Limbaugh Detained for Unathorized Viagra Possession (VIDEO)

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Rush Limbaugh is once again in trouble for prescription drug irregularities: This time, he was carrying Viagra without his name on the bottle.

Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription. Customs officials found a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra in his luggage that didn’t have Limbaugh’s name on it, but that of two doctors, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was “labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes,” Roy Black, Limbaugh’s attorney, said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator’s luggage after his private plane landed at the airport from the Dominican Republic, said Miller. The matter was referred to the sheriff’s office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh. According to Miller, Limbaugh said that the Viagra was for his use, and that he obtained it from his doctors. Investigators confiscated the drugs, which treats erectile dysfunction, and Limbaugh was released without being charged.

One could understand the fuss if Limbaugh were carrying Viagra in case quantities, raising the possibility that it was for resale. But, really, they’re detaining people for hours for a mismatched drug label? Indeed, devoting man-hours to reading the labels on drug bottles and cross-checking them with ID cards?

Further, granting that Limbaugh is a public figure, why are they having a news conference about what, at most, is a second-degree misdemeanor? Unless they’re charging people with something, one would think citizens have some right to privacy in these matters.

AP has a video entitled “Limbaugh Carrying Viagra Without a Prescription”

Rush Limbaugh Carrying Viagra Without a Prescription VIDEO

Crooks and Liars has video from an early report on this by Keith Olberman.

UPDATE: Much discussion in the comments about the nature of Limbaugh’s “probabation.” Commenter just me provides a link to the plea agreement. I’ve thumbnailed it below.

Rush Limbaugh Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Rush Limbaugh Deferred Prosecution Agreement p. 2

Rush Limbaugh Deferred Prosecution Agreement p. 3

If he’s actually charged with a crime here, he’s clearly in violation of #1. One wonders if “the Dominican Republic” constitutes a violation of #9; methinks not. Of course, the reason Limbaugh was allowed to cop to a non-plea was not, as many commenters claim, he’s a bigshot but, because the prosecutors didn’t think they had enough to convict. That’s unlikely to change with the discovery of improperly labeled Viagra on his person.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin agrees, wondering where the “privacy mongers” are on this issue. She also observes, “Why the hell is the Sheriff’s Office releasing the name of the drug–other than the attempted public humiliation of a conservative icon? Why wouldn’t it have sufficed to identify it as a non-narcotic prescription drug?” Indeed.

UPDATE: Limbaugh joked about the incident on today’s show, according to AP:

Limbaugh joked about the search on his radio show Tuesday, saying Customs officials didn’t believe him when he said he got the pills at the Clinton Library and he was told they were blue M&Ms. He later added, chuckling: “I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it.”

Later in the piece, we get some legal analysis:

This latest case may simply be dismissed if prosecutors can confirm with Limbaugh’s doctor that the prescription was indeed for Limbaugh, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Florida. “It’s perhaps a little embarrassing but not highly incriminating,” Coffey said. In addition, possession of Viagra is in a “completely different universe than a matter that would involve Schedule Two (controlled) substances such as OxyContin” Coffey added.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Viagra is not considered a controlled substance because “it’s not something you can be addicted to,” said DEA Investigator Maria Gilbert.

I’ll refrain from commentary on that one….

OTB

UPDATE: More funnies via Drudge via Hot Air: