Talk Show Host Rush Limbaugh Faces Drug Charges

The right wing anti-progressive conservative hero is booked on Fraud charges to "conceal information to obtain prescriptions."

(WEST PALM BEACH) - News outlets across the country are reporting that the granddaddy of conservtive talk radio has landed behind bars again, on drug related charges.

Rush Limbaugh, dubbed "Druggie" Limbaugh by radio talk show hosts around the world, was arrested Friday, booked on prescription drug charges, again, with his attorney saying he has reached a deal with prosecutors that will eventually see the charges dismissed if he continues treatment for drug addiction. The attorney also says Limbaugh is paying tens of thousands out to cover the cost of the investigation.

Limbaugh reportedly agreed to turn himself into Florida authorities after a warrant was issued by the State Attorney's Office, said spokeswoman Teri Barbera.

The conservative radio commentator arrived at the jail at about 4:00 PM with his attorney Roy Black, leaving an hour later after posting $3,000 bail.

The warrant was for a Fraud charge, "To conceal information to obtain prescriptions," Barbera said.

Limbaugh's attorney says he and the prosecutors reached a settlement on a charge of doctor shopping filed Friday by the State Attorney, which Black said will be dismissed in 18 months if Limbaugh complies with court guidelines.

As a primary condition of the dismissal, Limbaugh must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has seen for the past 2 1/2 years, Black said.

Limbaugh entered a plea of not guilty in court Friday on the charge and Black maintained his client's innocence.

"Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position," Black said in an e-mailed statement.

Prosecutors began investigating Limbaugh in 2003 after a tabloid newspaper reported that his housekeeper said he had used her to illegally buy painkillers. He soon took a five-week leave from his radio show to enter a rehabilitation program.

Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's records after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. They contended that Limbaugh engaged in "doctor shopping," or illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions.

Limbaugh acknowledged he became addicted to pain medication, blaming it on severe back pain. His excuses for violating drug laws sat poorly with countless thousands of Americans who suffer from similar conditions without turning to the illegal drug trade.

Black admits that Limbaugh also has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the state to defray the public cost of the investigation. The agreement also provides that he must refrain from violating the law during this 18 months, must pay $30 per month for the cost of supervision and comply with other similar provisions of the agreement.

Of course poor people facing similar cirsumstances could not entertain the idea of paying off a state system by coughing up $30,000 to defray costs of an investigation. No word yet as to how much the cash payment from Limbaugh has influenced those bringing charges against him.

Salem-News.com Top Stories

2025: Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Two Wars with No Way Out

No One Owns the Future

The Ugly Origins of Trump's America First Policy

A One-State Solution Could Transform the World

Comments

Comments are Closed on this story.

Editor April 29, 2006 6:27 pm (Pacific time)

Andy, this site is still in its infancy and we have stated from the beginning that we would listen to people and apply feedback to our operation. I understand that your motivation is not to expressly support Limbaugh. You make a much bigger point with that clarification. The opinion/editorial pieces that have moved through this site have been labeled as such. This particular story was fresh and I felt compelled to get it out quickly. About the only thing I can find now for a defense is the fact that for many of us, a great degree of helplessness accompanies the AM conservative radio talk show thing that exploded during the Clinton years. I have listened to one person after another who opposed these Limbaugh/O`Reilly/ Savage characters treated horribly on the air. A mother of a dead soldier talked about as if they are trash for not supporting the war, that kind of stuff. I just don`t see where fairness connects with media when you talk about these guys. And yet I stand corrected, you wage an argument that I cannot win. We will be careful to label Op-Ed pieces as such and not confuse them with regular news stories, which I hope you agree are 99% unbiased in nature. OK, maybe 98%.

Andy N. April 29, 2006 5:22 pm (Pacific time)

Look, I'm no Limbaugh supporter...I've listed to him a few times many years ago, but he doesn't interest me much. I'm an independent voter...never registered D or R in 26 years of voting. My point was that you call this a "News" site, and what was written was clearly opinion, and incendiary at that. I'm not defending Limbaugh...I'm just saying that you either want to have an objective news site or you don't. Make up your mind. When you write a loaded article like that...label it opinion. Stop trying to pass off your biases as news. I think this site could serve a real useful purpose if you're interested in being objective. If not, well there are a lot of sites out there like that.

Editor April 29, 2006 10:37 am (Pacific time)

William, I didn't attempt to state that I feel no bias toward Limbaugh, that would be untrue, I think the guy is a true political enemy of the poor, of women, and of minorities, and that he has impacted this country in a very negative way. Why don't you send an e-mail with some information about the Air America scandal and I'll look into it.

Willliam April 29, 2006 5:04 am (Pacific time)

Tim, Since you have an interest in things radio, have you written about the Air America Scandal that they defrauded over $800,000 from a childrens youth program. Or are you not interested. Andy is write. You have a serious bias. Come clean, the way you want Rush to come clean.

Editor April 28, 2006 11:27 pm (Pacific time)

Andy is referring to a headline that has been revised. "Druggie" Limbaugh is not an uncommon reference and the situations this talk show host continues to find himself in are an amazing lesson in irony when you consider his anti-drug rhetoric. Limbaugh heads the list of media celebrities who never question a solitary aspect of the current presidential administration, or the myriad list of illogical and almost unexplainable decisions and moves that have led our nation into a number of wars and struggles and betrayals. We don`t think that does the public much good. Why hasn`t Limbaugh rallied for the rights of veterans? That`s too easy; because like all of the others, he isn`t one. A hawk, a war proponent, the guy influences millions through his bias and politics, so every now and then they get a dose of their own medicine, pardon the pun. Sorry we take advantage of a shameful nickname like “DruggieÃ¢â‚¬? Limbaugh, but this guy who would have your kid locked up for smoking a joint as he continues to employ illegal means for scoring hard pills, goes way beyond a genuine hypocrite. Look on the bright side Andy, at least we changed the headline.

Andy N. April 28, 2006 8:50 pm (Pacific time)

I see from your headline that you have dropped all pretense of actually presenting yourself as an objective news site. Too bad.

[Return to Top]