Now that Rush Limbaugh has turned himself in due to his plea deal with the Palm Beach prosecutor’s office, I thought a bit of discussion about what Rush has in store for his 18-months of supervised release would be helpful for everyone (well, everyone who hasn’t gone through a first time drug arrest anyway).
First off, this is a deferred prosecution — not a deferred judgment — which is a much, much better deal for Rush (and something of a coup for his defense counsel Roy Black, I have to say). Jeralyn did a fantastic job of explaining this in her Lexis/Nexis article, and she covers more about the deal at TalkLeft.
The fact that the prosecutors were this generous in the deal-making says to me they may have had difficulties getting Rush’s doctor to cooperate with them in terms of testimony and evidence provision.
Because the formal agreement between Rush and the Palm Beach County prosecutor won’t be filed until Monday, we can’t know exactly what the terms of supervision are going to be. I can tell you that the usual treatment for a first time drug offender can involve a deal like this — although they generally have to plead out to some charge, albeit a lesser included one, at the end of the suspended sentence supervision. In this case, Rush will walk with a clean record if he successfully completes the supervision.
Which leads me to the point I wanted to bring up — all of this is contingent on Rush actually completing the full term of supervision. He’ll likely have to check in with a probation supervisor in a regular basis, where he will have to pee in a cup in front of said supervisor for drug testing and monitoring at every check-in. (Just like every other criminal in the probation waiting room. If they make other provisions for him, then in my book it’s special treatment.) The reason you have to do the piss test in front of someone else is to prevent the testee from substituting someone else’s urine for their tainted sample. (Yes, it does happen. Ewww.) He’ll also have to submit to random testing — meaning his supervisory officer can randomly show up at his place of work, at his house, whatever, and make him pee in a cup.
He oughtn’t be allowed to be in places that serve alcohol without express permission from his supervisor, nor should he be taking any prescription medication without informing his supervisor of it. He’ll also likely have to refrain from having any alcohol or other potentially addictive substances in his home as a condition of supervision. If he does use illegal substances and tries to mask that use with one of the many products on the market that claim to work for that purpose, the testing that is done is designed to also pick up masking agents and their results as well.
And he’ll be required to check in regularly with his supervisor for a face to face chat, and to ask permission for travel or schedule changes that will take him outside the agreed-upon curfew hours. Just like everyone else. (Or, again, they are giving him special treatment.)
Should be an interesting 18 months for a man with an ego as big as Rush’s is. This isn’t an easy thing for a true addict to deal with — if he successfully completes treatment and sincerely wants to change, then he will likely make it through. You’ll pardon me if my prosecutor’s skepticism shows through on this a bit — oxycontin is a tough one to get past, and any — and I mean any — usage will get picked up by testing during that 18 month period. Guess we’ll see.
(Graphics love to the fabulous Originaldo.)
UPDATE: This just seemed completely obvious to me, but in retrospect, perhaps it isn’t so obvious to folks who haven’t spent their time around the courthouse.
Don’t get bamboozled. In criminal cases we don’t call them "settlement agreements." They are plea bargains.
And while the prosecutor’s recommendation to the court will carry great weight, the judge is not obligated to ratify the plea agreement.
Oh, and the money being paid is called a fine. Black can call it reimbursement, but that’s BS. (From TPM reader DK.)
Hat tip to Josh Marshall and to reader tryggth for the heads up on this. I ought to have made this more clear for the folks who haven’t spent an eternity wallowing in the criminal justice system. The NYTimes has more on the deal here.
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FITZ HIM!
Rush has lots of money, he is white, he is famous and he is a republican – obviously he gets off easy. I want to know about the $30 a month for supervision? For $1 a day, nobody will catch him doing anything wrong in the next 18 months.
Pity the person that has to tell him to take, IT (aka, lil’ rush), out.
Good morning, dear.
Off to do some yard work, everyone. Save the Republic while I’m gone.
Thanks!
is that all the $30 is for? the piss test?
And who’s to say that Rush can’t bribe the guy who supervises his peeing. And can we trust that someone ‘reliable’ is going to thoroughly examine his house?
I don’t trust the system. There are neocons everywhere. I can’t get that young son of a state senator who received such light treatment after his abuse of fellow students.
oops — should finish that last sentence. Can’t get that young son of a state senator who received such light treatment after his abuse of fellow students out of my mind.
Christy –
Apart from oxycontin, what other medications was he addicted to? What are the consequences if he’s unable to successfully complete his term of supervision?
I bet if Rush were a young black male, he would be in jail by now.
I have to agree with twolf1 and GrandmaJ.
Redd, you prosecuted and experienced regular people go through this, but Rush has Jeb Bush to help pull any strings needed to be pulled.
His lying is surely addictive. Wish they’d make “lying on the radio” one of the things he can’t do. He’d go out of business in a heartbeat.
And when this is over, Rush has the advantage of not even having a record.
Those drug tests are so sensitive that if you ate poppy seed bagles you would get a positive test. Really. It happened to a coworker of mine who was on parole. Actually in her case she was using a lot of poppy seed salad dressing.
Stephen — it’s tough to say, not having the deal available for perusal. Once they file it on Monday, I’ll be able to say what the consequences might be for failure. Generally it’s that the deal is null and void — or that the defendant immediately has to report to court for sentencing on the offense or something along those lines — because once you violate the deal, it no longer exists. In this case, though, until I see the paperwork, there’s just no point in speculating. Roy Black clearly smacked the Palm Beach County folks — which, again, says to me they had an uncooperative doctor and/or pharmacist.
According to the Salary Timer at Monster.com, Rush Limbaugh makes $31 million a year. That equates to roughly $15,500 per hour. So, Rush Limblough can pay off that $30,000 fine in two hours and still have $1000 leftover for more OxyContin. It’s basically a parking ticket for him.
Here’s the Salary Timer:
http://content.salary.monster.com/timer/
I missed most of the initial wave of comments on Rush, but is there anything we can do to put pressure on his advertisers? I’d like to say “why do you continue to sponsor a confessed drug felon’s radio show”. But he doesn’t actually seem to be that. He’s a “confessed drug something-or-other”, but what?
Too much is happening all at once–Rove, Rush, $3.00 gas, the massacre at Haditha, and best of all hookers. Hard to keep up. What other half-forgotten chicken will be coming home to roost?
