A Tangled Story of Addiction

[deminks]

Source: Washington Post

When Cindy McCain is asked what issues she would champion if she became first lady, she often cites one of the most difficult periods of her life: her battle with -- and ultimate victory over -- prescription painkillers. Her struggle, she has said repeatedly, taught her valuable lessons about drug abuse that she would pass on to the nation.

"I think it made me a better person as well as a better parent, so I think it would be very important to talk about it and be very upfront about it," McCain said in an interview with "Access Hollywood." In an appearance on the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," she said she tries "to talk about it as much as possible because I don't want anyone to wind up in the shoes that I did at the time."

In describing her struggle with drugs, McCain has said that she became addicted to Vicodin and Percocet in early 1989 after rupturing two disks and having back surgery. She has said she hid her addiction from her husband, Sen. John McCain, and stopped taking the pain medications in 1992 after her parents confronted her. She has not discussed what kind of treatment she received for her addiction, but she has made clear that she believes she has put her problems behind her.

While McCain's accounts have captured the pain of her addiction, her journey through this personal crisis is a more complicated story than she has described, and it had more consequences for her and those around her than she has acknowledged.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091103928.html

[glinda]

1. Cindy's hurt hand

I knew nothing of this previous problem she had but when I saw the whole phony baloney wrapped hurt hand she had recently my first thought was painkiller problem.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. Don't some pain killers wreak havoc on your bone density?

I just figured McShame used her as a punching bag.

[madaboutharry]

2. The worm has turned.

The media has turned on the McCains. I can only imagine
what is going on in the McCain home tonight.

[movonne]

12. Maybe they want palin for president...

[Javaman]

28. I can bet the C word is being tossed around in quite a liberal manner...

:rofl:

[lonestarnot]

36. I hope he doesn't kill her. If he loses... yikes! He's a psyco!

[speedoo]

4. K&R. Thanks for posting this. Must read. nt

[electron_blue]

5. Finally, here it is. The last few paragraphs are especially interesting.

They explain Gosinski backing out on Weds and then changing his mind again. WaPo has his journals/note, woot!

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

6. Is this the lonestarnot story?

[deminks]

7. I believe it is. nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. Its the front page of the Washington Post not buried in the back

or the career section..... THE FRONT FRICKING PAGE.

[Wheezy]

9. go lonestarnot! It's a 5-page article, wow.

[MilesColtrane]

10. Newsflash!

Cindy McCain is a junkie and a liar!

(But we already knew that.)

After one read through I didn't see anything about John McCain abusing the power of his office to cover up her drug use.

Anybody else?

[libnnc]

11. Have you heard that story about Cindy McCain being a junkie and a liar?

I did not realize the extent to which John McCain would hide the fact that Cindy McCain was a junkie and a liar....


:wow:

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Cindy McCain was a junkie and a liar? I did not know that, but I heard Rush

had a problem with drugs and young children.

[MilesColtrane]

14. That's certainly one approach.

I happen to think it's a losing proposition though.

What will be correctly pointed out in response to this article is the fact that she isn't running for anything.

As far as J. McCain hiding her addiction, remember that when family and personal life intersects with the public, people lie all the time.

Indeed, it seems hypocritical for those of us who defended Bill Clinton's lies about his affair as his own business to now wail on the McCain's for covering something that was clearly just as embarrassing to them.

It's bad strategy to attack the plucky survivors of the scourge of addiction (that's the way she'll be portrayed), especially considering just how many families have dealt with it themselves.

There are reams of other material on which to assail McCain.

[Ichingcarpenter]

15. He used his political power to get her a diplomatic passport

to hide her addiction.


Do you know that many people in the state department can't even get one of those?

Its called a 'DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT'


Types

The terminology related to passports has become generally standardized around the world. The typical passports include:

Ordinary passport, also called tourist passport
Issued to average citizens.

Official passport, also called service passport
Issued to government employees for work-related travel, and to accompanying dependents.

Diplomatic passport
Issued to diplomats and consuls for work-related travel, and to accompanying dependents. Having a diplomatic passport is not the equivalent of having diplomatic immunity. A grant of diplomatic status, a privilege of which is diplomatic immunity, has to come from the government of the country in relation to which diplomatic status is claimed. Also, having a diplomatic passport does not mean visa-free travel. A holder of a diplomatic passport usually has to obtain a diplomatic visa, even if a holder of an ordinary passport may enter a country visa-free or may obtain a visa on arrival.

