Rush Limbaugh Arrested.

[salmoneous]

Just to throw out a fact here - Rush was abusing Oxycontin. This is *not* a drug people abuse to deal with cronic pain. The people who are saying Rush was just dealing with his pain are almost certainlly mistaken.

Oxycontin is a powerful narcotic trapped in a time-release form. It is abused by breaking down the time release protections and injesting the narcotic as one short-term dose in order to get high.

Rush had no trouble getting legal prescriptions for pain releif levels of the drug. What he did was break several laws in order to get much larger does of the drug than would be used for pain relief. The amounts he aquired are what somebody would use for getting high.

Personally, I could care less if Rush was breaking the law to get high or not. And as far as I know Rush has never claimed he was just dealing with pain and not getting high. But people should understand what was going on, especially with all the disinformation some people are spreading.

Some info (from the Bush administration if that makes anyone happy):

Q: How Is OxyContin Abused?

A: OxyContin abusers either crush the tablet and ingest or snort it or dilute it in water and inject it. Crushing or diluting the tablet disarms the timed-release action of the medication and causes a quick, powerful high. Abusers have compared this feeling to the euphoria they experience when taking heroin. In fact, in some areas, the use of heroin is overshadowed by the abuse of OxyContin.

Q: How Does OxyContin Abuse Differ From Abuse of Other Pain Prescriptions?

A: Abuse of prescription pain medications is not new. Two primary factors, however, set OxyContin abuse apart from other prescription drug abuse. First, OxyContin is a powerful drug that contains a much larger amount of the active ingredient, oxycodone, than other prescription pain relievers. By crushing the tablet and either ingesting or snorting it, or by injecting diluted OxyContin, abusers feel the powerful effects of the opioid in a short time, rather than over a 12-hour span.

For more, see: http://www.ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/ms726/

 

[shrubber]

even on drugs....Rush is right.

 

[DawnCt1]

And I'm still waiting, despite the fact that Dawn has responded to other posters on this thread. You can't back up your point, Dawn, because you know it's not true.

In the interest of intellectual integrity, please produce a verifiable cite, or kindly acknowledge that you can't, your statement is deliberately misleading, and that Rush has been hypocritical.

As I said, its impossible because there are no liberals with the power of "excellence in broadcasting" in existance. Point out to me where Rush said that drug use was a great idea and he had no fault in it at all and then I will agree that he is a hypocrit. Until then, its a ridiculous arguement. He used, he got caught, he got help, he changed his behavior and he is paying for it.

 

[DawnCt1]

Just to throw out a fact here - Rush was abusing Oxycontin. This is *not* a drug people abuse to deal with cronic pain. The people who are saying Rush was just dealing with his pain are almost certainlly mistaken.

Oxycontin is a powerful narcotic trapped in a time-release form. It is abused by breaking down the time release protections and injesting the narcotic as one short-term dose in order to get high.

Rush had no trouble getting legal prescriptions for pain releif levels of the drug. What he did was break several laws in order to get much larger does of the drug than would be used for pain relief. The amounts he aquired are what somebody would use for getting high.

Personally, I could care less if Rush was breaking the law to get high or not. And as far as I know Rush has never claimed he was just dealing with pain and not getting high. But people should understand what was going on, especially with all the disinformation some people are spreading.

Some info (from the Bush administration if that makes anyone happy):

Q: How Is OxyContin Abused?

A: OxyContin abusers either crush the tablet and ingest or snort it or dilute it in water and inject it. Crushing or diluting the tablet disarms the timed-release action of the medication and causes a quick, powerful high. Abusers have compared this feeling to the euphoria they experience when taking heroin. In fact, in some areas, the use of heroin is overshadowed by the abuse of OxyContin.

Q: How Does OxyContin Abuse Differ From Abuse of Other Pain Prescriptions?

