Rush Admitting to Drug Addiction on Radio Now!

[Moonbeam]

I think he should have a little heart to heart with Clinton and confess how bad he felt going after the Pres. hopped up on pills. I know Bill could feel his pain.

 

[HomerJS]

People seem to forget his abuse of women. Pimping out his maid to cop drugs for him. Who would have taken the fall if she were caught by the police?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I am no fan of Rush. He is a political hack, who certainly is quick to point out the fault of others. If a Dem had an equivalent problem, he would be all over him, and everyone knows it.

Rush had to get those pills from somewhere, and in doing so, committed a crime.


So lock Rush up?

No.

I believe that people ought not to be imprisoned for addiction. Treatment? You bet. If they harm another to get their fix? Yes, punish them. It seems unlikely that Rush knocked over a drug store, although people seeking drugs cause it to happen.

I cannot advocate leniency for one group, only to advocate the opposite, regardless of what I think of their politics, or their comportment in dealing with such topics.

Let Rush off easy? Yes, because I would be inclined to do so with any non violent offender.

"Judge not lest ye be judged" I think that applies to all in this situation.

If for no other reason, it is the merciful thing to do. Perhaps, just perhaps, he will learn mercy.

 

[DoubleL]

I have a friend that has been hooked on pain killer since his 2nd. or 3rd. operation for cancer, Not living with pain can be addiction big time, My hopes and prayers go out to Rush and his family, I also feel sorry for all that are full of hate that has posted, It must be a awful life to live

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

There's nothing like the compassion Limbaugh exhibits for his fellow human beings.

left of center online rag
"There is only one way to get rid of nuclear weapons . . . use them."
Rush Limbaugh

 

[NesuD]

Addiction that is the result of having to take addictive painkillers for medical reasons cannot be compared to the average crack addict. I am a recovered painkiller junkie. My problem developed after i broke my neck. I was in terrible pain for several months and took a variety of painkillers eventully becoming dependant on them. It took me nearly a year to completely break myself of the habit but i did. I think his hardline stance is more in refernce to the recreational drug users that become addicted as a result of illegally using controlled substances. As far as i can tell like me he got hooked while under a doctors care. That is a completely different can of worms. Unless you have experienced it first hand you would do well to give the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Mrburns2007]

I was a Limbaugh listener from time to time and my views on addiction have changed over the years. I think Rush probably never imagined in a million years that he would end up getting hooked on pills. The fact that he illegally went to the black market and purchased them is pretty much the same as any other addict that tries to score pot, coke or heroin.

Maybe it's time to decrimnalize drugs and attack the problem from another angle. Most people would not want alcohol to be outlawed and that's the most abused drug out there.

 

[NesuD]

Originally posted by: Tripleshot
this is a blatent attempt to squelch the law coming after him. This is a preimptive strike to try and circumvent charges against him. I hope he does recover from the addiction, bit prisons are full of people who don't get the same advantage as Rush. He shoiuld still be prosecuted and serve time if he is guilty of the crimes the law seeks him for.

And yes, I have heard him say many times law is soft on criminals. Now that he is one, I bet he sings a different tune.

How did you ever become elite? He apparently became addicted to painkillers that were prescribed by his doctors. explain to me how he can be held criminally responsible for an addiction that he aquired while under a doctors care. Be careful in your response I have personally experienced the same thing so i have a little insight into what he has probably been doing. A little human kindness might be more in order here.

 

[NesuD]

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Originally posted by: Ferocious
No qp?

I admire Rush for his courage. He got a bad rap on that ESPN thingy. I still frequently listen to him even though I'm no longer a conservative.

You just have to know HOW to listen to him. He blows O'Reilly out of the water imo.

Exactly.

Courage? not really - he actually showed a lack of courage by not (privately)addressing his addiction earlier.

CkG

you aren't paying attention. He has entered treatment for the addiction on 2 different occasions and been unsuccessful. He is now trying again. As someone who has been through it myself i cannot begin to describe how difficult it is to do. He has a tough road ahead of him. I think the only reason it is public knowledge is because some opportunists chose to make it so for a payday.

 

[Babbles]

I listen to Rush every so often and agree with much of what he says, but not all. Anyhow, it is sickening that people equate getting hooked on prescribed pain killers is equal to buying crack rocks off the street.

Then a few closed minded folks taking about the meds causing his health problems, but have the scenario totally backwards. A few herniated disks and a botched spinal surgery, may just cause a teeny bit of pain folks.

I am not saying that getting meds illegal is okay, but to associate it with buying crack is just sad.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: NesuD

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Originally posted by: Ferocious
No qp?

I admire Rush for his courage. He got a bad rap on that ESPN thingy. I still frequently listen to him even though I'm no longer a conservative.