In exceptional circumstances, a diplomatic passport is given to a foreign citizen with no passport of his own, such as an exiled VIP who lives, by invitation, in a foreign country.

[MilesColtrane]

21. I'd love to see someone prove that. (sincerely)

Short of a former staffer saying, "The Senator told me to call the passport office because he didn't want his wife going through customs." it's going to be a tough sell to Joe and Jane SixPack.

[lonestarnot]

39. Me too! Those will be juicy documents! FOIA request anyone?

[notadmblnd]

18. the article aid that he was unaware of her addiction,

it then went on to say the he or her secretary went to Dr. Johnson's house and picked up the prescriptions for her. So something is screwy.

[EFerrari]

30. People who live with addicts have to work really hard

to be "unaware". :eyes:

[lonestarnot]

38. But the freak will be hawking the drapes in the W.H. for a fix!

[Changenow]

25. Junkie, liar and thief

give her full credit. She stole narcotics from war survivors to feed her addiction. John helped cover it up


And those glassy eyes she wears as she shadows John tell a story about her recovery.

[lonestarnot]

44. Yes those eyes!

[notadmblnd]

17. Nope I didn't see that either. Maybe that's what they changed when they pulled it earlier

I had read that the story was posted on line, then it had disappeared for a while. Now it's back. It didn't mention her overdose and McCain taking her out of the hospital. It said nothing about his assistance in getting the DEA off her ass and this woman not being charged. If it was you or me or anyone else, we'd be doing life.

[lonestarnot]

40. Nope that wasn't the correction. It's below.

[lonestarnot]

37. Ruining the lives of several wonderful doctors, getting her off on a 20

year flat time sentence, ah no no abuse there! :wtf:

[jannyk]

16. Five Full Fucking Pages Worth!!!!! Lonestarnot - Stand Up & Take a Bow!!!

Off to read the whole thing.....


Lonestarnot
:yourock:

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Lex]

19. One thing I noted is that she probably never did rehab OR completed her Diversion program.

Looks like she could've served 20 years for the fraud, forgery and drug charges.

She got a sweet deal worked out (surprise, surprise).

She no doubts had requirements for the Diversion Program and the rehab program.

But the WaPo article notes (on page 5):

Two reporters wrote that McCain said she had completed a drug treatment program at the Meadows, a facility in Wickenberg, Ariz., as part of the agreement with federal prosecutors. But days later, federal officials said that no agreement had been reached and that she had not yet been accepted into a diversion program, which would include approved treatment. McCain issued a statement saying the reporters erred, but she did not disclose details of her treatment.

The only public reference to treatment is her mention in the county investigator's report of a one-week stay at the Meadows.

[lonestarnot]

41. And check out the Meadows! Then check out

http://www.themeadows.org/

http://adcprisoninfo.az.gov/adc/prisons/florence.asp

and one fucking week Swwwwwwwwwwwaeeeeet deal doesn't cover it! It is an outrage!

[TygrBright]

20. An interesting story and a sad one, for many reasons. But it won't damage the McCain campaign.

People will focus on the addiction and recovery story line, not the subtext about being able to get away with stuff if you're rich and powerful and married to a US Senator who will cover up for you as needed.

And the addiction and recovery story line is one that a lot of recovering people and their families will be sympathetic to. Addicted people do illegal things. They get away with them a lot, too, because their families cover up for them.

I don't think it will do much harm to the McCain campaign. And I'm not really sure that it should. It's a sad, tawdry little tale, but not a deal-breaker for voters, especially those already sympathetic to McCain.

judiciously,
Bright

[chelaque liberal]

22. Kick for the morning

[boilinmad]

27. Well...

...it CERTAINLY would be a deal-breaker if she were a liberal democrat. She would be skewered like a pig by the media and the self righteous idiotic 'christian' americans. Dont kid yourself. Just another example of the ability of the 'right' to take an issue like this and use it to its political advantage. The left, on the other hand.....