A: Abuse of prescription pain medications is not new. Two primary factors, however, set OxyContin abuse apart from other prescription drug abuse. First, OxyContin is a powerful drug that contains a much larger amount of the active ingredient, oxycodone, than other prescription pain relievers. By crushing the tablet and either ingesting or snorting it, or by injecting diluted OxyContin, abusers feel the powerful effects of the opioid in a short time, rather than over a 12-hour span.

For more, see: http://www.ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/ms726/

Oxycontin may be abused in the way that you have described. It also is abused by taking an excess number of pills for longer than perscribed. Having been perscribed oxycontin for acute pain (post op) I can tell you that it is effective for pain relief. Acute pain that doesn't go away becomes chronic pain. The dose required for severe pain needs to increase in order to relieve that pain. Cancer patients are often perscribed oxycontin and require ever increasing doses for pain control and then have to be switched to Dilaudid, which provides greater pain control. Unless you have any evidence that he was snorting or injecting it, rather than taking higher doses for pain relief, then you are making a huge leap. Some people have a high tolerance for pain, others do not.

 

[momx2]

I guess I just don't understand how some who post don't view Oxy (or any prescription drug addiction) the same as crack in addiction. The results are the same. No, Rush not did steal from anyone or hurt anyone to get it, because he had the money to get it easily. I once knew a lawyer addicted to crack and he didn't hurt anybody or steal to get it, he had the means to get it without doing so. But he and Rush were both addicts.

A few years ago I represented a guy who went in at gun point to a local CVS. Pointed a gun at the pharmasist and demanded all the oxy and then took him hostage for awhile while fleeing. His addiction caused him to do that, an addiction to Oxy. Since he was an older man in bad health, he will probably be spending the rest of his life in prison because of his Oxy addiction (justified probably because of what he did). I live about 4 hours away from Eastern Kentucky, but guess what, they don't have the crack problem we have here in Central Kentucky. The drug of choice there is Oxy. We have Doctors going to jail along with addicts and attorneys there see the same thing I just described there all the time.

I guess I just don't see how Rush, an addict, is any better than other addicts just because Oxy was his drug of choice. I wish him well and hope he remains clean. But addiction is just that, it doesn't matter which drug one chooses.

 

[cardaway]

It's official.

He could murder a fans spouse in front of them and they would still find a way to defend him.

All shock jocks have their fans, but most shock jocks don't go off about illegal drug users in between popping illegal pills themselves.

By defending this guys actions and lies they are becoming hipocrits themselves.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I guess I just don't see how Rush, an addict, is any better than other addicts just because Oxy was his drug of choice. I wish him well and hope he remains clean. But addiction is just that, it doesn't matter which drug one chooses.

I didn't want to get into this, because I had the feeling it was going to be a political thing. Liberals vs. Conservatives.

But here's the thing I want to mention. People who take pain pills are very often taking them because they are in pain. They are suffering, and that suffering should be alleviated, regardless of their political beliefs.

Drugs like the ones Rush was taking are addictive. You can't take them for long periods of time and NOT become addicted.

For the people who are suffering, it isn't an issue of "drug of choice." They don't choose to have pain, they don't choose to be addicted.

When it comes to cancer patients, everyone says, "Oh, the pain they have to suffer! Give them all the drugs they need!" But others who suffer, for some reason I don't understand, are often told, "You shouldn't take pain pills...they are addictive."

I feel so very badly for people who live with chronic pain. First, because they are in pain. Second, because they often become addicted to their pills. But I wouldn't take the pills away just because they get addicted to them. It seems awfully cold-hearted to me. They deserve (regardless of their political stances) to be as free from pain as the rest of us.

OK, said my piece.

 

[salmoneous]

Oxycontin may be abused in the way that you have described. It also is abused by taking an excess number of pills for longer than perscribed.

Come on Dawn - Rush *had* a prescription. He had *lots* of prescriptions. He had lots of doctors willing to give him medical dosages of the drug. And even with all those prescriptions, that still wasn't enough as he had to go out and buy even more pills. Lots more pills.

We aren't talking about a guy whose doctor would only gave him a small dose, so he had to double up to deal with pain. This is a guy who was scheming to get waaay more pills than can be accounted for by time-released pain relief.