You just have to know HOW to listen to him. He blows O'Reilly out of the water imo.

Exactly.

Courage? not really - he actually showed a lack of courage by not (privately)addressing his addiction earlier.

CkG

you aren't paying attention. He has entered treatment for the addiction on 2 different occasions and been unsuccessful. He is now trying again. As someone who has been through it myself i cannot begin to describe how difficult it is to do. He has a tough road ahead of him. I think the only reason it is public knowledge is because some opportunists chose to make it so for a payday.

Here is a little better description of my statement. Courage isn't knowingly taking a "drug" because you are weak. He chose to take those pills - with or without a prescription. He said that he chose to take the pain med route instead of more surgery. I don't know how I'd choose if presented with that situation but that isn't the point. He allowed himself to give into the drug - period. I know he tried and failed twice before, and that is just another example of why his actions of today(going into rehab) aren't courageous. He did not FULLY address and dispose of his addiction in the past - so why is this time "courageous"? Going into rehab again only shows a willingness to take responsibility for his addiction and a willingness to test his resolve in breaking the addiction. It is not courageous - that is just pschchobabble to hype the mind. Like Rush said - "I refuse to let anyone think I am doing something great here, when there are people you never hear about, who face long odds and never resort to such escapes. They are the role models." They are the role-models - they are the courageous ones who don't allow themselves to be weak.

Yes it is difficult, yes it will be a long hard road, and I hope for nothing but success for him on his jouney of freeing himself of the addiction.

I'm glad to hear you overcame your addiction though, it is a great accomplishment. My respect increases for those who are willing to respect themselves enough to admit their flaws and correct them.

Your assesment of "opportunity" is dead on, but maybe it's what Rush needed to realize that respecting himself is more important than other's respecting him.

Drift3r - "taking responsibility" doesn't mean that one won't face punishment for their actions. I've said this a few times now - IF he did something illegal, the authorities will sort it out and charge him accordingly and he will get his day in court. For you to judge him guilty from the scant info we currently have is wrong. He was not the target of the investigation according to investigators, but he was part of an investigation. All we have is speculation at the moment, the story will unfold in due time but until the authorities make their determinations this is all just wild conjecture.

CkG

 

[LunarRay]

I am no Rush Limburger fan.. I can't stand his arrogant fat face.. BUT!

Given the choice between chronic pain after surgical intervention failed and no pain I think most would opt for the pills. Getting hooked on them might be easier than one thinks... consider cigarettes... I don't see it as a weakness of character but as a necessity to combat pain. I don't think he'll 'kick the habit' unless he can also 'kick the pain'. I imagine a pain like a constant tooth ache. That can drive you nuts!
I've, thank God, never been hooked on anything (but ciggies) but, do have an Rx for the same thing he got hooked on.. (The VA pushes drugs on folks). I don't have to do the work he does so I don't often take the med.. I opt for Ultram and stuff like that.. If I had to do 10 -12 hours a day you can believe I'd be hooked too.. it is one or the other as I see it..

I do have a problem with the why rehab. What is he taking to deal with the pain instead of the Oxycodone (oxycontin). I think he needs staying on it and recognize that even if 'hooked' some Rx are meant to be taken for the rest of ones life.

Goodness, sticking up for Rush... is so hard to do...

 

[Piano Man]

Rush is a dipsh!t, but I hope the best for him, because addiction is a horrible thing to overcome. 30 days doesn't seem like a very long rehab to me. I think he should go longer just to make sure.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: NesuD
Addiction that is the result of having to take addictive painkillers for medical reasons cannot be compared to the average crack addict. I am a recovered painkiller junkie. My problem developed after i broke my neck. I was in terrible pain for several months and took a variety of painkillers eventully becoming dependant on them. It took me nearly a year to completely break myself of the habit but i did. I think his hardline stance is more in refernce to the recreational drug users that become addicted as a result of illegally using controlled substances. As far as i can tell like me he got hooked while under a doctors care. That is a completely different can of worms. Unless you have experienced it first hand you would do well to give the benefit of the doubt.

I see no difference and make no distinction between being hooked on pain pills and crack. People take it for exactly the same reason, to ease their pain. Pain is pain and unless you experienced it first hand who are you to judge your pain gets a pass and other people's don't. I think Rush said something to the effect that the planet was better off with out that scum when Kurt Cobain committed suicide. The guy's a smug self centered pig who makes a living on his crass contempt for others. What goes around comes around. He made his bed let him lie in it. That son of a bitch can go into rehab three times and he worked his ass off to insure the kinds of programs that would fund rehab for the poor would never pass. The poor wait monts if they ever see rehab. He worked his ass off to stop universal health care so others couldn't even get legal pain pills. Let him rot in hell. Acorse I gotta set all that aside cause I'm a liberal.

