God Bless Patrick!
That poor family has suffered so.
Bless them all!
Posted on 05/07/2006 4:38:27 AM PDT by billorites
As U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) spent his first day in rehab yesterday, one of the world’s leading experts on drug addiction - who was invited by Kennedy to speak at an upcoming conference - said there are 2 million Americans like the congressman who abuse prescription narcotics.
“It’s a major problem in this country, the abuse of prescription medication, and we are not recognizing it,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy checked into the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Friday evening after crashing his Mustang convertible into a concrete barrier near Capitol Hill during the early hours on May 4. He blamed the crash on a medication-induced fog from the prescription pills Ambien and Phenergan, which he said he was taking to help him sleep and for stomach pain, respectively.
He denied drinking any alcohol, but detectives are interviewing employees at the Hawk ’n’ Dove bar on Capitol Hill to determine whether Kennedy, 38, was boozing prior to the crash. Police at the crash scene observed Kennedy’s “eyes were red and watery, speech was slightly slurred” and his balance was “unsure,” according to a police report on the incident.
In an interview with the Providence Journal, Kennedy said he’s been trying for months to kick a narcotic painkiller which he declined to name. He also told the newspaper he has “never gotten over” the chronic back pain and painkiller abuse that stemmed from surgery to remove a growth near his spine during college.
In Washington, a first-time offense conviction of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol carries a mandatory six-month license suspension as well as fines.
“I think it’s very important that they are frank about their problems,” Volkow said of the admission by Kennedy and other public figures about their addictions.
Volkow, who is lecturing on drug addiction tomorrow at MIT, is also scheduled to give a talk next month in Providence, R.I., at a conference organized by Kennedy and Brown University.“This is the way society will slowly open its eyes to discuss drug addiction as a disease instead of hiding it because that just continues the stigmatization,” Volkow said.
God Bless Patrick!
That poor family has suffered so.
Bless them all!
charge Kennedy with doctor shopping
Instead of discussing the heroics of the rehab visits, the rest of us would be discussing our release from custody with our attorneys. And, if this were high profile cons like Rush, liberals would be demanding that they be in jail.
Whatta ballwash.
"Tougher...all agree. But the democRAT front appears to be determined to try even harder!
Where were all these people making excuses for the Kennedy spawn when Rush was accused of doctor shopping?
I dont make excuses I just take note that everyone is coming up with these BS excuss for poor baby Kennedy while they were trying to hang Rush.
Kennedy claiming he wasnt drunk is an outright lie. What is Kennedy's Doctor's name and why after ten years of prescribing pain killers wasnt he asking himself if he was being used?.
This Doctor should be under investigation, obviously a Doctor Feelgood . Just a little inconvenient that Patches checks himself into rehab a day after his accident, where were his thoughts on his drug abuse the day before?
So many lifelong victims...
ALL the local boston press out here is rehabbing Pat's image. It was a little bit of a surprise to see a Boston Herald Pat rehab article. The Herald, fortunately, is not usually in the tank for the Kennedy scum ball machine.
Unbelievable! Are they now going to try to make Kennedy the poster boy for bravery because of his having brought this dark societal secret out into the light of day when there has been public discussion of drug addition for decades. I guess the new spin is that it's not the fault of the addict since it is just a disease, like something you catch, not something which is entirely your responsibility.
The adroit and successful use of the magicians' Art of Misdirection in all its glory.
Fascinating to watch this unfold.
Leni
I can't take five minutes of CNN even when they're giving the national weather forecast.
>>What is Kennedy's Doctor's name and why after ten years of prescribing pain killers wasnt he asking himself if he was being used?.
What makes you think he really is "addicted to painkillers"?
It seems much more likely that he's just addicted to Glenlivet.
Why is it that they write stories about how "common" it is for people to be addicted to drugs when a Dem gets in trouble but if it were a conservative, all they can talk about is the potential trouble he/she is facing and how shocking of revelation it was etc.
And they say the media bias is non existant
Yeah for sure. That's why we are here. Rush was all over this when it started and really made the point when he featured the obvious double standard given a true rat rock star--a kennedy vs. how the rats treat Buckwheat--staggering differences.
He should have called a cab like a responsible drunk.
Is anyone really surprised at the portrayal of a democrat as a victim?
The cost to a country that Drug addiction whether to prescription or illegal drugs are devastating.
Tired of the socialist MSM continually slanting stories to solidify their agenda.
Any elected official that is impaired needs to get out of office.
That is probably true.
