LOS ANGELES (AP) — A pain-management doctor says Anna Nicole Smith was not a prescription drug addict and that prescriptions for 1,500 pills in one month do not prove addiction.
Dr. Perry G. Fine on Wednesday rebuffed a prosecutor’s suggestion that such an amount suggested addiction. Fine says taking drugs does not cause addiction and that the disease of addiction is based on genetics.
He says Smith suffered fractured ribs and was seeking relief from chronic pain.
Fine was testifying in the drug conspiracy trial against the model’s boyfriend and two doctors.
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to providing drugs to an addict. They are not charged with Smith’s 2007 overdose death.
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Iamtheoracle
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:39amas horrific as 1500 pills a month sounds ( and I think she was a total addict ) I would imagine many chronically injured or ill people take that much medication – especially if each pill is a low dose of that particular medication.
50 pills a day – if you had to take medication every 4 hours…8.3 pills every 4 hours…hhhhmmmmm do we care about Anna Nicole Smith’s drug use ? No.
Report Post »triper57
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:34amWhere was this defense when Rush was having his problems with prescription drugs?
Report Post »triper57
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 10:32amIf thats the case then where was this defense when Rush was having his problems with prescription drugs?
Report Post »zippy
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 6:56amMan I gotta get with it, Im way behind.
Report Post »Kielland
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 11:42pm50-60 Vicodin a day would kill an elephant. The tylenol alone in that combination drug would destroy someone’s liver. A far lower dose is used in suicides by Tylenol. There is no legitimate reason to prescribe anyone 1500 pain pills in a month. Even end of life patients don’t get that many. They are instead offered hospice & IV therapy.
Report Post »And by the way, it is criminal for a doctor to prescribe to patients where there is a concern the patient is abusing, distributing or selling those drugs. Since as I explained above use of that number of drugs is not compatible with survival, she was doing something else with them.
SevenTrumpets42
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 10:09pm1500 pills/month does not an addict make; pusher perhaps? Come on Dr. Fine, let’s get real! A medical diploma does not a doctor make.
Report Post »1776
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 9:28pmAdd your comments
Report Post »1776
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 9:27pmNo hollywood stories please….
Report Post »Chialms
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 7:50pmCan you not recognize “CYA”? It means cover your backside. This jagoff is hoping to defend the fact that one person could CONCEIVABLY be prescribed this many pills in a month. It is not medically sound to do this. It is a recipe for death, plain and simple. My Mother, who suffered then died of Polycystic Kidney Disease, was not prescribed this amount of pain medication. For those of you unaware of this condition, it is inevitably fatal and extremely painful. The same meds prescribed for stage 3 cancer patients apply here.
This woman was rich, and demanding, and she was played favorite to. The end. The prescribing doctor(s) are guilty of negligent homicide.
Report Post »Contrarian51
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 7:13pmMost of these “pain management” “specialists” are quacks catering to hypochondriacs or slackers.
Report Post »mikedy
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 7:40pmLike you said, they are catering to people. These people are adults. let the doctor and the adult decide what to do. Your attitude will lead to more regulation by the government. So what if an informed patient in pain takes drugs for pain; it is between the doctor and the patient. The doctor is not breaking any laws by giving prescriptions to someone in pain. If he starts writing them everyday for the same person then he is breaking the law. Let adults make decision with the advice of their doctor.
Report Post »Contrarian51
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 11:40pmI was commenting only on my experience dealing on a professional basis with the ones, such as the one testifying in this case, who classify themselves as “pain management specialists.” Very few are more than charlatans on call for personal injury lawyers who can’t get legitimate doctors to keep seeing their uninjured clients or for hypochondriacs who need counseling, not “pain management.” In other words, and I thought this was self-evident, I am contending that they are treating pain that has no basis in reality. I was not commenting on people with actual pain. Most of them are treated successfully by legitimate physicians because all they want is relief, and aren’t running a game or a scam.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 6:40pm” Pills don’t kill people, genes kill people ”
Report Post »If thats the new research,
I’d like to see the raw data and source.
This theory has major implications and should be examined by some real statisticians.
poverty.sucks
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:59pmWill all the nude pictures on Scarry Harry’s computer prove an addiction to porn?
Report Post »Waiting4George
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:54pmIf my math is right–this comes out to approximately one pill every 15 minutes assuming one doesn’t sleep for a month. Hope the jury can do math….
Report Post »mikedy
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 7:36pmThe math says 1,500 a month divided by 30 days equals 50 pills a day. That is two pills every hour. I have worked as a paramedic for many years and while this is a big number, many people addicted to pain killers do take this much a day. The effect of the pills lessens over time. Where one pill used to help, after years of taking these pills it can take up to 10-20 pills at a time. Unfortunately, there are times when there is no way around this. If anyone has ever witnessed someone in chronic pain you would certainly have sympathy for them. It truly is unfortunate if she required this many pills to beat the pain. On the other hand, she may have been a drug addict who only took them for the effect. If she needed this for pain then the doctor is correct, while addicted to them she also needed that many to overcome the pain. 50-60 pills of vicodin a day is uncommon but not unheard of. (I don’t know if that was what she was on). Only her doctor would know for sure what she needed. we certainly do not need the government coming in and now telling doctors how to do their job. This is between the doctor and his patient. Most on this site are for less government. Let this doctor do his job and his job is to inform the patients of the potential pitfalls of drugs and then the patient makes an informed decision. Seems like we are quick to say this number is too high, why isn’t it regulated government. Instead of, this is a trained doctor and an informed patient; let them be.
Report Post »Rob
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:52pmThis skank has NOTHING to do with me now.
Report Post »rocktruth
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:36pmNo, 1,500 pills is not lot. REALLY? I hate drug pushers including the greedy pharm. industry. Medical industry doesn’t care about health or cures but how to keep people on drugs. I wish they would prove me wrong.
Report Post »Peraslax
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:25pmwow, little harsh guys. When I first heard Scott talk about this site, he said it would go in many different directions, not be just about politics.Relax a bit, If you dont like this kind of stuff, move on to another title, this site covers plenty of political stuff.
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:57pmSlax
you can post to yourself
But thats what Christine says is wrong
Sailor Vote in Nov
Report Post »Caremom
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:22pmThis private little trial–if it leads to exoneration of Dr. Jekyll–will redound to 1,500 excuses for any low life drug dealer or any addict.
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:17pmWGAS
How about some stories of the probs on the southern border.
How about some stories of important senate and house races.
Report Post »broker0101
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:07pmAnd the countdown for invocation of the name “Rush” begins…. C’mon, lefties, here boy….
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:03pmlook Glenn, we both know thats not how an addict/alcoholic gets the title….so this is a NO story.
Report Post »Spokavriel
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:17pmGuess you didn‘t note this was Jonathan’s article before clicking to the piece or reading it at the top.
Report Post »PostProgressiveAmerican
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 3:23amAgreed – not I story I care about.
Interesting, though, that more and more is being called a ‘disease’ and/or based on genetics…no more responsibility for one’s own actions.
Report Post »BetterDays
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 5:02pmWHO CARES>
Report Post »Rev. WC
Posted on September 22, 2010 at 6:13pmSounds to me like Dr. Perry G. Fine is a Liberal and should be appointed pharmaceutacal czar or with his incredible math skills perhaps to work for the Federal Reserve. I wonder is he is Pelosi’s Doctor?
Report Post »duncan
Posted on September 23, 2010 at 9:37amWell, gee whiz, you are not supposed to take them all at once.
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