I can’t believe that Rush will have to go through rigorous monitoring. I hope he does. If he slips and has a positive pee test, what happens to him?
I was disappointed by Jeralyn’s glee on her website. While Roy Black is her buddy she seemed to take special delight in his getting off a DISGUSTING RACIST AND CRIMINAL. I find that really disturbing. A criminal is a criminal, and with the way we all want to see Rover get indicted to be happy that Loonbaugh got off because your friend was his lawyer is really terrible and hypocritical. I won’t be visiting her site ever again.
From what i understand, oxycontin detection on a given drug test is not a sure thing at all (of course, it’s pretty addictive, so most people in rush’s situation will have the law of averages catch up with them…)
5-7 days is the listed detection time for most tests for synthetic optiates. (herion, opium, and other non-synthetics have a slightly different breakdown process and can be separated from things like oxycontin and have different detection periods…) There are variations because of individual metabolism as well as the reality that people can do things to speed up elimination (get that liver & kidneys working with lots of water, etc.)
In addition, there are agents out there that can cause tests to miss the drugs.
Most “masking” agents are dangerous to use as they actually show up in the specimen along with the drug by-product in question. Hence some tests may not be fully masked, and additional tests can be run to sense the masking agent.
However, there is a different class of test doping strategies called “blocking” agents. This prevent (generally) temporarily the release of the drug-by products. As a result, there’s nothing in the urine to notice one way or another. And if timed correctly (and that is usually the crux for random testing…) they not only will block the detection of the drug in question, but they won’t be in the specimen yet either – so there’s nothing to notice.
A classic example of a blocking agent is Probenecid. That one’s old and well known, but someone with deep pockets and connection will have no trouble finding the latest and greatest. And someone in that position would have the capacity to do his own testing to make sure he’s passing on a daily basis!
Sure there’s all the obvious ways to cheat the drug test like bribe the person watching, or the testing facility, etc. But a simple tipoff that they’ll be a test in 24 hours would also be sufficient.
In short, i agree twolf1, the chances of him being caught by a piss test (even assuming continual usage) seems low to me. More likely slip up, he gets more and more addicted and irrational and gets caught trying to obtain the stuff or wigs out or something…
Just to add to this, Rush may also be required to attend AA or NA meetings, and have a paper signed by the leader of the meeting. Imagine Rush Limbaugh, face to face with the kind of people who listen to his show. Beautiful.
DanD I agree with you. If he’s using, he’s playing the odds. What can happen is that a person passes a few piss tests and thinks he has the system beat. But he will be caught sooner or later. It’s the law of averages.
So those after the fundraiser cocktail parties are definately off limits for the 06 election.
Too bad, Rush would have had a great time talking hookers with Porter Goss.
-GSD
I’m with arabella on this one, DanD — you may be able to get past a test or two with an elevated creatinine level and a ready excuse about doing some “body building” work (yeah, heard that one…sigh), but over an extensive period of 18 months, it’s really tough to maintain that plausible deniability when you factor in random screening. And where you have someone who consistently pops anomolies in their screening results, you generally have a probation officer who is motivated to do a lot of random screening. Plus, the testing also is sensitive to dilution and other spcific items used in a lot of the blocking agents. They are really, really sensitive tests these days and tough to game for more than a month or two without a pattern showing up in the results.
to respond to 19, there are some agents which can fool a regular 7-panel instant drug test. but there are NO agents that can fool GC, which is Gas Chromatography. GC gives a “fingerprint” of the molecular structure of everything in the sample- so masking will do no good.
Also, any agent which prevents the excretion of drug metabolites in the urine would also prevent the excretion of normal metabolic by-products (creatinine, urea, amino acid metabolites, etc.) this is a routine screen for dilution and doctoring, and would be easily caught.
also, he could be given a hair test, which is more expensive but nearly impossible to fake. hair contains metabolites of every substance used in the past 2-3 months or so.
Now I’m going to counter my last words with the other side of the argument.
He has a drug addiction problem. No money and great lawyers will change that, and not one of us would want to have his money with his drug addiction.
Arabella — Rush and his kind don’t get ‘caught’ like regular folks. Because there are people who want them to keep on doing their job ‘of propaganda.’
And agree about Jerlyn. Glee at getting Rush off for this crime (doctor shopping for pills) when many of us seniors can’t get the meds we want. All for the lack of money.
Why do the republicans in trouble all hire democrat lawyers anyway? I expect more from dem lawyers and they should not help republicans get off.
OT–
Anyone who isn’t a fan of Joe Leiberman MUST take a look at the classic just posted on this site:
http://mtanga.com/
That’s right, cathy. Rush will be in living hell until he commits to recovery. It’s all downhill for him. He may be able to pass the pee tests (I doubt it) but his behavior will give it away. Plus he’ll lose the ability to get high as his tolerance builds up. Even with all his connections, it will be hard to get enough drugs without being found out.
THREE DAY “TERROR DRILLS” SET FOR CHICAGO NEXT WEEK TUESDAY OR WED OR THURSD….
As a Chicago resident who recognizes that when Bush’s popularity shrinks this low, “terror” rains from the skies, I’m a little nervous this weekend.
We have “terror” drills set for three days next week, Tues, wed, thursd, done by Homeland Insecurity and the Chicago Media is totally SILENT. I have to read about it in the Belleville Newspaper?
REMEMBERING ALL THE “DRILLS†OF “HIJACKED PLANES†on 9/11 — koinky-dink?
I also remember the weird similarly uncovered “bomb scare” and evacuation of the redline subway, which goes a feet from the Dirksen Building, which is where Fitz works.
http://citizenspook.blogspot.c…..icago.html
I HOPE IT’S JUST A DRILL. My fellow chicagoans, duck and cover. Knowing the CPD, I’m also surprised that they want this happening the day after the big rally Monday. How stretched will the police be?
And this is GETTING NO COVERAGE in Chicago. All that media in Chicago looking the other way. Scares the shit out of me. Spread the word, maybe we can prevent the next 9/11, 5-2?
http://www.belleville.com/mld/…..445338.htm
Three-day drill to test state’s emergency preparedness
ANN SANNER
Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Taking lessons they’ve learned from a previous statewide disaster drill, Illinois officials next week will test the state’s ability to respond to a flu pandemic and a terrorist attack during a three-day exercise.
The drill will focus on coordinating emergency responders and using state and local people and equipment to handle both a public health emergency and terrorist incident.