 

[Moonbeam]

I hate being a liberal. I mean I hate that I cant hate because I a liberal. I mean I love being a liberal. I listened to the Coulter Pigett talking about the fact that liberals can't be hypicrits because they have no values to be hypocrutical about. Hehe, don't you want to kiss her. My my how her soul must hurt, all the way to the bank.

 

[shurato]

Eh...he comes clean after the news story and investigation hits. Get real...a drug abuser is a drug abuser. I've had a friend who had major surgery and had to take oxycontin...he didnt become no junkie like Rush. If Rush felt as if he was getting addicted to the pain killers then he should of seeked treatment immediately for his addictions and came clean there. Then I could of bought his story... But not take massive amounts of the damn drug he very well knows is harmful and illegal without a prescription and then only come clean when he is exposed. Oh what courage the man has to come clean after he gets caught!.... Why dont you blind fools think about it this way...lets just say this is just an average guy and not Rush Limbaugh your ultra-conservative radio hero...would you feel the same way? I say throw the f'n book at him and send the porker to jail like they'd do for any joe blow. A drug abuser is a drug abuser. You say a cocaine abuser abuses the drug by his own choice...well a prescription drug abuser abuses the drug by his own choice as well...everyone has the option and choice of getting treatment for a drug addiction. No one put a gun to his head when he had his servants fetch those pills for him..he could of as easily put himself into a drug treatment center when his addiction started. The crackhead deserves to be made an example of if they are making an example out of Tommy Chong and his whole thing.

 

[LunarRay]

shurato,

Before one can deal with an addiction they have to deal with its cause. Be that mental or physical one must deal with that first! The typical doper has lots of psychological issues to deal with before they can reverse the process and live normal lives with out the need for the drugs. These issues may never go away but, dealing with them is the key. Same with physical issues. The pain may never go away and to not be able to fully or effectively deal with it is a torture too. How one gets 'hooked' is not a mystery but, why one knowlingly gets 'hooked' is not always a mystery either.. get rid of the pain in any way or manner. Some folks prefer death.. (assisted suicide comes to mind) when the quality of life is beyond the individual's capacity to deal with it. It is an individual thing and one that requires understanding, unlike how Rush has approached it. Not everyone can check into Betty Ford's place and fork over 20K$ for a month. Our system says if you are poor .. deal with it.. Well.. I say at least try to understand it. Perhaps then we all can help rid the nation of that disease in short order.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Let me help some people understand what Rush was doing. People complain about poorly treated pain all the time. But good clinicians always differentiate between the psychological aspect of pain (experience) and the physical aspect of pain (physiology). I'm not a pain expert but my experiences with terminal cancer, surgical patients (including neurosurgery/orthopedics), and run of the mill pain implies the Rush apologeticists are either ignorant or liars.

Under the direction of a good physician, people rarely if EVER develop a tolerance to the pain modulating effects of opiates. At least to the analgesic effect at the spinal level and action at mu receptors. In the brain opiates interact with multiple receptor types which modulate pain sensation directly plus produce the oh so popular . . . "yeah it hurts but I don't give a poo" sensation. It is the euphoria/reward pathways that lead to tolerance and the requirement for ever increasing doses to produce the same "pleasureable" sensation . . . otherwise known as "chasing" a high. And this phenomena is EXACTLY same regardless of your pharmacological options - crack, free base, black tar, or Purdue Labs finest otherwise known as OxyContin (aka Hillbilly Heroin).

If Rush re-injured his back or hip or whatever his problem may have been . . . there are multiple options for treating his problem . . . number one of course is to lose the weight, Porky. There are a variety of non-opiate medications for the treatment of chronic pain but few give you much of a buzz. If I had a dollar for every patient that ever said, "Percocet and Vicodin don't work for my pain but Demerol works really well," I might be able to keep Rush in hydrocodone for a day or so.

 

[LunarRay]

BBD,
What is the difference between vicodin and oxycontin.. aside from the hydrocodone and oxycodone. For instance I know that (I've been told) the 7.5mg of the one is .9X the other. Are the not the same synth basically? I also am aware (I think) that the Aceto... in vicodin increases the effect of both.
I guess what I'm getting at is: An Rx of 1 or 2 5mg vicodin every 6 hrs and Ultram in between as needed vs time release oxycontin of 2x daily seems nearly an equal bunch of dope... Am I way off? Is one vs the other more addicting?

As an aside, I think the Ultram alone is equally effective as vicodin for two different pain causes... if that makes sense... at an effective dosage.. what say you?

 

[Moonbeam]

To hate like Rush you need a lot of pain. I think that's what lack of empathy is.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
To hate like Rush you need a lot of pain. I think that's what lack of empathy is.