The difference is most of the other million people don't have the funds to do what Patches did.
>>He should have called a cab like a responsible drunk.
As a buddy recent observed:
"The Kennedy's are effing loaded. WHY DO THEY DRIVE THEMSELVES AROUND?!?!?
Now I'm not saying if I were filthy rich I wouldn't drive myself around, but then again my family doesn't have a history of offing themselves and/or others with various modes of transport.
You'd think this would have been etched into stone at some point. If you're a black man in a horror movie you stay the hell outta the pool and if you're a Kennedy... anywhere... stay the eff away from the controls."
I thought that succinctly summarized the issue.
/recent/recently/
Still finishing the first cup of coffee.
"This Doctor should be under investigation,"
I agree
"where were his thoughts on his drug abuse the day before?"
He was still under the affects of Ambien, therefore still asleep.
There is no crime that the Kennedys and the Clintons can get away with!
If this involved was a Conservative, he would be crucified by the press! Look how they treated Rush & he was never involved in any driving fiasco!
Lets face the enforcement of laws depends on what side of the Political spectrum that you are involved!
The whole Kennedy clan is just pure sick. They are a group of malcontents loaded with power, money and influence and none of them are happy. I find it unbelievable that Patches has no one (yet) running against him this fall, thus ensuring him another win for the dumbed-down voters of RI.
This man is unstable, he's had multiple drug-related incidents plus at least two known stints in rehab. How much can anyone trust him to do his job as an elected official? I can forgive someone with an addiction problem if they get over it, get thru rehab and commit to staying sober. Otherwise, you're on your own, pal.
Hasn't he been in rehab a number of times so in fact this is not his first day at all?
Rush didn't crash into a Capitol barrier in the early hours of some drunken,stoned morning. (Suicide Bombers take note, it's easy to do and you won't face a "For Republican's Only" ethics committee).
Rush didn't look straight into the cameras and lie to the nation.
Rush, who's dad never killed a young women, didn't almost run over a police officer.
Rush didn't have the MSM and local police officials cover up for him.
Rush didn't get a chance to enter a rehab on his own.
Let's get some comments from the usual outspoken liberal leaders...
For the record, you know, for historical purposes.
LOL!
Gee, this is really wonderful. Drunks and drug addicts used to have a stigma attached. Now they're heroes. The rehab dodge works great in court, too. "Admit" to the judge that you need help, give a good cry, and he'll dismiss most of the charges, you can write a check to make it go away, and he'll send you to rehab for a few weeks.
Simple: no potentially embarassing witnesses.
This article is deceptive -- the problem's not just drug addiction -- it's drug abuse by an active alcholic. A double-whammy. But, of course, since there's no potential third-party (i.e. doctor) to be blamed for the boozing, let's concentrate on the drugs, and the victimology of numbers: if millions of people have a drug-abuse problem, no big deal if one high-profile, elected official engages in potentially homicidal behavior.
When it's a democrat, to hell with the Congress, the presidency or 300 million Americans. It's all a soap opera and we're supposed to cry along.
Pocket people is what Old Joe and JFK used to call the "journalists" who did their bidding.
If I were the CEO of the company that produces Ambien I would have private detectives all over Patches bullsh*t story with the goal of suing him for damages.
No.
What I want to know, that of course no one has yet addressed: Did he pay his bar tab at the Hawk & Dove with cash, or with a credit card. If the latter, there's a pretty damning paper trail.
Patches now has a platform to run for President.
I have not heard of any sleep medication that makes your eyes red and watery, or that interferes with a person's sense of balance.
Heroin
It's sickening to watch the old media run to cover the exposed bottom of one of their exalted Kennedy's.
The Kennedy's are the wealthiest shanty Irish in America.
"If I were the CEO of the company that produces Ambien I would have private detectives all over Patches bullsh*t story with the goal of suing him for damages."
If they've got any brains, they will. The local network news reports all evening hardly mentioned Kennedy. But by golly, Ambien was front and center on every broadcast.
Glenlivet
Single-malt?
"The Kennedy's are the wealthiest shanty Irish in America."
But they do take the dishes out of the sink before they piss in it.
Pure unadulterated steaming goat custards.
Rather than accept a claim of addiction I would prefer to know the full details of Wednesday night leading up to the subsequent cover-up by the cops.....
Using an admittance of addiction to help substantiate a lie is just as phoney as the upcoming rehab is going to be. I've got a feeling this ain't going to be the last we hear about old Patrick, I just hope it doesn't end with somebody's death......
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