Atlas
07-05-2006, 11:54 AM
Prosecutors: No charges for Limbaugh
Talk radio host had Viagra in luggage with doctor's name on it
Wednesday, July 5, 2006; Posted: 1:59 p.m. EDT (17:59 GMT)
SoCAls link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/05/limbaugh.viagra.ap/index.html
Palm Beach International Airport officials apparently found the Viagra in Rush Limbaugh's luggage in June.
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Rush Limbaugh will not face charges in Palm Beach County for the bottle of Viagra found in his luggage that appeared to have been prescribed to someone else, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Charges could have nullified the conservative radio host's plea agreement in a "doctor shopping" case.
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. (Full story)
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.
Charges in the Viagra case could have nullified a deal Limbaugh reached with prosecutors last month in which a single "doctor shopping" charge was deferred for 18 months, so long as Limbaugh does not get arrested for any reason.
Authorities had accused Limbaugh of illegally deceiving multiple doctors to get overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Limbaugh denied the charges but admitted he was addicted to painkillers.
Talk radio host had Viagra in luggage with doctor's name on it
Wednesday, July 5, 2006; Posted: 1:59 p.m. EDT (17:59 GMT)
SoCAls link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/05/limbaugh.viagra.ap/index.html
Palm Beach International Airport officials apparently found the Viagra in Rush Limbaugh's luggage in June.
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Rush Limbaugh will not face charges in Palm Beach County for the bottle of Viagra found in his luggage that appeared to have been prescribed to someone else, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Charges could have nullified the conservative radio host's plea agreement in a "doctor shopping" case.
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. (Full story)
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.
Charges in the Viagra case could have nullified a deal Limbaugh reached with prosecutors last month in which a single "doctor shopping" charge was deferred for 18 months, so long as Limbaugh does not get arrested for any reason.
Authorities had accused Limbaugh of illegally deceiving multiple doctors to get overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Limbaugh denied the charges but admitted he was addicted to painkillers.