[ehib8yPc]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/1...ugh/index.html

Limbaugh admits addiction to pain medication

Friday, October 10, 2003 Posted: 6:56 PM EDT (2256 GMT)

(CNN) -- Rush Limbaugh announced on his radio program Friday that he is addicted to pain medication and that he is checking himself into a treatment center immediately.

"You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life," the conservative commentator said in a statement on his nationally syndicated radio show.

"I need to tell you today that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication."

Law enforcement sources said last week that Limbaugh's name had come up during an investigation into a black market drug ring in Palm Beach County, Florida. The sources said that authorities were looking into the illegal sale of the prescription drugs OxyContin and hydrocodone.

Limbaugh, who has a residence in Palm Beach County, was named by sources as a possible buyer. He was not the focus of the investigation, according to the sources.

The radio talk show host said he first became addicted to painkillers "some years ago," following spinal surgery. However, he added, "the surgery was unsuccessful and I continued to have severe pain in my lower back and also in my neck due to herniated discs. I am still experiencing that pain."

He had tried to break his dependence in the past and has checked himself into medical facilities twice before, he said.

Limbaugh said that he is "not making any excuses" and that he is "no role model."

"I refuse to let anyone think I am doing something great here, when there are people you never hear about, who face long odds and never resort to such escapes. They are the role models," he said.

He would not provide details of his current problem, citing the ongoing investigation.

"At the present time, the authorities are conducting an investigation, and I have been asked to limit my public comments until this investigation is complete."

Sources said the investigation began nine months ago when Wilma Cline, a former housekeeper at Limbaugh's oceanfront Palm Beach mansion, approached authorities.

"I will only say that the stories you have read and heard contain inaccuracies and distortions, which I will clear up when I am free to speak about them," he said.

Limbaugh has not been charged with any crime.

Earlier this month, Limbaugh resigned from his position as football commentator on ESPN after making remarks that critics considered racist.

Limbaugh said he left the show "Sunday NFL Countdown" to protect the network from the uproar caused by his statement that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

He did not apologize for the comments and does not consider them to be racist remarks, merely an observation of the media's reaction to McNabb's success.

The revelation about Limbaugh's possible addiction to OxyContin appeared the same week he resigned from ESPN. In the statement read by Limbaugh Friday, he did not name the pain medication he said he's addicted to.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction specialist in Pasadena, California, told CNN that if Limbaugh is addicted to OxyContin, "We're really talking about opiate addiction. The withdrawal is miserable and painful and it takes a long time to recover."

The disease is insidious, Pinksy said.

"It's a progressive disease, and when it progresses, the house of cards falls." Still, he said, "I've seen miracle recoveries."

Limbaugh is one of the most recognized talk show hosts in the nation and also one of the most controversial. In 2001, he signed a nine-year contract with Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates his show to nearly 600 stations, for a total salary package reported to exceed $200 million.

It is estimated that nearly 20 million people listen to Limbaugh's show daily.

Also in 2001, Limbaugh learned he had a hearing problem. He was diagnosed in May and told his listeners in October that he was almost entirely deaf as a result of an autoimmune inner-ear disease. He said he had lost 100 percent hearing in his left ear and 80 percent in his right ear.

He successfully had a cochlear implant placed in his left ear to restore his hearing. He announced in January 2002 that he could hear his own radio show "for the first time in nearly four months via a medical marvel."

Until then, he relied solely on a TelePrompTer and his staff's assistance to understand his callers.

[IdomeoreTew]

Rush Limbaugh in pill probe
http://www.nydailynews.com/10-02-200...p-110349c.html


Talk radio star had drug habit, maid sez

By TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Breaking news: Rush on the record

Talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.

The moralizing motormouth was turned in by his former housekeeper - who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.

Wilma Cline, 42, says Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone - and went through detox twice.

"There were times when I worried," Cline told the National Enquirer, which broke the story in an edition being published today. "All these pills are enough to kill an elephant - never mind a man."

Cline could not be reached for further comment yesterday, but her lawyer, Ed Shohat of Miami, said his client "stands behind the story."

The Daily News independently confirmed that Limbaugh is under investigation.

His lawyers, Jerry Fox and Dan Zachary, refused to comment on the accusations and said any "medical information" about him was private and not newsworthy.

They said Limbaugh - who has a top-rated syndicated radio show but resigned early today from a weekly ESPN football segment amid criticism of racial comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb - was traveling and had no comment.

The Palm Beach County state attorney's office, which is running the probe, said it could not confirm or deny the allegations.

Scoring in parking lot

Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.

She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities.

She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him - 4,350 in one 47-day period - and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her.

In one missive, Limbaugh pushed Cline to get more "little blues" - code for OxyContin, the powerful narcotic nicknamed hillbilly heroin, she said.

"You know how this stuff works ... the more you get used to, the more it takes," the May 2002 E-mail reads. "But I will try and cut down to help out."

The account Cline gave the Enquirer is that she became Limbaugh's drug connection in 1998, nine months after taking a housekeeping job at his Palm Beach mansion.

It started after her husband, David, hurt himself in a fall, and Limbaugh asked how he was.

"He asked me casually, 'Is he getting any pain medication?' I said, 'Yes - he's had surgery, and the doctor gave him hydro-codone 750,'" Cline said. "To my astonishment, he said, 'Can you spare a couple of them?'"

Husband's pills

Cline said she gave Limbaugh 10 pills the next day and agreed to give him 30 of her husband's pills each month. When the doctor stopped renewing the prescription in early 1999, Limbaugh allegedly went ballistic.

"His tone was nasty and bullying. He said, 'I don't care how or what you do, but you'd better - better! - get me some more,'" Cline said.