“This is a really ambitious exercise and it was intended to stress our system so that we can find if there are weaknesses,†said Patti Thompson, spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
The event will test the state’s capability to respond to two major disasters simultaneously as governments gear up against terrorist threats and the daunting prospect of widespread disease such as that posed by avian flu.
At a forum Thursday in Chicago on a potential bird flu pandemic, officials said the city has a comprehensive plan to handle an outbreak one federal public health official said is sure to hit the nation. Other preparations have included upgrading a state health lab to test suspected cases.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants will pay for next week’s $750,000 drill. Running from Tuesday to Thursday, it will involve 1,500 to 2,000 people from the state’s Emergency Management Agency and departments of Transportation, Corrections, Public Health and Agriculture.
The money will help pay for employees’ overtime and extra workers who are relieving law enforcement officers and firefighters while they participate, Thompson said.
One area officials hope to improve is communications. During a May 2003 exercise that simulated a biological attack, state officials found that faxed messages to county emergency officials and hospitals were too slow, Thompson said. A satellite messaging system and a satellite television truck purchased with federal funds will be tested.
The TV equipment shows officials in the State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield what’s happening at a disaster site, Thompson said, and satellite messages will be instantaneous.
The simulated pandemic will hit Chicago and Cook County. A staged “terrorist attack†will occur at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy in Glenview. Along with state authorities in the Springfield operations center aiding responders, federal Homeland Security officials will assist as well as evaluate the state’s response.
The state Public Health Department will be particularly interested in the staged pandemic, as the agency will test procedures for dispensing medication and coordinating medical workers and volunteers, spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.
“We want to make sure that everything we have planned is in place,†Arnold said. “This is something we’ve been working on for a very long time.â€
On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Agriculture lab in Galesburg became the first lab in the state to receive certification to perform testing on suspected bird-flu cases.
An avian flu pandemic is “an inevitable event,†Lt. Commander Michelle Watters, regional health preparedness coordinator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said at Thursday’s forum at the Union League Club of Chicago.
She and other forum speakers urged business owners to start planning now for an outbreak by limiting travel, telecommuting and substituting teleconferences for meetings, and encouraging “common sense†hygiene.
—
On the Net
Illinois Emergency Management Agency: http://www.state.il.us/iema/
Illinois Department of Public Health: http://www.idph.state.il.us/
Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy: http://www.nipsta.org/about.aspx
Avian flu: http://www.alertchicago.org; http://www.panflu.gov
Informative and helpful. Sound like a fair shake and a decent shot for an addict. Of course, it helps to be fabulously, obscenely wealthy… But, still, the Oxy doesn’t care.
GrandmaJ – You may be right, but as cathy says life as an addict is horrible. He’ll be in living hell. It’s horribly ironic that a guy like Rush can get unlimited supplies of prescription drugs and the elderly have to choose between food and prescriptions.
I have never been addicted to anything in my life. That’s because I don’t want anything to control me in any way. To be so controlled would be what life in hell must be like.
Yeah – hair would be a problem to game. GSM (again from what i’ve read/heard) can be gamed because it’s a point-in-time check. Different blocking agents block different things – so it relies on knowing what to look for and someone with $s can stay one step ahead (think about what goes on in pro sports & olympics – and most of those guys don’t have nearly the pockets that rush has…)
I guess it comes down to the zelousness of the probably officer (or whoever’s in charge of testing…) If they really want to catch him and will do lots of random, do some hair, etc. then u guys are right – he’ll get caught if using. But if they just want to go through the motions and nod/wink – i would think he could pass the tests. And given rush’s ability to get the arrangment so far (anyone want to bet on whether he gets any special treatment ;-) ), seems like there’s reasonable possibility he might be able to get some “consideration” on the monitoring side.
Just my suspicion…
ot
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806Y.shtml
Fitzgerald to Seek Indictment of Rove
By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t | Report
Friday 28 April 2006
Despite vehement denials by his attorney who said this week that Karl Rove is neither a “target” nor in danger of being indicted in the CIA leak case, the special counsel leading the investigation has already written up charges against Rove, and a grand jury is expected to vote on whether to indict the Deputy White House Chief of Staff sometime next week, sources knowledgeable about the probe said Friday afternoon.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was in Chicago Friday and did not meet with the grand jury.
Luskin was informed via a target letter that Fitzgerald is prepared to charge Rove for perjury and lying to investigators during Rove’s appearances before the grand jury in 2004 and in interviews with investigators in 2003 when he was asked how and when he discovered that Valerie Plame Wilson worked for the CIA, and whether he shared that information with the media.
emphasis are mine, but if this is true, luskin has told blatent lies that he knew as a fact would come out as lies
d. at 20
You’ve obviously never been to an AA meeting. They are a microcosm of the general universe, containing academy award winners, supreme court justices, astronauts and priests (to name a few)……….
I’m actually made a bit queasy at all the joy taken over Rush’s problem. Sure, I disagree with everything the man stands for and I believe he’s a callow opportunist who often says extreme things as red meat for the LCD in his audience, but I wouldn’t wish the level of addiction he had to Oxy on the worst person in the world. Without compassion, we become just as bad as them.
And in response to the person above who posited that Rush is going to end up in AA and NA meetings confronting the type of people who listen to his show a) pretty much guarantee not a lot of Rush listeners in NYC AA b) no one talks politics anyway so it is not going to matter.
Tess is right. *I’m* at AA meetings and here on FDL on a regular basis.
I depise Limba with the intensity of a thousand white hot suns. He is worse than Jim Fucking Jones and David Koresh and Timothy McVeigh and Karl Rove combined. He is a stealer and ruiner of minds. He sucks out brains and hearts and replaces them with ignorance and hatred. No person has done more to destroy honesty, civility, and critical thought in this country. I lost my own beloved, sensitive, generous-spirited father to the seductions of this vile, evil nazi prick. I know there is no god and maybe even no such thing as karma when I see the likes of Paul Wellstone lying in his grave and this piece of filth enslaver living long and prospering.
Both http://billmon.org and http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ have short takes on the Rush plea bargain.
Brief, but worth checking out.
Oh, and fuck you Roy Black.
Sorry for the OT, but has any one noticed that Babs Comstock is posting now over at the corner?Also, Pachacutec, nice to see you commenting over at the TP blog. Got a real Norwegian Murray Waas hater trolling drivel and back up from this site, especially Fitz related, is always a soothing relief for irritating troll bites.