As you said earlier, it's not big deal if Rush was getting high or not. Heck, I don't think it's even a small deal. But it's nonsensical to deny that's what he was up to.

 

[momx2]

I didn't want to get into this, because I had the feeling it was going to be a political thing. Liberals vs. Conservatives.

But here's the thing I want to mention. People who take pain pills are very often taking them because they are in pain. They are suffering, and that suffering should be alleviated, regardless of their political beliefs.

Drugs like the ones Rush was taking are addictive. You can't take them for long periods of time and NOT become addicted.

For the people who are suffering, it isn't an issue of "drug of choice." They don't choose to have pain, they don't choose to be addicted.

When it comes to cancer patients, everyone says, "Oh, the pain they have to suffer! Give them all the drugs they need!" But others who suffer, for some reason I don't understand, are often told, "You shouldn't take pain pills...they are addictive."

I feel so very badly for people who live with chronic pain. First, because they are in pain. Second, because they often become addicted to their pills. But I wouldn't take the pills away just because they get addicted to them. It seems awfully cold-hearted to me. They deserve (regardless of their political stances) to be as free from pain as the rest of us.

OK, said my piece.

I am not looking at this as a liberal or conservative, just as someone who has to spend alot of time around addicts of all kinds. Also, my mother has chronic pain, she has detriorating disc disease and has been on oxy for years and most time it doesn't even touch her pain, but helps some. She spends most of her time in bed, so trust me I am not for taking meds addictive or not away from people who need them. Is my mother addicted? Probably, because she would go through withdrawls without it. But she doesn't doctor shop or buy more from other sources than what her doctor prescribes. I think therein lies the difference between my mother and Rush. He is an "addict." He took illegal means to obtain more meds than he needed. I guess the only liberal part of this is I actually agree with Rush's outcome. Do I think he needs to be in jail or a convicted felon because of what he did, NO! I just wish all addicts got the same second chance he is getting. But drug of choice does not change the fact it is all addiction and he is not better than other addicts addicted to other drugs.

 

[DawnCt1]

I guess I just don't understand how some who post don't view Oxy (or any prescription drug addiction) the same as crack in addiction. The results are the same. No, Rush not did steal from anyone or hurt anyone to get it, because he had the money to get it easily. I once knew a lawyer addicted to crack and he didn't hurt anybody or steal to get it, he had the means to get it without doing so. But he and Rush were both addicts.

The end results are the same; addiction to drugs but the origins of the problem are vastly different. There is no medicinal purpose for crack and cocaine is only useful in the operating room for nasoplasties. One time administration while under anesthesia does not lead to cocaine or crack addition. Intent to obtain and abuse for recreational purposes does. Addition to pain medication usually has its origins in the onset of acute and severe pain that doesn't go away. That makes so much common sense that it seems redundant to even take the discussion further.

 

[horsegirl]

CNN Bulletin:

Rush Limbaugh arrested on prescription drug charges and released on bail, law enforcement officials in Florida, tell AP. More news to come.

All I have to say is oh good.

 

[momx2]

The end results are the same; addiction to drugs but the origins of the problem are vastly different. There is no medicinal purpose for crack and cocaine is only useful in the operating room for nasoplasties. One time administration while under anesthesia does not lead to cocaine or crack addition. Intent to obtain and abuse for recreational purposes does. Addition to pain medication usually has its origins in the onset of acute and severe pain that doesn't go away. That makes so much common sense that it seems redundant to even take the discussion further.

I'm sorry I guess I don't have much common sense . I don't know why you have to insult. So, I'll just post this and sign off. This is why I normally don't participate in any discussions and just lurk.

I'm not arguing that the onset is different, just that the results are the same. The bottom line is Rush broke the law to get more drugs than what was needed to treat his pain. Lots of people take pain meds and don't do this. I just don't see why he is better than other addicts. But I am very glad he has gotten the treatment that he needed.

Since I am lacking in the common sense area, I'll leave the rest of the discussion to DawnCT1 and others that are much better equiped than I to discuss this matter.