[llmart]

33. Very true....

but I have to wonder what is it with these Repug women like her and Laura? They have such wonderful lives what with all that money, etc. and they feel the need to be spaced out on drugs all the time? I don't buy the two ruptured discs bit because I currently have one herniated disc and one that's bulging and yes, it's painful but with physical therapy and just some strong Ibuprofen I've been able to manage. I think they need the drugs to get up every morning and face the fact that they married losers who are controlling egotists and not pleasant to live with.

[lonestarnot]

42. Not so fucking sure about that! Palin is getting her ass burned on the trooper gate story!

Denial of a worker's comp claim is serious enough, but we are talking about doctors who spent years and fortunes getting through school, then paying off those student loans all to be smashed like bugs for the princess beer mcdruggie.

[onenote]

45. actually, I am fucking sure about it.

This story is interesting and it confirms what many of us already knew about McCain's ethics.

And it won't have the slightest impact on the election. It will be washed away by Ike coverage and be forgotten by Monday.

I'm not saying I like that result, but I am saying that anyone who thinks this will have a signficant impact on the election is going to be very disappointed.

[lonestarnot]

46. LOL. Speculation is problematic and resolves to satisfy only your own laziness.

More facts will be produced and questions are being asked all around. And you are wrong so what I say to you is neener fucking neener. :crazy:

[onenote]

48. bookmarked

so we can see who has the last neener

[lonestarnot]

49. your on!

[chelaque liberal]

23. pg A01

[marshall]

24. Hide the rubbing alcohol and the fingernail polish remover!

Cindy's gonna crack!

[lonestarnot]

43. and don't forget the Chris Rock Robitussin!

[Crowman1979]

26. Taught her valuable lessons?!?! Yeah right!

The only lesson it taught her was that money and power will always keep you out of prison! While the rest of us would be thrown in the slammer.

[WHAT]

29. k

[PufPuf23]

31. Gosinski is a victim here and heroic now; the dr that lost his license

is a corrupt assh*t.

To quote WAPO:

In May of that year, county investigator Terry Blake interviewed McCain at her Phoenix home. He asked questions about Gosinski and then grilled McCain about prescription painkillers. He later wrote:

"Mrs. McCain was asked if AMVT procured narcotic drugs as a part of their normal operation. She said they did.

"I asked if she ever obtained narcotic drugs by using her employee's names. She said she did.

"Mrs. McCain was asked if prescriptions were written in Mr. Gosinski's name without his knowledge. She said yes."

[lonestarnot]

35. Are you talking about Dr. Johnson?

All of the doctors were victims here! They steam rolled every one of them!

[PufPuf23]

47. Thank you Lonestarnot for the heads up about this story

The Dr. Johnson that lost his licence did wrong and knewn at the time it was not correct to get RXs for Cindy in the names of other employees.
I do think losing his license was harsh considering how Cindy skated responsibility and readily threw her victims including Johnson under the bus.

Johnson provided RXs to Cindy McCain in the name but not with the knowledge nor cooperation of Mr. G. and then was less than sympathetic to Mr. G.

I read all 5 pages and many of the comments at WAPO and hope this story has legs!!

[pleah]

32. K&R Bravo to lonestarnot! 5 pages worth!

I even bookmarked it.

[lonestarnot]

34. CORRECTION MADE TO THIS!

Correction to This Article
Earlier versions of this story incorrectly identified the watchdog group that Tom Gosinski signed an agreement with as the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Its correct name is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. This version has been corrected.

I tried posting it, but it got shot down. I asked for a second look. Thanks! :hi:

[undeterred]

50. The thing about Vicodin

is- it isn't a very addictive drug. I've had migraines for 25 years. I have used Vicodin for most of that time. I have to call for it every month- that's the way it is. I use less than I used to because the non-narcotic migraine meds have gotten much better over the years. But I have never craved Vicodin. I have been in a lot of physical pain, but I have never overused it or used it when I was not truly in pain. Maybe its a biochemical difference between people- I don't know. But my doctor told me it is not a highly addictive drug. And he would know, wouldn't he?

[PuraVidaDreamin]

51. perhaps for you it wasn't, but I know plenty of people who've been

addicted to Vicodin. It is highly addictive.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

52. This does have potential

And if framed properly could sway some independents.

What a dream world to live in where actions have no consequences, where history is rewritten
immediately after the fact. Where power and money and who you are, who you know allows
you to do anything your heart of sick mind desires.