Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Monday, January 5, 2004

According to Saturday's Post, not one case has been fully prosecuted for doctor-shopping related to presciption drugs in the past five years.

The Post combed through records in the County's Clerk of Courts Office.

The investigation of similar cases "revealed only one case [of alleged 'doctor-shopping'] in the past five years in which Palm Beach County prosecutors charged a defendant with illegally acquiring overlapping prescriptions. And that case, which involved entirely different circumstances, was dropped because the defendant, who was charged because he wouldn't cooperate with prosecutors in a related matter, died."

The Post's independent inquiry is good news for Rush Limbaugh.

In October, Rush admitted to a prescription drug addiction that began as a result of a surgical procedure he had in the late 1990s. After acknowledging his addiction, Rush entered a rehab facility in Arizona and remains under medical treatment, though he returned to the airwaves in November.

At first, it appeared the local state prosecutor in Palm Beach County, state's attorney Barry Krischer, would treat Limbaugh as others who had a prescription drug addiction, but that soom changed after an avalanche of media attention fell upon the conservative radio host.

Soon after, the prosecution began what Limbaugh called a "fishing expedition" -- subpoeaning his medical and financial records to apparently bolster a case against the radio star.

Limbaugh and his attorney Roy Black went public with complaints that he was a target of a political witchhunt.

"The Post's research confirms what we have been saying all along," Black said in a written statement. "Rush Limbaugh has been singled out for special prosecution because of who he is. We believe the state attorney's office is applying a double standard."

Angry Limbaugh

Echoing Black, an angry Limbaugh told his listeners in a December 23 broadcast, "The Democrats in this country still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas, and so now they are trying to do so in the court of public opinion and the legal system. I guess it's payback time. And since I'm not running for office, can't get to me that way. They're going to seek the occasion of this event in my life to see, to find out if they can do any damage."

Press accounts have noted that state's attorney Krischer is a Democrat and former associate of Janet Reno, the one-time state's attorney in Miami.

According to the Post, doctor-shopping is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. It requires that the defendant be shown to have conned at least two doctors into prescribing the same controlled substance in a 30-day period.

The paper reported that finding similar cases in the records was anything but easy. Even Krischer's office said it could not provide a list of previous cases because its database can't be searched for that specific crime.

The Post adds, "Records from a pharmacy near Limbaugh's $24 million Palm Beach mansion showed the radio show host obtained more than 2,000 pain and anti-anxiety pills in a five-month period in 2003 from four doctors."

But Black has countered that the four doctors who records concerning Limbaugh were seized by Krischer's office, were all treating him for different complaints including severe and intractable back pain and his hearing loss, which was corrected by implant surgery.

Doctors From Same Office

The Post reported that at a court hearing Dec. 22, Black revealed that Limbaugh got pills from doctors in the same office and was being treated for a spinal condition as well as for ear surgery.

"This was legitimate treatment by legitimate physicians for major medical reasons," Black said.

Even a local judge questions the possibility of the charge being filed. County Judge Nelson Bailey told the Post that doctor shopping is prevalent among the case histories of addicts who show up in front of him in drug court. But, he said, such defendants usually are charged with other drug crimes -- such as possession.

"I don't see that as a charge. I see the end product of the doctor shopping," Nelson said. "I don't see anybody out there trying to prosecute those types of cases. We can't even get the state legislature to pass a statute to monitor multiple pharmacies in order to catch people who doctor-shop."

The Post search of county court records revealed the case of the late Michael Schlosman of West Palm Beach, who died. Schlosman, the paper recalled, received painkillers from one of the same doctors who treated Limbaugh. The case never went to trial because Schlosman died.

Schlosman's lawyer agreed with Judge Nelson that doctor-shopping charges are rare.

Single Use of Statute

"I think that was the only time the statute had been used -- that is what I was told -- and I haven't heard of any cases since then," said defense attorney John Tierney.

Schlosman's ex-wife, Jamie Massey, died of an overdose after being prescribed more than 20,000 prescription pills in a three-month period from West Palm Beach psychiatrist Dr. George Kubski. The post reported that Kubski was sentenced to a year in jail for manslaughter by culpable negligence.

Significantly Schlosman was only charged after failing to give any helpful information in the case against Kubski, Tierney said.

The only other cases of doctor shopping the Post unearthed was one transferred from St. Lucie County this year, while another was transferred from Martin County, according to records.

According to the Post, Krischer has said his office has scrupulously protected Limbaugh's rights.

"Whether Mr. Limbaugh is subject to prosecution for any crimes is still under investigation. Mr. Limbaugh is presumed innocent at this time," Krischer said, after it became public that investigators seized the syndicated radio star's medical records in late November.

Editor's Note: Find out the real story about Rush Limbaugh and the media war against him CLICK HERE