Sorry bu this just pisses me off so much I gotta turn off the computer and go outside and listen to some birdies or something.
The picture of the pig and the picture of Rush are side by side. I think the pig looks a lot nicer.
OT, but I really think the pig photo is quite sad.
I’m sorry for anyone struggling with addiction, but I agree with Marysz, #9. If he was a black guy, he’d be in jail.
I would like to see us progressives use this Rush example as an opportunity to agitate for abandoning the futile “war on drugs” a.k.a “shoveling against the tide.” It just pisses away a lot of local and national resources that could be spent on health care, education, drug rehab, or you name the social program that might actually do some good. Yeah, yeah, I realize Rush is a hypocritical beneficiary of special treatment not available to a poor black man, but hypocrisy ain’t a crime, and neither should be drug addiction. Just keep them from driving the bus or plane or whatever. I have also found this to be an issue on which many conservatives, and especially libertarians, can agree.
I hope Rush lives in drug addict hell for the rest of his life.Not many deserve this but he does.Its the only way this system can punish him for his sick,destructive life.
GrandmaJ – Yes the AZ legal system did not throw the book at AZ State Senate President Ken Bennetts son, yes I think some deal went down. The deal to prevent a record so the kid could still go on his mormon mission. BUT…. it looks like this family did not get off so easlily because 4 of the families have filed civil suits.
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4826370
Lets see, 18 boys where abused x $75,000 + legal fees + ongoing media + the Mormons here are pissed + general public is pissed + election year = not so light …..
Timothy U – It isn’t glee kicking a man when he is down. It is glee in the fact THAT man has been advocating severe penalities for ANY drug crimes. Over and Over again he was for very strict sentences for any drug crimes, had no sympathy for anyone.
It was the total hypocracy of Rush with years of quotes out in the media on his views of drug users to BE one of those drug users.
Shark – here’s hoping there is sunshine and birds and good stuff. I wish Rayne were here; she would tell you about doing the happy dance and I’d lay odds you would feel better.
OT again, but it crosses my mind everytime I read FDL (several times a day) – to say thank you to Jane, Christy, Pacha and guest bloggers – for the staggering amount of work that must be required to keep this blog running with such consistently high standards everyday. You guys are doing a great public service. Thank you.
sharkbabe at 37, my sentiments exactly (although I don’t think I could put it so succinctly).
The first time I ever heard RL was circa 1991. I was trapped in a car with a bunch of civilian employees of the U.S. Coast Guard, and it was on the radio. He was telling his enrapt audience that teaching teenagers about the use of condoms was advancing the homosexual agenda.
I did not listen to RL again for the subsequent 15 or so years. Last year I got there by mistake fiddling with my car radio. He was delivering an excuse for Abu Grhaib.
He is the acolyte of satan. (and I don’t even believe in satan).
Sharkbabe– take care.
OT but good news– looks like Jane Harman’s gotta fight on her hands from a progressive!
>>>>>
“I decided to run for office after watching Jane Harman on Meet the Press,” Winograd told RAW STORY. “I found her interview very disturbing. She was a lawyer, yet she didn’t know the law concerning the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).”
As the ranking minority member on the House Intelligence Committee, Harman was briefed by the Bush administration on warrantless wiretaps.
“Yet she never voiced any objections, never asked any questions, and then when the story was revealed by the New York Times, she tells [NBC’s] Tim Russert that it was horrible the information was ever leaked,” Winograd says.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0428.html
I’ve had friends who had addiction problems (many of whom eventually got on top of their addictions, some who did not, one or two who let their addictions kill them) and I know how subtly addiction can sneak up on you, and how horrible it can be (both for you and those around you) once you’re wrapped up in it.
I would not wish an addiction on my worst enemy… unless, of course, he had made his fortune in part by endlessly attacking addicts and drug users on the national airwaves, attempting to dehumanize them and to encourage his listeners to treat them like vermin.
In Rush Limbaugh’s case, fuck him. Truly… fuck him. I never thought I’d say this about a substance addiction, but in Rush’s case it quite simply couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Add to that the fact that he’s weaseling his way out of having to suffer anything even vaguely resembling the consequences he has spent years loudly and shrilly advocating for the rest of us, should we ever be busted on drug related charges, and I reiterate… fuck him. I hope he backslides for the rest of his utterly wasted life, never manages to truly clean himself up, and eventually gets himself busted in a way that he can’t get out of by throwing money and influence around.
And I’ll deal with my own karma for wishing something like that on him, thank ya very much.
Following up myself at 43, it would be cool to mount a “callingallwingnuts” style campaign to call the gasbag’s show (or any conservative gasbag’s show, for that matter) and ask on the air, “In light of your (Rush’s) oxycontin problem and its resolution, would you be in favor of decriminalizing drug possession and offering treatment instead of jail time?” Tee hee.
Just an observation:
Heavy Oxycontin use tends to give men a very soft, squishy physique (soft cheeks, fatty chin and neck, breasts, etc). Given the dramatic change in Rush’s face over the last year (one can now find the bone structure), either he’s had some serious plastic surgery, or he’s really off the stuff (or way down in his use, in my non-expert opinion).
He’s a total disgrace of a human being, but I wish him well in this battle, and hope it changes him for the better.
But what if the “masking agent” is Oxycontin for which Rush has a legitimate prescription? Can the terms of his probation specify that he can’t receive prescribed pain relief?
Here in California, where we have Prop 215 medical marijuana, probation departments routinely specify that — doctor’s recommendation or no — there can be no THC found in urine.
Christy
Alas, I think your “prosecutor’s skepticism” is entirey warranted. But where my fellow liberals revel in unabashed schedenfreude over the prospect of this junkie violating the skillfully negotiated terms of his “deferred prosecution”, I pity Rush and hope that this ordeal compels him to show more empathy for other drug addicts who do not have Roy Black to get them off, legally speaking.
Think Russell Simmons and all he’s trying to do to abolish the absurd Rockefeller laws in NYC; And, all of the drugs addicts – and those merely ensnared by association with them – who are now spending a virtual eternity in jail because of our misguided draconian drug laws….
This is the real story, not Rush pissing in a cup!
Anthony at 54, amen, brother.
I read on the CBS site that he had gotten 2,000 pills in a six month period. I confess ignorance of the law, and am looking around, but isn’t that a big enough number to charge him with intent to distribute?