I think Rush is just like all the other entertainers. He had to find his niche that somewhat parallels his philosophy then said whatever it was needing being said to keep his ratings. He may indeed feel the way he jabbers and if this is so, he would be a hypocrite. His 'goodbye for a month' dialog proclaimed him self to not be a roll model... I guess not! If he is addicted and knows how and why and cannot see that same failing in others makes him a rather sad sort of fellow. Since he does have the spot light of sorts he should use it to advance the remedy for Rx drug abuse. If he continues to have zero tolerance toward others I suppose that is fine too.. it is a disease, IMO and a disease that needs being treated. The illegal acquisition of Rx or any 'drugs' is a crime and that is another issue that needs being remedied as well but in the forum of the judicial system. The legal aspect of being 'hooked' on Rx drugs should be handled by the physicians.

 

[shurato]

Originally posted by: LunarRay
shurato,

Before one can deal with an addiction they have to deal with its cause. Be that mental or physical one must deal with that first! The typical doper has lots of psychological issues to deal with before they can reverse the process and live normal lives with out the need for the drugs. These issues may never go away but, dealing with them is the key. Same with physical issues. The pain may never go away and to not be able to fully or effectively deal with it is a torture too. How one gets 'hooked' is not a mystery but, why one knowlingly gets 'hooked' is not always a mystery either.. get rid of the pain in any way or manner. Some folks prefer death.. (assisted suicide comes to mind) when the quality of life is beyond the individual's capacity to deal with it. It is an individual thing and one that requires understanding, unlike how Rush has approached it. Not everyone can check into Betty Ford's place and fork over 20K$ for a month. Our system says if you are poor .. deal with it.. Well.. I say at least try to understand it. Perhaps then we all can help rid the nation of that disease in short order.

I can understand it...in fact i understand very well what addictions can do to your life...without diving into my personal life...well lets just say i know the hard facts about substance abuse personally ....but it didnt take me 5 years and getting caught by the enquirer to seek help and admit fault. I only said my piece because im sick of the apologists around here which stems from obvious politically motivated bias. But I guess thats to be expected...I just know that the same people that are posting now would be ready to jump down the mans neck if he was a democrat. Hippocrasy runs rampant in this forum and it makes me sick. Lets not even bring up the whole clinton issue as some are doing because I am neither a democrat nor does it have anything to do with this. I look at it without the political bias unlike alot of people in here. I just see the man as a drug abusing hippocritical 2 faced blow-hard. I see no difference between a man who gets addicted to a prescription drug and continues to abuse it to a crackhead who is down on his luck that abuses heroin. An abuser is an abuser and I hope he gets treatment for his help but he should not be allowed to host a radio forum again because he has lost all credibility. I donot feel sorry for the man...If it got that bad that he was sending his damn housekeeper out to get the stuff and he was giving her hush money for it, he should of realized he was in too deep long time ago. Well I guess we have to see how the investigation turns out.

I guess I could feel some sympathy for the man if he wasn't for his strict beliefs and statements on drug abusers.
All im going to say is that if their gonna send Tommy Chong to prison for 9 months for this...Rush deserves just as much if not more for severity. Say hello to Bubba for me Rush.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY

Originally posted by: Tripleshot
this is a blatent attempt to squelch the law coming after him. This is a preimptive strike to try and circumvent charges against him. I hope he does recover from the addiction, bit prisons are full of people who don't get the same advantage as Rush. He shoiuld still be prosecuted and serve time if he is guilty of the crimes the law seeks him for.

And yes, I have heard him say many times law is soft on criminals. Now that he is one, I bet he sings a different tune.

Umm...addiction to pain killers doesn't make one a criminal Now if he did something illegal I expect him to be charged and tried for it.

Dave - the "pause" is an "EIB operational pause" which just means his show isn't on the air at the moment. his show is noon to 3 eastern. The 2 day 20hr "pause" is until next monday at noon.

CkG

There is a difference between chemical dependency(which is what happens when you are given opiate based meds long term for chronic pain) and in being addicted.
I wish Rush a speedy recovery,hehehe and on a more serious note would hope this gives him and his followers the compassion to see that this problem doesn't just happen to two legged sociopathic criminals and that treatment on demand is valuable and important.

 

[preslove]

Here are some political Cartoons on the story. Rational people without a conservative agenda think the guy is a hypocritical blowhard.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: preslove
Here are some political Cartoons on the story. Rational people without a conservative agenda think the guy is a hypocritical blowhard.

Love this one.

They depict Rush "The Junkie" Limbaugh, Bill "Let it Ride" Bennet, and Newt "The Player" Ginngrich Text