Althouse: "In Los Angeles we see many examples of high-profile people losing their lives because of their addiction to prescribed medication."

November 7, 2011

"In Los Angeles we see many examples of high-profile people losing their lives because of their addiction to prescribed medication."

"To the extent that someone dies as a result of their playing the role of Dr. Feelgood, they will be held accountable," said the prosecutor.

Michael Jackson died, and Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Let that be a lesson to all the Doctors Feelgood.

21 comments:

Synova said...: At some point, what is keeping you alive will kill you.

Unless Jackson actually didn't have any serious medical issues...; 11/7/11, 9:02 PM
edutcher said...: His only issues were mental.

What happened to him was mostly self-inflicted.; 11/7/11, 9:16 PM
traditionalguy said...: Being a drug pusher is too easy when an MD license creates the monopoly.; 11/7/11, 9:16 PM
bagoh20 said...: Is there really any doubt that Jackson, or others who meet similar ends, would have any problem meeting their destiny without a doctor. They would use other drugs or other sources. They are successful people who always got what they wanted, whether they could handle it or not. This stuff doesn't really strike as a tragedy, so much as an inevitability. I just see it as the kind of end people like MJ have often. Wildebeest get eaten by lions - celebrities by excess. It's the natural order.; 11/7/11, 9:16 PM
coketown said...: But only high-profile people. All you regular people can keel over. Whatevs.

Actually, that's not true. The DEA's third annual prescription drug take-back was a resounding success, pulling 8 tons of prescription drugs out of circulation in Los Angeles alone! Which makes me wonder: who moved the party to Los Angeles and why wasn't I invited?; 11/7/11, 9:21 PM
glenn said...: If you think it's only high profile people in Hollywood you need to get out more. A lot more.; 11/7/11, 9:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Michael Jackson was a dead man walking. It was only a matter of when and how, not if. If it hadn't been this guy, it would have been something else. There was no conceivable path for MJ to have a long or happy future.; 11/7/11, 9:29 PM
bagoh20 said...: "There was no conceivable path for MJ to have a long or happy future."

Isn't that painfully obvious. It's a miracle that he got to live as long as he did. Probably the most well known person in the world for decades, yet incredibly lonely. His life seemed like a tragedy, not his death.; 11/7/11, 9:44 PM
SPImmortal said...: Jacko was fucked up in the head.

What happened to him was entirely his own fault. Not that this doctor shouldn't be stripped of his liscense.; 11/7/11, 9:44 PM
madAsHell said...: What did the publicist say when heard of Elvis Presley's death??

Great career move.

His music, and style will live on. The pedophile charges will soon be forgotten.

Cirque du Soleil has a Michael Jackson review in town. People are still making money on him. I wonder how much of a cut Joe Jackson takes from the Cirque.; 11/7/11, 9:52 PM
madAsHell said...: ....or should it be spelled Revue.; 11/7/11, 9:53 PM
KCFleming said...: There is currently a big federal push to restrict access to all narcotics, especially Oxycontin.

Say a prayer for cancer patients, who will increasingly lack access to pain relief in the government's design to control every aspect of your life.

Too bad about the suffering, but they're taking one for the team.; 11/7/11, 10:17 PM
bagoh20 said...: When I was on chemo, the only thing that alleviated the horribly uncomfortable side effects was Vicodan. It didn't take much - even half the usual dose made a huge difference, but still, my doctor resisted prescribing it, They always assume that if you ask for it, you're addicted. Consequently I often got prescriptions for things that didn't help me at all. The reason these drug are so popular for illness and recreation is that they work so well.; 11/7/11, 10:26 PM
bagoh20 said...: The basic value of common prescription narcotics is that, sick or not, they make you feel better. Addiction ruins all that. What is sad is that with all the drugs MJ had access to and used, nothing worked anymore. Wealth, fame, and that kind of success can be addicting in the same way with the same outcome.

MJ took it all to the limit of human consumption.; 11/7/11, 10:34 PM
anhkuzit said...: what is keeping you alive will kill you; 11/8/11, 2:21 AM
Bryan C said...: It's a stretch to use Jackson's death as an example of prescription abuse. He hired a private doctor solely for the purpose of administering an IV-drip surgical hypnotic as a sleeping drug. If you're far enough gone to make that seem like a good idea, then the presence or absence of a prescription won't make any difference.

I don't see anything good coming of this. Doctors already balk at prescribing painkillers to people who actually need them to function, out of fear of being targeted as dealers. We're creating a weird system that has more sympathy toward addicts than toward responsible people who are actually ill.; 11/8/11, 6:03 AM
ndspinelli said...: Who gives a shit..a pedophile is dead. Why not have the doc be Jerry Sandusky's private physician.

Speaking of pedophiles, I read a UW student was just found guilty in Federal Court of computer child porn, operating from a dorm. I hope @ least he wasn't a smoker or Republican!; 11/8/11, 7:26 AM
ndspinelli said...: Heroin is the best pain reliever. Most countries allow its use for terminal patients. One of the best meds for chemo patients to decrease nausea and increase appetitite is cannabis. But, your govt. knows best.; 11/8/11, 7:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Compare and contrast this story with that of Steve Jobs. Another guy with a lot of money who decided to become his own doctor. And had the money and the yes men around him to do it.; 11/8/11, 7:42 AM
ken in tx said...: How does the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter fit with the concept of mens rea?; 11/8/11, 8:57 AM
Crunchy Frog said...: How does the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter fit with the concept of mens rea?

Criminal negligence resulting in death. By any reasonable measure, Murray violated the standards of care that he assumed when he took MJ as a patient. Even the lame alternative theory his lawyers cooked up (that MJ OD'd himself) still amounted to the same thing, since the drug in question should never be administered (or even available) outside of a hospital setting.; 11/8/11, 1:14 PM