On Drudge it says: Rush Limbaugh…NOT GUILTY
Lies have become legitimized tools in the tool kit of American Culture for many many many people.
I think somebody is reading FDL!
See this editorial in NY Times…Had Enough? Vote Democratic!
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04…..amp;emc=th
Carolyn Urban 42:
It’s so funny you mention that — my 5 year old was sitting in my lap this a.m. while I was checking out my favorite blogs. He noticed the “poor, sad piggy in jail,” as he calls it, and then saw Rush’s smiling mug shot juxtaposed. He said “look! That mean man is happy that the poor, sad piggy is in jail!”
It was nice to be able to say truthfully, yep, he is a mean man.
We checked out lots of other blogs, and in many instances found Rush appearing to smile at the sad fate of the poor pig.
“hope that this ordeal compels him to show more empathy for other drug addicts who do not have Roy Black to get them off, legally speaking.”
I’ve been hearing this ever since his Oxycontin addiction came to light, ever since he allegedly went through rehab, etc.
Hasn’t happened yet, now has it? Near as I can tell, Limbaugh is still exactly the same on the air as he’s ever been, and I don’t expect we’ll suddenly see the schmuck expressing empathy for addicts simply because he is one. That’s not what his listeners want, that’s not what the companies buying ad time on his show want, and bottom line: that’s not what his BANK ACCOUNT wants.
Limbaugh is a whore to the Nth degree, and will never decrease his income for the sake of being a decent human being for once in his life. I’d be rooting for him if I thought this was possible, if I thought there was a chance in Hell that he would suddenly wake up because of his own troubles and say “Hey, wait a minute folks… we need to look at addiction and addicts in a really different way from what I’ve been telling you all these years. I am one, and there but for the grace of God go many of you.”
But it’s not happening. It hasn’t happened yet, and it’s sure not going to happen now that his lawyer got him off the hook.
How about another of the BushCo under investigation (What is new about that?)
Ex-Head of F.D.A. Faces Criminal Inquiry
Guess what…. he left his position at the FDA to do WHAT job….. ANYONE ….. yep…”He has since joined a Washington lobbying firm, Policy Directions Inc.”
Too bad Nixon never thought of this “invoking state secrets” privilege to escape oversight from criminal activity. It’s awesome.
http://news.com.com/2061-10789_3-6066688.html
Bush administration invokes “state secrets” in suit against NSA
April 28, 2006 7:41 PM PDT
It’s official: The Bush administration formally said Friday that it will try to halt a lawsuit that accuses AT&T of helping the National Security Agency spy on Americans illegally.
In an 8-page document (PDF) filed with a federal court in the northern district of California, the U.S. Justice Department said it will intervene in the lawsuit and try to have it tossed out of court.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group based in San Francisco, filed the class action lawsuit against the federal government in January. The suit claims AT&T’s alleged cooperation violates free speech and privacy rights found in the U.S. Constitution and also contravenes federal wiretapping law, which prohibits electronic surveillance “except as authorized by statute.”
A Los Angeles Times article dated Dec. 26 quoted an unnamed source as saying the NSA has a “direct hookup” into an AT&T database that stores information about all domestic phone calls, including how long they lasted. In addition, EFF said earlier this month that it has unearthed possibly-confidential documents describing a “dragnet” scheme in use by AT&T. (AT&T, which has repeatedly declined to comment, has asked that the documents be returned.)
The Justice Department said in its filing that the “United States intends to assert the military and state secrets privilege” and have the case dismissed.
Too bad it’s not megadeepshit for the megadipshit.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day. And, there are a lot of tomorrow’s in 18 months.
Just watch, they’ll make the poor maid do time.
1,037 DAYS AND THE KILLING GOES ON!!
Anthony,
It is becuase of “…all of the drug addicts…who are now spending a virtual eternity in jail because of our misguided draconian drug laws” and because of the fascist high security prison society that those drug laws and nazi stooges like Limbaugh have created that we must be righteously outraged. No more tolerance and understanding for hippocrites and fascist murderers. No more finding common ground through common experience with fascist shock troops that enable the killing of our future. I say YES “…revel in unabashed shedenfreude over the prospect of this” snagglytoothed, pimpelyfaced, corpulent gobblen goin to jail after succuming to the power of the drugs.
When are we liberals gunna understand that this is a war of attrition, to the death, it’s us or them and we can’t let one single one of ‘em enjoy the opportunity of a free society that they will not grant millions of others.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, THIS WAR IS A LONG WAY FROM OVER!!!
Wouldn’t it be a hoot to hear RL on the radio ranting about how his right to privacy is being invaded? I expect the wingnuts will bring out their compassionate conservatism for this one. No wait! It’s the media’s fault. Rush would not be addicted to drugs if weren’t for the liberal media. Or worse, he does a Jimmy Swaggart cry-a-thon on his show. It’s not like these people have any shame. I gues we’ll see next week.
Maybe we can work out a deal where we exchange Rush for one undocumented immigrant:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..o_drugs_dc
Katymine, thanks for the NYTimes link on Dr. Crawford and the FDA. The last sentence is my favorite.
“It would be remarkable if the Justice Department was conducting a criminal investigation of Plan B and at the same time asserting in a civil case that everything done was normal,” Mr. Heller said.”
It was obvious something was up when Crawford resigned suddenly right after he was confirmed.
Reddhead, You reference Jeralyn’s “FindLaw” article, but her article is published at Lawyers.com. Lawyers.com appears to be affiliated with LexisNexis whereas FindLaw is a subsidiary of Thomson Corporation. I wouldn’t want to get caught between the two behemoths of legal research…. -:)
re: EFF vs AT&T (NSA, allegedly)
The AP version via Yahoo has this tidbit:
“The government, in a filing here late Friday, said the lawsuit threatens to expose government and military secrets and therefore should be tossed. The administration added that its bid to intervene in the case should not be viewed as a concession that the allegations are true.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..NlYwM3MTg-
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It’s bad enough the legal loophole, but to add the Orwellian ’should not be viewed as a concession that the allegatins are true” bullshit puts me in a Bruce Banner going green state.
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About Rush: As others have pointed out, given the length of time since the charges surfaced most folks in America of meager means would be looking counting the days to a favorble parole decision. Maybe. If they were lucky.
