Oh, and REHNQUIST Was a Junkie. Nevermind.

[UTUSN]

***********QUOTE**********

http://slate.msn.com/id/2125906/?nav=tap3

Chief Justice Rehnquist's Drug Habit
The man in full.
By Jack Shafer


.... The Rehnquist story deserves a third airing today if only to illustrate the ugly double standards that excuse extreme drug use by the powerful, especially if their connection is a prescribing doctor, and condemns to draconian prison terms the guy who purchases his drugs on the street. Reviewing Rehnquist's tale one more time also demonstrates the reluctance of the Senate—and some members of the press—to grade the mental competency of judges and judicial nominees.

The 1986 medical report on Rehnquist described him as seriously "dependent" on Placidyl from 1977 to 1981. He often consumed three month's worth of the drug in one month before requesting more from Dr. Freeman H. Cary, the attending physician to Congress, who prescribed it. Anonymous sources told the Post that Cary first prescribed Placidyl to Rehnquist in 1971 to help him sleep through his severe back pains, but "Cary reportedly told the FBI that Rehnquist had taken it before." ....

But am I unfair to link the reluctance of journalists to zoom in for a close-up on a dead person's warts to a general deference to authority or, in the case of Rehnquist, a class bias that predisposes them to look past his drug habit as purely a medical problem? I think not. This was a watershed event in Rehnquist's life. Did the experience—being dazed on drugs, humiliated in the press, getting off Placidyl—contribute to his jurisprudence? How could it not have? Supreme Court correspondents, start your word processors.

******

Before you send e-mail, don't even think of accusing me of being a Rehnquist hata: If you were to Venn-diagram my judicial philosophy (such as it is) against that of Rehnquist's and Justice Ruth Ginsburg's, I'd overlap with Rehnquist. That e-mail is [e-mail] .

***********UNQUOTE***********

[Why Syzygy]

1. oh but of course

modern life and all ...

[Solly Mack]

2. The Judge with the Jelly Habit..... my.my.my.

jelly reds/greens = placidyl

[leveymg]

3. You're not supposed to take this stuff for more than a week!

Rehnquist was well known for his odd behavior, which was excused as the eccentricity of a brilliant mind. If this report about his prolonged use of Placidyl is true, he was tripping his brains out for years on a powerful hypnotic drug.

Drugs.com classifies it as a sedative-hypnotic drug that can cause hallucinations:
http://www.drugs.com/cons/Placidyl.html


Placidyl Advanced Consumer Information

PLACIDYL


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ETHCHLORVYNOL (Systemic)†

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Some commonly used brand names are:

In the U.S.—

Placidyl
Generic name product may be available in the U.S.

† Not commercially available in Canada.


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Category

Sedative-hypnotic

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Description

Ethchlorvynol (eth-klor-VI-nole) is used to treat insomnia (trouble in sleeping). However, it has generally been replaced by other medicines for the treatment of insomnia. If ethchlorvynol is used regularly (for example, every day) to help produce sleep, it is usually not effective for more than 1 week.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription, in the following dosage form:

Oral
Capsules (U.S.)



Side-effects:Confusion as to time, place, or person; convulsions (seizures); dizziness; hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there); loss of appetite; memory loss; muscle twitching; nausea or vomiting; restlessness, nervousness, or irritability; slurred speech; sweating; trembling; trouble in sleeping; weakness; weight loss, unexplained

[liberalnurse]

4. Drug addicts have told me

they would poke a hole in the capsule and squeeze the contents into a beverage. This would give them a faster, better high with Placidyl.

Just a fun fact...... :yoiks:

[UTUSN]

6. Has LIMBOsevic Been Told? n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. That explains The Admiral of Penzance!

[SpiralHawk]

7. "The more stripes you have, the more'important' you are"

All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others.