Pubdate: Sat, 11 Oct 2003
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2003 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Section: Entertainment
Author: Jill Barton
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

LIMBAUGH ADMITS PAIN-KILLER ADDICTION

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh announced 
during his radio show Friday that he is addicted to pain-killers and is 
checking into a rehab program.

"You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my 
life," Limbaugh said during a stunning admission aired nationwide. "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.

"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 added.

'SEND THEM UP THE RIVER'

Rush Limbaugh made the following comments during a segment on drug use 
during his show on Oct. 5, 1995. They were made in reference to a report 
citing the disproportionate charging, conviction and jailing of blacks on 
drug charges.

"Let's all admit something: There's nothing good about drug use. We know 
it. It destroys individuals. It destroys families. Drug use destroys 
societies. Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we 
have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing 
drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in 
societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. 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."

"...What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug 
use, too many whites are getting away with drug sales, too many whites are 
getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity 
is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others 
in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones 
who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too. 
That's how you deal with this, ladies and gentlemen."

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.

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 pain-killers.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that Limbaugh was being investigated by 
the Palm Beach County, Fla., state attorney's office.

"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," Limbaugh said.

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 
respond to a message seeking comment.

Limbaugh said he started taking pain-killers "some years ago" after a 
doctor prescribed them following spinal surgery. His back pain stemming 
from the surgery persisted, so Limbaugh said he started taking pills.

"Over the past several years, I have tried to break my dependence on pain 
pills and, in fact, twice checked myself in to 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 "Rush 
Limbaugh Show," declined to elaborate on Limbaugh's previous treatment.

OxyContin is a narcotic pain-killer that is 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. An electronic device was placed 
in his skull to restore his hearing.

Research has found that abuse of opiate-based pain-killers 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. AP
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom