Jeb Bush's daughter arrested on false prescription charge (SCARY ARREST PHOTO)

CNN ^ | January 29, 2002

[Ganymede]

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- The daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Tuesday after she allegedly tried to fill a false prescription at a pharmacy, Tallahassee, Florida, police said.

Noelle Bush was picked up by police at a Walgreens store and charged with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance, a jail spokesman said. Police said she was attempting to obtain Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety disorder. The drug can make users feel drowsy and dizzy as it reduces nervousness and tension.

[Saundra Duffy]

My son says he's gonna wean himself off this crap. Replace it with working out, drinking more water, and counseling. I am so grateful for the information I found on this site. Thanks to all for your uplifting comments.

[Saundra Duffy]

Bless you, dear freeper sister. The problem is that my son didn't understand all the side effects. I will warn him about going cold turkey. He should discuss the side effects he's been experiencing with his doc and express that he wants to be weaned off. Thanks again, sis. I will keep in constant touch with my son as he goes through this nightmare. Good news today from the court-ordered counselor about him seeing the kids. Thanks for your concern; I love you, JudyB1938. For victory & freedom!!!

[bushfamfan]

As for the cocaine charge with GW in college. Give some evidence or shut up. And as for the poor going to jail for cocaine-can someone familiar with someone being caught with cocaine give the punishment for such? Do they lock them up and throw away the key? It seems as if there are a lot of drug addicts who have been caught more than once getting more chances. I've read that since this is her first such offense-they are sentenced to rehab and fined.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Shame on CNN. Did anyone see the attrocious pic of beautiful Barbara Olsen MSNBC ran after her death by terrorists in the Pentagon plane crash? It takes a lot of effort to make someone that gorgeous appear homely. I don't buy this pic's accuracy for a moment. Trust must be earned. CNN has a proven track record of deception.

[theoutsideman]

Only in America can a piece of shit like this land a top media talk show. A convicted felon, a con artist and thief. How proud CNN must be of this filth.

[tasty_cruller]

LOL!

[bettina0]

I totally agree with you. What kind of person is thrilled with others' misfortune?

[ChadGore]

yikes . . . she almost looks like a democrat

[holyscroller]

How'd you get your name? I thought maybe you were from Tukwila, WA

[Dubya]

She needs a good swift kick

That might help.

[GeronL]

as opposed to NOT being human??

Two words: Al Gore

I'll give you that one.

[Stone Mountain]

From the Orlando Sentinel:

http://orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locmiket31013102jan31.column?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

Noelle Bush needs help, as all addicts do

Published January 31, 2002

I knew Noelle Bush had a drug problem before she was arrested.

The state editor told me.

He knew because most of the reporters in Tallahassee who cover the governor knew about it.

We are not the mudslingers we are portrayed to be. This was Jeb's family affair and had no bearing on his job, so it was off-limits.

But when Noelle was arrested, the family matter became a criminal matter and therefore a story.

From a political perspective, it will be embarrassing and distracting for Bush. I hope it will be one more thing -- enlightening.

In the booking picture of Noelle Bush, she looks like she could have been arrested on a street corner, trying to earn enough for her next fix. She has the hollow-eyed, defeated look of an addict.

But when an addict is the daughter of a doctor, lawyer or governor, she is upgraded to "victim of substance abuse."

The only real difference between substance abusers and addicts is the drug they are addicted to and their financial resources.

Poor crack users are addicts. Wealthy prescription-drug users are substance abusers.

We think of one as a criminal -- and the other as a family problem.

I am not saying Noelle Bush is a criminal, far from it. Jail will do her no good. When it comes to addiction, all jail does is delay the next fix.

What I am saying is: Let's put all addicts in the same boat and treat them the same way.

Addiction is a medical problem, resulting from a mix of social and personal issues, possibly aggravated by genetic predisposition.

And yet we continue to attack the problem with cops and courts, which is why we haven't made any headway since the 1960s in curbing addiction. Our generation has been doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past generation. We toss aside reality for law-and-order rhetoric.

For the past 10 years, more people have been sent to jail for drug offenses than any other charge. Last year, almost 29 percent of Florida prisoners had been convicted of drug offenses. Karen Johnson, a woman whose main crime was addiction to painkillers, died of withdrawal in the Orange County Jail last year.

I am not familiar with Noelle Bush's case except that she has been in drug-treatment centers in the past and the problem has been ongoing for years. But I wonder if she could have wound up like Karen Johnson if her parents didn't have the resources to intervene.

The Bushes did what any of us would do in the circumstances. They tried to help their loved one and to keep her out of the criminal-justice system. If not for that support, she may well have run afoul of the law years ago.

Noelle will not go to jail, nor should she unless she endangers somebody. But what is right for her also is right for some other addicts who wind up in jail because they have no money or family support.

They need help, not punishment. Yet the Department of Corrections, under Jeb Bush, has approved a $13 million budget cut that will slash drug-treatment programs for inmates and scale back programs to help addicts outside the prisons.

It's not because the programs don't work. Of those prisoners who completed the treatment program, 70 percent stayed out of jail.

Jeb Bush should look at Noelle and consider what her fate would be if she were being sent off to a jail cell with nobody there to help her.

And if that thought grabs at a father's heart, then he should reconsider what his administration is doing.

[Quila]

Only in America can a piece of shit like this land a top media talk show. A convicted felon, a con artist and thief. How proud CNN must be of this filth.

Convicted felons in the media. Let's see, G. Gordon Liddy, I think Ollie North was convicted over Iran Contra....

[Uncle Meat]

Caption for your photo of Billary&Jr:That one in the spotlight,he don't look right,GET HIM UP AGAINST THE WALL!

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Has anybody told u to get $crewed today? If not let me be the first.