Not to ruin anyone’s weekend, but take a look at this. Not about Rush, but about Peak Oil and where we stand today.
tedb at 68 — ooops. Thanks — it’s corrected above. Chalk that one up to too little coffee at the time of the writing. Hate it when I do that.
Just as an aside:
I have no data, but, if there were a stock market that had IPO’s for A) EDUCATION or B) PRISONS, which would you ‘invest’ in today (ie where will most of the ‘profit’ lay?)
They’re making Homeland Security a college major. Lord.
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I’d rather be Alex than a droog.
OT– check this out via Raw Story– can I just say I want the administration on trial for this disgusting and continuing behavior and no plea deals– only long and protracted jail time.
>>>>>>
U.S. prepares to face U.N. on torture as Amnesty report blasts ‘war crimes’
RAW STORY
Published: Friday April 28, 2006
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As the United States prepares a team of 30 to defend its record on torture before a U.N. committee, Amnesty International has made public a report blasting the United States for failing to take appropriate steps to eradicate use of torture at U.S. detention sites around the world, RAW STORY has learned.
U.S. compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment will be the topic of May 5 and 8 U.N. hearings in Geneva.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0428.html
Eighteen months is a long time to stay clean. Especially when you consider his GOP masters are going to get their asses kicked in the Nov. elections, and the sex scandal that’s just come to light, and his sinking ratings, well, it’s gonna get real hard out there for an addict.
And what if his CNN bobble head girlfriend gets smart (Hahaha!) and dumps him?
Like all addicts, he’s one bad event away from a relapse, and there are a lot of bad events headed his way.
Just saw the Colbert and Kristol clip at C&L. No cable here, and I’ve never click on any clips. Lordy.
There’s a great quote I’m gonna have to replay to get accurately, but aside from that he makes him say ‘I do not beat my wife’. Classic. I can’t remember if it was LBJ of maybe Rayburn (maybe it’s received wisdom) who said, “I don’t care if he’s not a wife beater; make him deny it.”
Now I think on it, that’s the Lee Atwater school lately.
Colbert to Kristol:
“I think the best possible way to show Iran that nuclear weapons are not what they want…is to give ‘em one.”
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priceless.
New thread
Stephen Parrish CPA: I’ve been meaning to respond to your inquiry about Quaker ancestry. I have 10-11 generations of Quakers in my ancestry. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend Albion’s Seed by David Hackett Fischer — it’s excellent as a resource and as a read — discusses the four great waves of European immigrants that settled America: the Puritans, the Royalist elites and indentured servants, Quakers and those from the borderlands of North Brittain and Northern Ireland. The folkways of each group, their attitudes toward religion, family, marriage, gender, child-rearing, sex, food, etc. is the best…. and these attitudes are easily recognized right now, today. Genealogy is fun.
While it couldn’t have happened to a meaner guy, considering Rush’s hypocrisy, I join the voices calling for sane drug laws. The present system, combined with the sudden increase in for-profit prisons (requiring more prisoners to insure growth), may make the abuses of the Bush-inspired CIA seem like small potatoes compared to massive abuses in the private system (wait until all those private contractors come back from Iraq!).
While it’s vital to the preservation of our Constitutional system to return a Democratic majority to Congress, these new Democrats must be educated to the dire consequences of so-called “law and order.” Just as the war in Iraq exacerbates terrorism, so draconian punishments help create a more lawless society. After all, it’s no coincidence that Red States, where educational levels are lower and passport issuance is less than half that of Blue States, have higher rates of violent crime, substance abuse and divorce.
Not to worry about all those poor people incarcerated for what I agree are draconian drug laws:
>>>>>>
The Justice Department plans to set aside cellblocks at up to half a dozen federal prisons for an ambitious pilot program to prepare inmates for release. But it has produced an outcry by saying that it wants a private group to counsel the prisoners according to a single faith.
The plans do not specify what that faith must be, but they appear to rule out secular counseling or programs that offer inmates guidance in a variety of faiths.
The Washington-based advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State charged in a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that the Justice Department’s Bureau of Prisons has tailored its bidding requirements to fit one particular program: an immersion in evangelical Christianity offered by Charles W. Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministries.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0429.html
“Should be an interesting 18 months for a man with an ego as big as Rush’s is. This isn’t an easy thing for a true addict to deal with — if he successfully completes treatment and sincerely wants to change, then he will likely make it through.”
This doesn’t sound like an easy thing for ANYONE to deal with.
Icky. Icky.
Leaving aside all the hypocrisy stuff and my (and many of our) total dislike of Rush Limbaugh’s methods and politics, can’t we (this country, that is) get over this drug/alcohol/puritanism — and The Law (police)/humiliation-as-solution-to-every-problem-real-or-imagined — thing?
I would not wish the consequences of one of our great national obsessions to be visited on anyone at all.
Looks like notjonathon beat me to the national (anti) drug and alcohol obsession even as I wrote my reply, above! And he covered more ground, too.
Christy Hardin Smith:
“….says to me they had an uncooperative doctor and/or pharmacist.”
Which says to me that said doctor/pharmacist was handsomely “rewarded”….
If Rush truly has to submit to drug tests, he could really be in trouble. The guy is a pro. The fact that he was also getting clonidine (described as a “blood pressure” medication in news stories, but also used to take the edge off of heroin and opioid withdrawal). I think that there is a distinct possibility that this guy shoots heroin. I don’t know if people find that to be far fetched, but anyone who goes after that much opioid as well as Xanax and Clonidine would be assumed to be a heroin addict until proven otherwise in the world of substance abuse treatment. Just because he is a big name celebrity, it doesn’t change that fact.
Christy:
“The reason you have to do the piss test in front of someone else is to prevent the testee from substituting someone else’s urine for their tainted sample.”
That’s why some athletes swear by the whizzinator. http://www.whizzinator.com/
Rush Limbaugh, the ultimate punk rock icon, showing a big middle finger to the nanny state fuddie-duddies and their stodgy legal values…‘I ain’t gonna pee pee in no cup unless the liberal media drinks it all up…OI!’
;>)
Continuing the trend, started by Tom DeLay, that involves being arrested in order to avoid the expense of purchasing publicity photos, Rush Limbaugh “elected†to be arrested in Miami. There is speculation that Karl Rove may take advantage of the free publicity photos within the next couple weeks. A Democratic source indicated that additional Republicans were expected to participate in the free photography services.
read more observations here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
No sympathy for the man. He deserves far worse than he got. Just this last week he attacked marijuana users.
