Posted on 10/12/2003 1:59:43 PM PDT by wheelgunguru
(CBS/AP) Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh stunned listeners of his nationwide radio show by announcing on the air that he's hooked on painkillers and is checking himself into rehab.
In the past, Limbaugh has decried drug use and abuse on his bluntly conservative show, mocking President Bill Clinton for not inhaling and often making the case that drug crimes deserve punishment.
"Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up," Limbaugh said on his short-lived television show on Oct. 5, 1995.
During the same show, he commented that the statistics that show blacks go to prison more often than whites for the same drug offenses only illustrate that "too many whites are getting away with drug use."
Law enforcement sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press that Limbaugh was being investigated for by the Palm Beach County, Fla., state attorney's office.
"Immediately following this broadcast, I am checking myself into a treatment center for the next 30 days to once and for all break the hold this highly addictive medication has on me," he said Friday.
"You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life," Limbaugh said. "So I need to tell you today that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication."
Attempts to reach Limbaugh by phone, e-mail, fax and at his Florida home were unsuccessful Friday.
Limbaugh gave up his job as an ESPN sports analyst Oct. 1, three days after saying on the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.
The reports of possible drug abuse surfaced at about the same time, first in the National Enquirer. The tabloid had interviewed Wilma Cline, who said she became Limbaugh's drug connection after working as his maid. She said Limbaugh had abused OxyContin and other painkillers.
Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney's office, said Friday his office could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was under way. Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, did not return a message seeking comment.
CBS News Correspondent Paul Moniz reports experts tell him addiction to these types of drugs is difficult to treat long-term. Studies of abstinence rates show that only 30-50 percent of rehab patients are able to remain drgu-free at one year and, at 12 years, only 25 percent are drug free.
"Some specialists regard prescription drug addiction as a chronic disorder and say a realistic treatment goal is sharp reduction in use, not total abstinence, Moniz says.
This is Limbaugh's third time in rehab, Moniz adds.
Limbaugh said he started taking painkillers "some years ago" after a doctor prescribed them following a spinal surgery. His back pain stemming from the surgery persisted, so Limbaugh said he started taking pills and became hooked.
"Over the past several years I have tried to break my dependence on pain pills and, in fact, twice checked myself into medical facilities in an attempt to do so. I have recently agreed with my physician about the next steps."
A spokesman for Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show" to more than 650 markets, declined to elaborate on Limbaugh's previous treatment.
OxyContin is a narcotic painkiller that is widely prescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting from such problems as arthritis, back trouble and cancer.
Limbaugh reported two years ago that he had lost most of his hearing because of an autoimmune inner-ear disease. He had surgery to have an electronic device placed in his skull to restore his hearing.
Research has found that abuse of opiate-based painkillers like OxyContin can lead to profound hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear, said Dr. Gail Ishiyama, an assistant professor at the UCLA department of neurology. She could not confirm that was Limbaugh's case without access to his medical history.
Steve Plamann, executive editor of The National Enquirer, said he was gratified by Limbaugh's admission and his plans to seek help.
"We didn't do our stories gleefully. We just reported the facts," Plamann said.
However, Limbaugh said that reports about his addiction have inaccuracies and distortions which he will clarify when he is able to speak about them.
Premiere spokesman Michael Sitrick said Limbaugh is expected to return to his program after completing treatment. Several guest hosts were scheduled until then.
He finally admitted his addiction after the media broke the story. Even then, he waited a weak with a fairly lame excuse.
If you don't mind me asking -- how long did you take to break the addiction.
The left is going to point that out and it's the truth. He'll deal with it and I hope he simply gets right and takes whatever punishment he's got coming like a man.
I'm praying for strength for Rush and look forward to listening to him in the future but for now, he needs to get himself right.
You missed the point. He did not deny it when confronted. He didn't come up with lame excuse like "I took the pills, but I didn't swallow".
In a twisted way, that's probably true -- better exposed then decomposed. However, I wish that someone would ask more questions about Wilma and David Cline's motives.
They are junkies which never fail to rat out friends and connections for money and/or avoiding jail. Happens every time.
I don't know. My point is that, to the best of my recollection, he has not been explicitly for "The War on Drugs."
I think even the eight year old 1995 quote, in its entirety, probably went something like, "If you want to stop this problem, then you must send the users to jail," NOT "I advocate putting a stop to this problem, and I advocate sending users to jail."
I consider the "I can't comment until I know all the facts" explanation rather lame.
I think CBS is overrated.
But that wasn't his explanation! He did comment! He laid his problems out for all to see!
Sadly, many people who suffer from chronic pain do end up using prescription drugs 'recreationally' if they become addicted.
And having your maid score some for you because your doc will not write a script for you is hardly legal.
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