Vendetta
Gee, no law was broken, but we'll keep fishing just in case. No, it's not the New York Times this time. It is the Palm Beach County (Florida) state attorney's office and it's handling of the Rush Limbaugh Viagra prescription issue.
Limbaugh, 55, was detained for more than three hours at Palm Beach International Airport on June 26 after he returned on his private plane from a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
The state attorney's office said Dr. Steve Strumwasser's name was on the Viagra bottle, not Limbaugh's. Strumwasser, who is Limbaugh's psychiatrist, told authorities he "agreed to have his name on the label in an effort to avoid potentially embarrassing publicity for the suspect," according to a filing by the prosecutor's office.
"Thus, the medication contained in the subject pill bottle was legitimately prescribed to the suspect by his physician," the filing said.
It is generally not illegal under Florida law for a physician to prescribe medication in a third party's name if all parties are aware and the doctor documents it correctly, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County.
However, since the doctor wrote the prescription in Miami-Dade County, the case has been forwarded to prosecutors there for review.
…..
The Palm Beach County state attorney's office also said it forwarded the matter to the state Department of Professional Regulation and the Department of Health to determine if the doctor breached ethics.
If I lived in Palm Beach County, I'd be livid at this obvious waste of taxpayer money in what increasingly looks like an organized vendetta.
UPDATE: Others: Sister Toldjah and Outside The Beltway.
Observations | Gaius Wednesday, 5 July , 2006
By Black Jack, Wednesday, 5 July , 2006 @ 2:06 pm
Yeah, it’s bad enough when prosecutors abuse their authority with high profile guys like Tom Delay and Rush Limbaugh. But, I wonder how ordinary folks like the Duke Lacrosse players feel about organized vendettas by government officials.
If it were me or my son caught up in Nifong’s outrageous miscarriage of justice, I don’t think I could sit tight and wait it out. That might be the smart way to go, but I’m not sure I could endure it. North Carolina has always been one of the best spots in the country, but the long delay in getting Nifong’s idiot mess in front of a judge is unconscionable.
By FormerRighty, Wednesday, 5 July , 2006 @ 4:40 pm
In most jurisdictions it is illegal for a doctor to issue a prescription to an alias. Perhaps the law is different in Florida.
By FormerRighty, Wednesday, 5 July , 2006 @ 4:47 pm
It looks like it’s probably not a violation of Florida law.
On the other hand, when you say that drug abusers should be locked up, then get caught illegally using drugs (he did not have a valid prescription for the OcyContin) you set yourself up as a big target.
Drug abusers, including Limbaugh, deserve compassion. It’s just too bad that he can’t spare any for others caught in the same predicament.