Limbaugh Likely to Wait Several Days

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Rush Limbaugh will likely have to wait several days to find out if he violated his deal with prosecutors in a prescription fraud case when authorities found him in possession of a bottle of Viagra that was apparently prescribed to someone else, a spokesman for the state attorney's office said Tuesday.

Limbaugh, 55, was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after he returned on his private plane from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Customs officials found Viagra in his bag, but his name wasn't on the prescription, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller said.

Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, said the prescription was written in his doctor's name "for privacy purposes." The conservative radio host was released without being charged and investigators confiscated the Viagra, which treats erectile dysfunction.

Limbaugh joked about the search on his radio show Tuesday, saying Customs officials didn't believe him when he said he got the pills at the Clinton Library and he was told they were blue M&Ms. He later added, chuckling: "I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it."

It is generally not illegal under Florida law for a physician to prescribe medication in a third party's name if all parties are aware and the doctor documents it correctly, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County. He would not discuss specifics in the Limbaugh case Tuesday.

The sheriff's office was continuing its investigation and would turn the case over to prosecutors in several days, Edmondson said. The alleged violation could be a second-degree misdemeanor if Limbaugh's doctor doesn't confirm the prescription.

Under last month's deal with prosecutors, authorities will dismiss a "doctor shopping" charge if Limbaugh doesn't get arrested for 18 months, among other terms. Prosecutors had said he illegally deceived multiple doctors to get overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Limbaugh denied the charges but admitted he was addicted to painkillers.

This latest case may simply be dismissed if prosecutors can confirm with Limbaugh's doctor that the prescription was indeed for Limbaugh, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Florida.

In addition, possession of Viagra is in a "completely different universe than a matter that would involve Schedule Two (controlled) substances such as OxyContin" Coffey added.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Viagra is not considered a controlled substance because "it's not something you can be addicted to," said DEA Investigator Maria Gilbert.

The Food and Drug Administration oversees regulations concerning non-addictive drugs that are not considered controlled substances, Gilbert said. A telephone call to the FDA was not immediately returned Tuesday.

You connect the dots. like Bill O'Reilly said on Fox:

O'REILLY: But, I don't even think there's going to be a correction. But what I laid out about private planes, authorities checking medicine kits, particularly of a guy like Rush Limbaugh, it very rarely happens. So I only can conclude that in Palm Beach, where Mr. Limbaugh lives, they're out to get this guy.

SUSKAUER: Let's -- let's talk about the authorities. We're not talking about Palm Beach County state attorney's office, who are the prosecutors. We're talking about Customs. And, the last that I know, Customs is the federal government. And that's who checked him.

O'REILLY: You're talking about a county where all these people know each other. It's a big clubhouse.

SUSKAUER: OK.

WEINTRAUB: A small, private airport.

. . . .

SUSKAUER: OK, well, you know what? Bill, I disagree with you because it's Customs, it's the federal government --

O'REILLY: Well, they handed it over to the Palm Beach sheriff. They handed it right to the Palm Beach sheriff. It's not a federal beef. They handed it right to them.

. . .

O'REILLY: It's more than the right to privacy. It was a malicious, cheap --

SUSKAUER: Oh, please.

WEINTRAUB: It was cheap.

O'REILLY: -- cheap, tactic by the Palm Beach authorities, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. They really -- if I were Limbaugh, I'd move right on out of there. I'd get out of there. They're after him.

Connect the dots ? O'Reilly seems to have glossed over the point that Customs IS Federal. It's their job to do what they did ... would you expect them to make exceptions for Rush ?

But it seems like O'Reilly expect some sort of deferential treatment for Rush - "particularly of a guy like Rush Limbaugh,"

A known ex-drug addict, flying in his private plane from a destination known as a major drug transit point, who attempts to bypass the inspections area ?

He seems upset because " Well, they handed it over to the Palm Beach sheriff "
... Well, what would you want them to do if they find prescription pills that appear to belong to someone else ?

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