“The FDA says there’s no — zilch, zero, nada — shred of medicinal value to the evil weed marijuana. This is going to be a setback to the long-haired, maggot-infested, dope-smoking crowd.”
This from the man who destroyed his own hearing because he was addicted to Oxy. This from the man who never misses an opportunity to lie on the air. I want to se him crushed, trampled, and beaten; forget jail. Let the working people of this country have their way with him.
This agreement is designed so that Rush doesn’t ever have to admit he has been “convicted” of a crime. In the press release on Limbaugh’s website, his lawyer says “we believe the outcome for him personally will be much as if he had fought the charge and won” — except, of course, he didn’t.
This is not the deal that other drug users get, I wouldn’t think.
Black can spin it all he wants to but anyone with half a brain knows that the piece of shit is a drug addict and that if he has cut a deal, he will have to follow the criteria included in the deal. BULLSHIT- in todays good old US of A- if you are a goper you can do whatever ytou want to do! Unless and until the good guys decide that they have to stand up and fight back, these bastards will continue to methodically destroy the constitution and screw the rest of us!
billjpa@aol.com
When will he do the ads for the Wizzonator?
I kicked Oxy cold turkey, and I was still in the severe pain it had been prescribed for when I did it. I got nothing for doing it but a lot of pain and a clearer mind.
If Rush fails to do it he loses a career (however unsavory) and millions of dollars. If I did it he can too, unless he’s the sort of scumball I think he is. Oughta be interesting to see what happens.
Hello, who is it?
Oh, it’s for you Rush, she says her name is “karma”.
But what are the chances that Rush will be treated just like everybody else? Or will he get a free pass because he’s rich and he has political influence?
Look, while I enjoy the schadenfreude aspect of seeing a blowhard like Rush get busted, I’m sure there are many of us here who feel that drug enforcement is this country is handled extremely poorly.
I firmly believe that drug addiction is a medical problem, not a criminal one. Ultimately, what one chooses to put in one’s body is one’s choice. If that choice results in problems in one’s life, then stopping the addiction is the primary concern, not “punishing” one.
I’d like to see a little more intellectual consistency from the opponents of the drug war here. The drug laws are morally wrong, even when they are applied to someone like Rush (who spouts incessantly about the need for strict enforcement of them when it’s young, poor, non-white people getting busted). Yes, seeing him hoist by his own petard does have a glorious irony to it, but still…
I am, however, quite torn regarding the fact that the laws ARE on the books as written, and therefore need to be enforced.
I’d like to see Rush come out of this by making a 180 and realizing the cruelty and unfairness of the drug war, but somehow, I don’t think that will be his reaction to it. I know, it’s crazy to assume that Rush won’t be inellectually honest, isn’t it? :P
To add to my post immediately above: I just read through more of the thread and saw the folks who appear to agree with me.
Well, that teaches me to read the ENTIRE thread before jumping to conclusions…
D’oh! My bad…
Thanks for a more realistic read than the cheerleading over at TL (though I understand the defense attorney’s zeal).
My guess, Rush will get “legit” prescriptions for pain killers and the court will acquiesce. And I don’t know, but I expect a rather cream puff “treatment” component if one is stipulated.
Oh yeah, being an addicitons professional, I get to take the pee tests from clients. The really humorous (or pathetic) cases are where a client does try to scam the test by bringing in someones else’s pee . . . and it comes back from the lab positive.
Also being a lawyer, I see both sides of the issues, and it really irks me that a scum like Ruch virtually waltzes through the system, though my treatment side recognizes that harsh punishment really acccomplishes little. But I consider Rush a special case, for whom nothing can be too “unfair”.
I despise Rush Limbaugh.
But not nearly as much as I despise the “war on drugs”.
I realize he’s a total hypocrite, but the larger issues involved are more important than seeing this gasbag go down.
Yeah, enigma…
guess I should have just aid “ditto”.
i always assumed rush’s chronic pain problem was due to somebody gorked a surgery for the dreaded herniated disc.now i’m hearing that rush had a malformation of the coccyx which consisted of extra vertebra which amounted to-lord have mercy-a tail!also supposedly he developed complications in the form of several giant septic cysts and that’s the reason why he had to have surgery which may or may not have been a gork job.
does anybody know if this is the original medical problem?if so i guess it explains why rush is so irritable.i’m an x-addict and first got hooked due to a chronic pain problem,and i think about 70% of all the junkies i ever knew got their start because of pain problems.rush seems to be deeply committed to addiction if he had medical problems that kept him out of vietnam,which is what i have heard.you have to abuse to the max and for decades to lose your hearing,that’s for sure.you can’t bullshit a bullshitter-as an x ykw,i predict rush will never allow anyone to take his drugs away,nor give them up volontarily.iv’e seen them come & go and iv’e never called one wrong.probable hopeless case.
As a doctor, I have been on the receiving end of some drug seekers.I take this mis-use of medicine VERY seriously.
When a host of a radio show in Tn was accused of child molestation, they kicked his butt off the air fast.
Imagine my surprise when I called our local AM RL outlet and asked if they had a Zero Tolerance Policy. They said they did, so I asked why an admitted , current, and unrepentant addict was still allowed to pollute our air waves. I never got a good reply, maybe I’ll try again now he’s been found guilty.
Hey Kids, try this in your home town , maybe we can shame him off the air.
that’s harly fair to mexico. we’d get someone who would do an honest days work, and they’d get a blowhard who’s never done a day of work in his life.
“I didn’t do it, and I promise not to do it again.”
– Rush Limbaugh
well,a comment from a doctor.sounds like he thinks addicts are a goddamn nuisance.know why?
probably because he’s not a pediatrician-they have additional training on how to deal with whining little spoiled brats.that’s what addicts are-people who will do whatever it takes to avoid growing up and learning how to solve adult problems.i recognise in rl the monster ego,self centeredness,nasty temper and slippery addict moral elasticity that i myself had to work hard to get rid of so i could remain drug free.i know rush would never change volontarily-no addict ever will as long as he/she can keep on spinning the bs.with all that money and roy black to help him avoid being punished,why would rush quit?now it’s coming out that rush has been caught numerous times and the incidents have been hushed up.
i was a hardcore narcotics addict for 5 yrs and i have not taken a drug or a drink for 6 yrs.i know rush limbaugh probably does not have what it takes to quit-with or without rehab.i opted for the home cure,but it makes no difference-rehab does not work for people who refuse to quit.
