterization of the DA's motives or the local LEO's thoughts.
I do agree with your main point. Despite hiring the most expensive lawyer in Florida, Rush got a "pretty standard" deal; Rush didn't get anything different than a typical first offender on a drug crime.
If I'm listening to the radio 12-3 weekdays, it's pretty much Maharushdie (WRKO 680), unless the Sox are playing. I like 'BZ for Charles Osgoode, traffic and weather, but man were they ever ragtime during the memogate. They are painfully CBS on national issues, local stories are mostly accidents, murders and celebrities, nothing I care about.
I've addressed this particular point earlier in this thread.Briefly,it's a question of quantities (someone else in this thread said there were 29 pills) and other factors.Do a quick search if you're curious about my detailed responses earlier.
Do you always travel with every prescription bottle of every medicine you are taking?
I only take 2 medications.Both are heart medications and neither of them are "habit forming"...that is,controlled substances.When I'm traveling overseas,I always bring the bottles with me in case foreign Customs or Immigration officers have questions.When I'm traveling within the US,I don't because I know that,if asked to do so,I could easily prove that they're mine.
Now we know why the TSA is targeting 80 year old grandmothers. They may be in possession of prescription drugs for which they don't have the proper documentation of a valid prescription.
This is US Customs we're talking about here,not your local sheriff's department.Drugs are one of the many things they look for both with US citizens and non-citizens.A Customs agent could reasonably question any "drug" being brought into the country.
None of this explains why this story hit the news.Was some kind of official report generated by the agent in this matter? If so,is that standard procedure? And if a report was generated,is such a report a "public record" open to anyone who calls the Customs Service or visits their office or website?
One or more people involved in this matter certain could have an ax to grind with Rush.Perhaps he/she/they is a DUmmie Land type.But exactly what happened here and what violations,if any,of the law occurred are a separate issue,IMO.
Neither are in the Eastern time zone. Rush has said he moved to Florida, because it is on EST. That way he doesn't have to wake up at some ungodly hour to prepare for his national broadcast at 12 noon EST.
Unfortunately, Rush is making himself the story here... which will interfere with his message. There is such a thing as leading with one's chin, and if one is setting oneself up as a pundit, and an articulater of conservative values, one needs to be a little more circumspect.
Yes. Quite a boner, that.
(groans)
Thank you. I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress.
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