 

[eclectics]

The end results are the same; addiction to drugs but the origins of the problem are vastly different. There is no medicinal purpose for crack and cocaine is only useful in the operating room for nasoplasties. One time administration while under anesthesia does not lead to cocaine or crack addition. Intent to obtain and abuse for recreational purposes does. Addition to pain medication usually has its origins in the onset of acute and severe pain that doesn't go away. That makes so much common sense that it seems redundant to even take the discussion further.

Dawn, while yes, it is a leap to speculate if Rush snorted or injected his oxy, it's also a leap for you to catagorically state Rush wasn't using this drug to get high. You and I don't know that, but I will confess that wether or not Rush was getting high really isn't any of my business. Chronic Pain stinks. I've had it for years and take pain meds everyday. Am I an addict? I don't know. I take the same dosage I've taken for years so I guess not. My sister was an addict and although she held down a good job most of her life, it contributed to her early death last year. As I said before, the only problem I have with Rush regarding this issue was his attitude toward drug addicts in general before his "disclosure" and his failure to own up, as it where, and admit he was wrong in his generalizations about them.

 

[yeartolate]

As I said before, the only problem I have with Rush regarding this issue was his attitude toward drug addicts in general before his "disclosure" and his failure to own up, as it where, and admit he was wrong in his generalizations about them.

I agree wholeheartedly.


By the way, if Joe Blow ( ) was unable to afford a high priced experienced lawyer and did everything Rush did - what would be their punishment? (I don't know, I am asking)

 

[jimmiej]

Are you a Dittohead? If not, then that comment was not directed towards you. Dittoheads, you know who you are!

Well, I thought that was obvious with my post.

even on drugs....Rush is right.

 

[cardaway]

Fact is most post people take illegal drugs for the same reason people are saying Rush does... pain.

Pain comes in many forms.

In the end it call comes down to who each person is willing to excuse, and like Rush in the past, who you are going to label a criminal and look down on.

 

[AllyandJack]

I have family members addicted to oxy. They do what Rush did (doctor shopping) and then some (one lovely family member used the name of a doctor my mother does billing for to order online and asked my mother to cover for him). His daughter was sent to rehab by the state, where she got pregnant. Now, she's a pharmacy technician. My uncle....he teaches at a driving school. So, real people can get away with it.

 

[jocon]

No, there is no evidence to support that claim(that Bush used coke).

Dawn, I'd like some of what your taking

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Fact is most post people take illegal drugs for the same reason people are saying Rush does... pain.

Pain comes in many forms.

In the end it call comes down to who each person is willing to excuse, and like Rush in the past, who you are going to label a criminal and look down on.

I'm not sure why anyone has to be looked down on because they are addicts.

People who chose recreational drugs (or booze) made a dumb choice, where people who are in physical pain were pretty much forced into addiction. I'll give you that.

But I personally don't get why we have to condemn any of them. If you're pointing guns at people, of course, as a society we have to put a stop to that. But I don't think we need to ridicule an addict or enjoy their misery.

And you are, of course, right that many folks seek out drugs or booze because they are in emotional pain. I get that.

 

[chobie]

I'm not sure why anyone has to be looked down on because they are addicts.

People who chose recreational drugs (or booze) made a dumb choice, where people who are in physical pain were pretty much forced into addiction. I'll give you that.

But I personally don't get why we have to condemn any of them. If you're pointing guns at people, of course, as a society we have to put a stop to that. But I don't think we need to ridicule an addict or enjoy their misery.

And you are, of course, right that many folks seek out drugs or booze because they are in emotional pain. I get that.

The problem is that some people are making an exception for Rush because he claims he took the drugs for physical pain and that some how that makes his illegal procuring of drugs ok. But, accoding to Rush and his sycophants, someone who who is addicted to a non-prescrition drug is bad and deserves to be put in jail. It not the illegality of your drug and actions that make you bad, its what type of drug and why you are claiming you took it in the first place.

Get it?

This is also know as : HYPOCRISY