Re the medical implications of addiciton to painkillers. As I said, I deal with addicts and yes many of them start on addiciton through scripts. I, too, have had a lot of pain, including back/disc problems, but have never used meds. The “best” I ever used was Soma (without codeine), a muscle relaxent, or ibubrophen.
I’ve noticed that addicts largely lose touch with the notion of threshold of pain, and use any pain, or imagined pain to “accept” a script(and many doctors are only to willing to oblige; some not so willing in the current climate). Many of my clients have honed acting to scam drugs at the ER to a fine art.
Finally, try to talk about alternative approaches to pain management and you get a big guffaw.
I wish, hope, pray Rush suffers as much as humanly possible.
I have utter compassion for addicts – every single person in my family is a recovering addict. I also taught highschool, working with students who have drug problems. I have seen how drugs can destroy and/or end lives.
I also hate the drug laws in this country. But Rush’s abuse of THIS drug is different.
First of all, he has brought tremendous publicity to this drug – which made my students want to get ahold of it and try it (it wasn’t that they liked Rush, it was simply the publicity).
But worse than this, it feeds in to this paranoia of doctors to treat pain. (Seee DonS, post 106). How does he “know” that his patients are pretending?
Last year, I had a herniated disc, which was so painful that I fainted and vomitted as I crawled to the bathroom. I saw an emergency doctor, who refused to give me any pain meds, and wrote in my record, “Patient looking for narcotics?”
I have a friend with 7 herniated discs – and constantly has to fight/beg/plead for meds.
And my mother – who spent 20 years as a V.A. nurse, working with spinal cord injuries, has now discovered her vertebrae are crumbling around her spine, and there is no treatment. Just pain management. And she has to fight her doctors for effective pain meds.
It is people like Rush who have contributed to the Government intruding into the medical profession, making doctors paranoid, and taking effective meds out of the mouths of those who truly need it. I hate him.
But there is no fairness in this world – except death. May Rush die alone and in excruciating pain.
Based upon my 30 years experience as a criminal defence attorney, I must respectfully disagree with some of the things said in the original post. Of course, my experience has been exclusively in Alaska, and so it may or may not be the same as Florida. It would be great if someone who has Florida experience could weigh in.
First, there are (in Alaska) deferred prosecutions, suspended imposition of sentences, and suspended sentences. They refer to three differenct outcomes.
A suspended sentence is easiest to understand. The defendant is convicted and sentenced to jail. Then the judge says, I will suspend the sentence, or part of it, on the following conditions: submit to urinalysis, commit no crimes, take a course in anger management, or some other conditions. Usually, the conditions include reporting to a probation officer, and in Alaska, they are the same people who supervise parole (which has to do with release after serving a portion of a jail or prison sentence.) A judge can suspend all or a part of a sentence. The judge can also impose a fine and suspend none, all or a portion of it.
A suspended imposition of sentence is a more favorable outcome forf the defendant. When the judge suspends imposition of sentence, the defendant is convicted, but the judge postpones entry of the judgment. Again, the defendant is on probation, but no specific sentence is hanging over him or her. The judge says, at the end of the year (or whatever period she imposes) “instead of sentencing you, I will set aside the conviction, and dismiss the case.” At that point, (like Rush if he is successful) the defendant can say, “there has never been a criminal judgment against me; I have no convictions.” If he fails probation, the judge can impose any legal sentence.
Rush got an even better deal. He got a deferred prosecution. In this case the prosecutor says, I will make a deal: I will hold off prosecution, and if you are good for a year (defined as clean UAs, etc.) I will just let the case go, i.e. I will dismiss it. This is a great deal, because the defendant is never even convicted unless he fouls out of the program. Conditions that are regularly imposed include doing community service such as picking up litter on the highway.
Now if you think about it, Rush was arrested. It is likely that his speedy trial rights are implicated. Obviously, he doesn’t want a speedy trial — he doesn’t want any trial at all. So, if Florida is like Alaska, he would have to give an explicit waiver of his speedy trial rights. This might be in a written agreement in the prosecutors office.
Most defendants would do anything to get this deal, including but not limited to signing away their speedy trial rights. There are also due process rights connected with speedy prosecution, and these must be waived, too.
Since there is no conviction, there can be no fine, and so, the defendant sometimes agrees to pay “court costs,” which are the same in all but name. If the prosecution is reinstated, and a conviciton results, the defendant can be fined up to the maximum amount provided by law. (No automatic credit for the court costs.)
In Alaska, the fact that there is no conviction, means that there is no probation officer. Sometimes this is called “informal probation.” By way of analogy, the defendant’s situation is like a defendant out on bail, in our state system. (Contra: the federal system where the P.O.s also supervise pre-trial release.) Who might Rush be submitting pee to? In Alaska, he would have a lab fax the test results to the prosecutor.
Now here’s the really interesting part. In the document in which the defendant waives his speedy trial rights, etc., it is normal for the defendant to also waive the privilege against self incrimination, and admit that the facts alleged are true. He may also admit that the facts contained in the police report are true, stipulate to their admissibility, and that they are sufficient to sustain a conviction. The defendant also waives the right to a jury. The idea here is that if the prosecutor has to re-instate the prosecution, the trial can be completed in less than 5 minutes.
Therefore, if Florida follows the pattern of Alaska, there is probably a document out there, where Rush Limbaugh admits to a very serious crime. Since this stuff is a tad arcane, I don’t know if any investigative reporters are investigating or reporting.
Visit the Schapira blog, What we know so far…
“… and tell ’em Big Mitch sent ya!â€
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Florida Statutes
893.135 Trafficking; mandatory sentences;
(c)1. Any person who knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, 4 grams or more of oxycodone, or 4 grams or more of any mixture containing any such substance, but less than 30 kilograms of such substance or mixture, commits a felony of the first degree, which felony shall be known as “trafficking in illegal drugs,” punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. If the quantity involved:
c. Is 28 grams or more, but less than 30 kilograms, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 calendar years and pay a fine of $500,000.
b. Is 14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years, and the defendant shall be ordered to pay a fine of $100,000.
a. Is 4 grams or more, but less than 14 grams, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years, and the defendant shall be ordered to pay a fine of $50,000.