The housekeeper said she found a new supplier and arranged to hide Limbaugh's stashes under his mattress so his wife, Marta, wouldn't find them.

After several months, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox and didn't need any more pills, Cline said.

But a month later, he said his left ear was hurting and asked her for hydrocodone, followed by an order for OxyContin.

Limbaugh, 52, suffered from autoimmune ear disease, a condition that left him deaf and had to be corrected with cochlear implant surgery two years ago.

Cline said she continued to make deliveries to Limbaugh even after she quit as his housekeeper in July 2001 - but he became increasingly paranoid, even patting her down for recording devices, she said.

In June 2002, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox a second time.

After he returned, "I went to talk to him, and he cried a little bit," she said. "He told me that if it ever got out, he would be ruined."

She claimed that a lawyer for Limbaugh gave her a payoff - $80,000 he owed her, plus another $120,000 - and asked her to destroy the computer that contained the E-mail records.

Soon after, Cline and her husband retained Shohat and contacted prosecutors.

Feeling no pain

The drugs Rush Limbaugh is accused of abusing are legal only with a doctor's prescription. All are habit-forming.

Hydrocodone

Anti-cough agent and painkiller similar to morphine. Side effects include anxiety, poor mental performance, emotional dependence, drowsiness, mood changes, difficulty breathing and itchiness.

Lorcet

Brand name for the combination of Tylenol and hydrocodone, prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Side effects include dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, dizziness, tiredness, muscle twitches, sweating and itching.

OxyContin

Potent time-release medication for relief of moderate to severe pain, known as hillbilly heroin because of black-market popularity in some rural areas. Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, sweating, muscle twitches and decreased sex drive. A large dose can be fatal.

Rush tells why he quit

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said Thursday he resigned as an ESPN sports analyst to protect network employees from the uproar over critical comments he made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” late Wednesday, three days after saying on the show that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

“The great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction,” Limbaugh told the National Association of Broadcasters at its convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. “The path of least resistance became for me to resign.”

Limbaugh did not directly address media reports that began surfacing Wednesday that said the talk show host was under investigation in Florida for allegedly illegally obtaining and abusing prescription painkillers.

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the politically focused “Rush Limbaugh Show,” issued a statement from Limbaugh earlier Thursday saying: “I am unaware of any investigation by any authority involving me. No government representative has contacted me directly or indirectly. If my assistance is required, I will, of course, cooperate fully.”

Talking about his comments about McNabb on ESPN, Limbaugh said Thursday that he had thought about the issue the night before making the comments. He also said he was used to scrutiny after 15 years in radio and expects to get attention.

“I figured if I’m going to do this (the ESPN show) I should be who I am,” he said.

Limbaugh has denied that his comments were racially motivated.

“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,” Limbaugh said on Sunday’s show. “There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”


Originally published on October 2, 2003

[effebrala]

Limbaugh should definitely seek treatment for his addiction to oxycontin. It's good to see that Dr. Drew is talking to the public about drug addiction and recovery. It would be nice to see Limbaugh make a comeback and beat his addiction. Perhaps he should appear on Celebrity Rehab or look for other treatment centers.

[Civilrecordzz]

Is Rush using again?

If so, should we re-title this thread:

"Rush Limbaugh - drug-addicted idiot partisan hack troll doofus bore bigot"

[Evdokia]

It's why they call him 'Rush"!

[bellson]

LOL

[ftqwhbvxlcfop]

I find it funny how this almost 5 year old story gets exhumed.What did Heat Ledger die of? An "accidental" Rx OD?

[isopsmypovA]

Ledger did not make a career out of lecturing others. When your stance is holier-than-thou... these things will always come back to bite you.

[nd90t3sf]

... An "accidental" Rx OD?

Precisely that ^

Do you have info or evidence to the contrary?

If not, then why the "quotes"

[timmybrown]

why the "quotes"

[SawbasyWrab]

Precisely that ^

Do you have info or evidence to the contrary?

If not, then why the "quotes"

I added the quotes because accidental is not what his death seems, IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger


At about 2:45 PM on January 22, 2008, Ledger was found unconscious in his fourth-floor loft apartment, at 421 Broome Street, in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.[1][2] Emergency crews arrived soon after but were unable to revive him.[1][83] He was pronounced dead at 3:36 PM, and his body removed from the apartment, while crowds of onlookers began gathering outside throughout that night.[1][83]
After two weeks of intense media speculation about possible causes of his death, on 6 February 2008, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York released its conclusions, based on an initial autopsy of January 23, 2008, and a subsequent complete toxicological analysis.[84][6][7][85] The report concludes, in part, "Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine."[6][80] It also states definitively: "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."[6][80] The medications found in the toxicological analysis are commonly prescribed in the United States for insomnia, anxiety, depression, pain, and/or cold symptoms.[6][80] The Medical Examiner's Office also announced that it would not be publicly disclosing the official estimated time of death.[86][87] The official announcement of the cause of Ledger's death heightened concerns about general "abuse of prescription medications."[7][85] Late in February 2008, a still-ongoing DEA investigation of medical professionals "cleared" two American medics, who practice in Los Angeles and Houston, of "any wrongdoing," determining that "the doctors in question had prescribed Ledger other medications–not the pills that killed him."[88][89]

[favwebbb]

There is a thread already entitled "Heath Ledger Dead at 28!"

Maybe your paranoid assertions would be more at home there.

[BliliBoopsy]

Just to clear things up:

It's the thread that was exhumed - by a troll with something to sell. Limbaugh hasn't been exhumed - although we wish it were possible.